Kyle and Eric kick off this two-part Buck Wild saga with the absolute chaos leading up to the Mexican–American War; geopolitical dumpster fire powered by bad maps, worse communication, and two nations acting like the group project was someone else’s problem.

In Part I, we’re talking Mexico trying to run a brand-new country, American settlers arriving in Texas with an energy best described as “uninvited plus one,” Santa Anna rewriting the government structure every time he sneezes, and President Polk sending “peaceful” diplomats south while casually parking an army on contested land.

Tensions rise. Cavalry crosses rivers. Diplomacy ghosts everyone. And suddenly Polk is yelling “American blood has been shed on American soil!” like he didn’t just create the soil dispute in the first place.

It’s political chaos, frontier drama, and a weapons-tech gap wide enough to embarrass both sides. And the worst part? We’re just getting warmed up.

It’s petty. It’s loud. It’s historically unhinged.
And best of all — this is only Part I.Part II is where the cannonballs start flying.

Music:

Semper Fidelis by Heftone Banjo Orchestra, Free Music Archive, license CC-BY-SA

Kyle and Eric break down the short, spicy, absolutely unhinged presidency of Zachary Taylor — the reluctant leader who walked into Washington like it was a battlefield and handled Congress with the same stubborn, no-frills logic he used in the army. Yes, he was a slave holding southerner. Yes, he also threatened to personally deal with any state that tried to secede. It’s complicated.

This episode unpacks Taylor’s entire frontier-brained approach to governing: his die-on-this-hill stance on California becoming a free state, his “don’t test me” energy in the Texas–New Mexico boundary dispute, and his refusal to play nice with either political party. He wasn’t a strategist in the fancy, Washington sense — he just relied on the same simple, immovable, dig-in-and-don’t-budge instincts that carried him through decades of combat. And somehow? It worked.

It’s stubbornness, secession threats, moral contradictions, and the disastrous summer illness that ended it all.

🎙️ The Buck Starts Here: where U.S. history meets frontier petty, congressional panic, and presidents powered entirely by spite.

Music:

Semper Fidelis by Heftone Banjo Orchestra, Free Music Archive, license CC-BY-SA

Images:

Zachary Taylor: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Whig Banner: N. Currier (Firm), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Inauguration: Popular Graphic Arts, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Millard Fillmore: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Kyle and Eric dive into Zachary Taylor’s wild, fever-drenched military career : years of mud, malaria, and miraculous battlefield luck. This is Taylor before politics: a stubborn, dust-covered commander who kept winning fights through sheer force of will and a total disregard for strategy.

From early frontier chaos to the near-disaster-turned-victory at Buena Vista, the guys break down how Taylor’s “just send it” approach shaped his entire legend. It’s messy, unpredictable, and extremely on brand for America’s most confusing war hero.

🎙️ The Buck Starts Here — where history meets sharp wit, hard truths, and unhinged 19th-century energy.

Music:

Semper Fidelis by Heftone Banjo Orchestra, Free Music Archive, license CC-BY-SA

Images:

Zachary Taylor: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Birthplace: National Historic Landmarks, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Gen. James Wilkinson: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fort Harrison: Helena Independent Record, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Zachary Taylor: Cornell University Library, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

Fort Johnson: Scan by NYPL, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Sarah Knox Taylor: Public Domain, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Jefferson Davis: Mathew Benjamin Brady, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons