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

Kyle and Eric go Buck Wild in this bonus episode about the biggest historical cop-out of all time: states’ rights. You’ve heard the phrase, now hear the chaos behind it. From the 10th Amendment’s “you’re not my real dad” energy to John C. Calhoun’s compact theory meltdown, the guys trace how a constitutional clause got twisted into America’s longest-running excuse for bad behavior.

We’re talking nullification drama, Andrew Jackson’s federal power flex, slavery masquerading as “liberty,” and the eternal Southern tradition of throwing tantrums every time Washington says “no.” (Spoiler: they always say it’s not about slavery, it was about slavery.)

It’s fast, furious, and historically feral, because when it comes to states’ rights, the receipts are messy, the logic is nonexistent, and the vibe is pure denial.

🎙️ The Buck Starts Here — where history meets sharp wit, hard truths, and maximum side-eye.

Music:

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

The overachiever president is back, and he’s not here to relax. Kyle and Eric break down how James K. Polk took the Oval Office like it was a four-year challenge round: start a war with Mexico, threaten Britain over Oregon, cut tariffs, expand the country by a third, and burn himself out in record time.

It’s Manifest Destiny, micromanagement, and moral mayhem: the ultimate story of a man who did everything and enjoyed none of it.

🎙️ The Buck Starts Here — where history meets sharp wit, brutal honesty, and the occasional existential rant.

Music:

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

Images:

James K Polk: George Peter Alexander Healy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Polk Dallas campaign banner: Nathaniel Currier firm derivative work: Jim Evans, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Henry Clay: Matthew Harris Jouett, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1844 Electoral Map: United States Geological Survey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Oregon Border Dispute: No machine-readable author provided. Roke~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

James Buchanan: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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

1847 postage stamps: Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson See also: U.S. presidents on U.S. postage stamps U.S. Postage stamp locator, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kyle and Eric fire up the mics to roast President #11 — the guy whose greatest achievement might’ve been getting cut open without anesthesia and still somehow making it to the White House. From his “industrious” slave-owning dad (eyeroll) to his math-nerd grind at UNC Chapel Hill and his fanboy obsession with Andrew Jackson, this episode dives deep into how Polk turned being forgettable into a political superpower.

We’re talking early Tennessee politics, suffrage for white men only (wow), the birth of the Democratic Party, and how Polk kept losing elections right up until he didn’t. It’s part biography, part therapy session, and 100% sass.

🎧 Grab your notes, your sarcasm, and your manifest destiny — because next week, we’re taking this chaos straight into war.

Music:

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

Images:

James K Polk: George Peter Alexander Healy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Polk birthplace: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Felix Grundy: George Dury, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Speaker of the House: Fenderich, Charles, artist; Duval, Peter S., 1804 or 1805-1886, printer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Newton Cannon: Washington Bogart Cooper, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Texas Annexation: Cornell University Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

John Tyler is back and Whigging Out. He’s vetoing everything that moves, picking fights with Congress for sport, and casually dropping foreign policy hot takes about Hawaii. Tariffs? He’s mad. The Whigs? They’re furious. Daniel Webster? Probably stress-drinking tea somewhere.

This episode’s got it all: tariff tantrums, Florida joining the Union, Texas waiting in the wings like a messy situationship, and the Tyler Doctrine arriving out of nowhere like that guy who crashes every party. Manifest Destiny isn’t official yet, but you can smell it coming.

👀 Join the chaos:
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📧BuckStartsHerePodcast@gmail.com
🐦Follow us on X: @ChinaShopPods

⭐ If Tyler’s antics made you flip your wig, hit follow, drop five stars, and tell your favorite history nerd.

Images:

Death of William Henry Harrison: Popular Graphic Arts, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Tyler receives news: Illustrated in Stoddard, William Osborn, 1835-1925. The Lives of the Presidents, v. 5, New York: Frederick A. Stokes & Brother, 1888, between pp. 12-13., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

John Tyler: Mathew Brady, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Daniel Webster: John Adams Whipple, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Hawaiian Islands: William & Alexander Keith Johnston, Edinburgh, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Florida: Scan by NYPL, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Republic of Texas: Z. T. Fulmore, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Music:

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

John Tyler didn’t just distrust banks — he hated them. This man looked at paper money like it was a con artist, treated gold like a personality trait, and talked about fractional reserve banking like it was a demonic ritual.

In this episode, Kyle and Eric introduce you to the Whig Party’s resident chaos agent — a man who managed to unite people he didn’t even agree with, all while loudly yelling “NO” to basically everything. He was the political equivalent of a live grenade in a powdered wig.

So buckle up. Tyler’s money issues weren’t just personal, they were a preview of the political explosion to come.

👀 Join the drama:
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🎙️BuckStartsHerePodcast.com
📧BuckStartsHerePodcast@gmail.com
🐦Follow us on X: @ChinaShopPods

⭐ Hit that follow, drop a five-star review, and tell your favorite gold bug they’ve got company.

Images:
John Tyler: Mathew Brady, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Greenway Plantation: See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Letitia Christian Tyler: This image or media file contains material based on a work of a National Park Service employee, created as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, such work is in the public domain in the United States. See the NPS website and NPS copyright policy for more information.

Music:

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