Ben Franklin's World: A Podcast About Early American History

George Washington was an accomplished man. He served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, first President of the United States, and on top of all that he was also a savvy businessman who ran a successful plantation. George Washington was also a slaveholder. In 1789, he and his wife Martha took 7 slaves to New York City to serve them in their new role as First Family. A 16 year-old girl named Ona Judge was one of the enslaved women who accompanied and served the Washingtons. Erica Dunbar, a Professor of Black American Studies and History at the University of Delaware and author of Never Caught: The Washington’s Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave Ona Judge, leads us through the early American life of Ona Judge. 
 Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/137   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture William and Mary Quarterly Episode 105: Joshua Piker, How Historians Publish History (Behind-t

What do the objects we purchase and use say about us? If we take the time to think about the material objects and clothing in our lives, we’ll find that we can actually learn a lot about ourselves and other people. The same holds true when we take the time to study the objects and clothing left behind by people from the past. Jennifer Van Horn, an Assistant Professor of History and Art History at the University of Delaware and author of The Power of Objects in Eighteenth-Century British America, leads us on an exploration of the 18th-century British material world and how objects from that world can help us think about and explore the lives of 18th-century British Americans. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/136   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture William and Mary Quarterly OI Reader app   Complementary Episodes Episode 024: Kimberly Alexander, 18th-Century Fashion & Material Culture Episode 079: Jim Horn, What is a Historical Source Episode 0

If early Americans desired slaves mostly to produce sugarcane, cotton, rice, indigo, and tobacco, what would happen if Europeans and early Americans stopped purchasing those products?
 Would boycotting slave-produced goods and starving slavery of its economic sustenance be enough to end the practice of slavery in North America? Julie Holcomb, an Associate Professor of Museum Studies at Baylor University and author of Moral Commerce: The Transatlantic Boycott of the Slave Labor Economy, helps us explore answers to these questions by leading us through the transatlantic boycott of slave produced goods. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/135   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture William and Mary Quarterly Karin Wulf, “The Art and Craft of Review”    Complementary Episodes Episode 020: Kyle Bulthuis, Four Steeples Over the City Streets Episode 030: Shelby Balik, Rally the Scattered Believers: Northern New England’s Religious Geography Episode 045: Sp

In Colonial America, clergymen stood as thought leaders in their local communities. They stood at the head of their congregations and many community members looked to them for knowledge and insight about the world around them. So what happened to these trusted, educated men during the American Revolution? How did they choose their political allegiances? And what work did they undertake to aid or hinder the revolutionary cause? Spencer McBride, an editor at the Joseph Smith Papers documentary editing project, joins us to explore some of the ways politics and religion intersected during the American Revolution with details from his book, Pulpit and Nation: Clergymen and the Politics of Revolutionary America. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/134   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture William and Mary Quarterly Episode 105: Josh Piker, How Historians Publish History (Behind-the-Scenes of the WMQ)   Complementary Episodes Episode 045: Spencer McBride, J

The institution of African slavery in North America began in late August 1619 and persisted until the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States in December 1865. Over those 246 years, many slaves plotted and conspired to start rebellions, but most of the plotted rebellions never took place. Slaveholders and whites discovered them before they could begin. Therefore, North America witnessed only a handful of slave revolts between 1614 and 1865. Nat Turner’s Rebellion in August 1831 stands as the most deadly. Patrick Breen, an Associate Professor of History at Providence College and author of The Land Shall Be Deluged in Blood: A New History of the Nat Turner Revolt joins us to investigate the ins and outs of this bloodiest of North American slave revolts. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/133   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture William and Mary Quarterly WMQ Editor Josh Piker, “The Five-Reader Problem” WMQ Editor Josh

When we explore the history of early America, we often look at people who lived and the events that took place in North America. But what about the people who lived and worked in European metropoles? What about Native Americans? Today, we explore early American history through a slightly different lens, a lens that allows us to see interactions that occurred between Native American peoples and English men and women who lived in London. Our guide for this exploration is Coll Thrush, an Associate Professor of History at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver and author of Indigenous London: Native Travelers at the Heart of the Empire. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/132   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture William and Mary Quarterly Episode 105: Josh Piker, How Historians Publish History (Behind-the-Scenes of the William and Mary Quarterly)   Complementary Episodes Episode 079: Jim Horn, What is a Historic Source? (Jamestown and Pocahontas)

The United States has a complicated history when it comes to ideas of empire and imperialism. Since it’s earliest days, the United States has wanted the power that came with being an empire even while declaring its distaste for them. Therefore, it should not be surprising that the man who drafted the Declaration of Independence, which severed the 13 American colonies’ ties to the most powerful empire in the mid-to-late 18th-century world, also had strong views about empire: Thomas Jefferson wanted the United States to become a great and vast “Empire of Liberty.” Frank Cogliano, a Professor of American History at the University of Edinburgh and author of Emperor of Liberty: Thomas Jefferson’s Foreign Policy, joins us to explore how Thomas Jefferson came to be a supporter and promoter of empires.   Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/131   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture William and Mary Quarterly, the leading journal of early American history since 19

On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere rode to Lexington, Massachusetts to spread the alarm that the Regulars were marching. Revere made several important rides between 1774 and 1775, including one in September 1774 that brought the Suffolk Resolves to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. So why is it that we remember Paul Revere’s ride to Lexington and not any of his other rides? Why is it that we remember Paul Revere on the night of April 18, 1775 and nothing about his life either before or after that famous ride? Why is it that Paul Revere seems to ride quickly into history and then just as quickly out of it? In this episode we speak with four scholars to explore Paul Revere’s ride through history. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/130   About the Series The mission of episodes in the Doing History: To the Revolution series is to ask not just “what is the history of the American Revolution?” but “what are the histories of the American Revolution?” Episodes in this series will air beg

How did the colonists of Massachusetts go from public protests meant to shame government officials and destroy offending property, to armed conflict with British Regulars in Lexington and Concord? John Bell, the prolific blogger behind Boston1775.net and the author of The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War, leads us on an investigation of what brought colonists and redcoats to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/129   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture Doing History series   Complementary Episodes Episode 039: Eric Nelson, The Royalist Revolution Episode 046: John Ferling, Whirlwind: The American Revolution & the War that Won It Episode 112: Mary Beth Norton, The Tea Crisis of 1773 Bonus: Stamp Act of 1765   Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS A

Historians often portray the American Revolution as an orderly, if violent, event that moved from British colonists’ high-minded ideas about freedom to American independence from Great Britain and the ratification of the Constitution of 1787. But was the American Revolution an orderly event that took place only between Great Britain and her North American colonists? Was it really about high-minded ideas? Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Alan Taylor joins us to explore the American Revolution as a Continental event with details from his book, American Revolutions: A Continental History. 1750-1804. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/128   Sponsor Links DelanceyPlace.com "The U.S. Helps the Rebels in Panama"   Complementary Episodes Episode 014: Claudio Saunt, West of the Revolution Episode 016: Alan Taylor, The Internal Enemy Episode 029: Colin Calloway, The Victory with No Name Episode 037: Kathleen DuVal: Independence Lost Episode 123: Revolutionary Allegiances Bonus: Why Historians

In many ways, the Enlightenment gave birth to the United States. Enlightened ideas informed protests over imperial governance and taxation and over whether there should be an American bishop. If we want to understand early America, we need to understand the Enlightenment. Caroline Winterer, a Professor of History at Stanford University and author of American Enlightenments: Pursuing Happiness in the Age of Reason, takes us through her ideas about the Enlightenment and how it influenced early America. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/127   Sponsor Links DelanceyPlace.com “The Hostility Between Christians and Deists”   Complementary Episodes Bonus: Why Historians Study History Episode 085: George Goodwin, Benjamin Franklin in London Episode 088: Michael McDonnell: The History of History Writing Episode 096: Nicholas Guyatt, The Origins of Racial Segregation in the United States Episode 109: John Dixon, The American Enlightenment & Cadwallader Colden Episode 117: Annette Gordon-Ree

What happened to the loyalists who stayed in the United States after the War for Independence? After the war, 60,000 loyalists and 15,000 slaves evacuated the United States. But thousands more opted to remain in the new nation. Rebecca Brannon, an Associate Professor of History at James Madison University and author of From Revolution to Reunion: The Reintegration of South Carolina Loyalists, joins us to explore what happened to the loyalists who stayed. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/126   Sponsor Links Delanceyplace.com "Not One, But Ninety Declarations of Independence"   Complementary Episodes Episode 037: Kathleen DuVal, Independence Lost Episode 046: John Ferling: Whirlwind: The American Revolution & the War That Won It Episode 085: Bonnie Huskins, American Loyalists in Canada Episode 118: Christy Clark-Pujara, The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island Episode 123: Revolutionary Allegiances   Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's

Early America was a diverse place. It contained many different people who had many different traditions that informed how they lived…and died. How did early Americans understand death? What did they think about suicide? Terri Snyder, a Professor of American Studies at California State University, Fullerton and author of The Power to Die: Slavery and Suicide in British North America, helps us answer these questions, and more, as she takes us on an exploration of slavery and suicide in British North America. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/125   Sponsor Links Delanceyplace.com Excerpt from Slavery's Capitalism   Complementary Episodes   Episode 008: Greg O’Malley, Final Passages the Intercolonial Slave Trade Episode 064: Brett Rushforth, Native American Slavery in New France Episode 070: Jennifer Morgan, How Historians Research Episode 079: Jim Horn, What is a Historic Source? (Colonial Jamestown) Episode 089: Jessica Millward, Slavery & Freedom in Early Maryland   Helpful Show

What did the American Revolution mean and achieve? What sort of liberty and freedom did independence grant Americans and which Americans should receive them? Americans grappled with these questions soon after the American Revolution. They debated these issues during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, in the first congresses, and as they followed events in revolutionary France and Haiti during the 1790s and early 1800s. James Alexander Dun, an Assistant Professor of History at Princeton University and author of Dangerous Neighbors: Making the Haitian Revolution in Early America, joins us to explore the ways the Haitian Revolution shaped how Americans viewed their own revolution. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/124   Sponsor Links Delanceyplace.com Excerpt from 10 Feb 2017: "How New Amsterdam Became New York"   Complementary Episodes Episode 007: Sara Georgini, John Adams & the Adams Papers Documentary Project Episode 016: Alan Taylor, The Internal Enemy Episode 017: François Fur

In December 1773, the Cape Cod Tea Crisis revealed that the people of “radical” Massachusetts were far from united in their support for the American Revolution. An observation that leads us to wonder: How many Americans supported the Patriot cause? In this episode we speak with four scholars to explore the complexities of political allegiance during the American Revolution. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/123   About the Series The mission of episodes in the Doing History: To the Revolution series is to ask not just “what is the history of the American Revolution?” but “what are the histories of the American Revolution?” Episodes in this series will air beginning in Fall 2017. The Doing History series is part of a partnership between Ben Franklin’s World and the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. Be sure to check out Doing History season 1: Doing History: How Historians Work.   Bonus Content Episode Bibliography OI Reader   Complementary Episodes Episode

Did the Americans win the War for Independence? Or did the British simply lose the war? The history of the American War for Independence is complicated. And history books tell many different versions of the event, which is why we need an expert to guide us through the intricacies of whether we should look at the war as an American victory, a British defeat, or in some other light. Andrew O’Shaughnessy, author of The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire, joins us to explore British viewpoints of the American War for Independence. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/122   Georgian Papers Programme Georgian Papers Programme Draft of a message of abdication from George III to the Parliament   Sponsor Links Cornell University Press Critical Edition of Cadwallader Colden’s The History of Five Indian Nations Episode 109: John Dixon, The Enlightenment of Cadwallader Colden   Complementary Episodes Episode 026: Robert Middlekauff,

The Spanish, French, and English played large roles in the origins of colonial America. But so too did the Dutch. During the 17th century, they had a “moment" in which they influenced European colonization and development of the Atlantic World. Wim Klooster, a Professor of History at Clark University and author of The Dutch Moment: War, Trade, and Settlement in the Seventeenth Century Atlantic World, guides us through Dutch contributions to the Atlantic World. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/121   Sponsor Links Cornell University Press Joyce D. Goodfriend, Who Should Rule at Home?   Complementary Episodes Episode 008: Greg O'Malley, Final Passages: The Intercolonial Slave Trade of British America Episode 021: Eugene Tesdahl, Smuggling in Colonial America & Living History Episode 049: Malcolm Gaskill, How the English Became American Episode 051: Catherine Cangany, Frontier Seaport: A History of Early Detroit Episode 064: Brett Rushforth, Native American Slavery in New France Episo

How do you build colonies without women? Most of the colonial adventurers from England and France who set out for Jamestown, New France, and colonial Louisiana were men. But how do you build and sustain societies and spread European culture—in essence, fulfill the promises of a colonial program—without women? You can’t. Which is why Marcia Zug, a Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina Law School and author of Buying a Bride: An Engaging History of Mail Order Matches, joins us to explore one of the solutions that England and France used to build their North American colonies: mail order bride programs. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/120   Sponsor Links Cornell University Press Brian Rouleau, With Sails Whitening Every Sea   Complementary Episodes Episode 036: Abby Swingen, Competing Visions of Empire Episode 049: Malcolm Gaskill, How the English Became American Episode 064: Brett Rushforth, Native American Slavery in New France Episode 079: James Horn, What is a Hist

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia moved that the Second Continental Congress resolve “that these United Colonies are, and of right out to be, free and independent States…” The Second Continental Congress adopted Lee’s motion and on June 11, 1776, it appointed a committee to draft a declaration of independence. Today, Steve Pincus, the Bradford Durfee Professor of History at Yale University and author of The Heart of the Declaration: The Founders’ Case for an Activist Government, leads us on an investigation of the Declaration of Independence and the context in which the founders drafted it. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/119   Episode Sponsor Links Cornell University Press Julie Fisher and David Silverman, Ninigret, Sachem of the Niantics and Narragansetts   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's Wo

How did the smallest colony and smallest state in the union became the largest American participant in the slave trade? Christy Clark-Pujara, an Assistant Professor in the Department of African-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island, joins us to explore the history of Rhode Island and New England’s involvement with slavery. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/118   Sponsor Links Cornell University Press Episode 040: Kathleen Bartoloni-Tuazon, For Fear of an Elective King   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App   Complementary Episodes Episode 008: Greg O'Malley, Final Passages: The Intercolonial Slave Trade of British America Episode 036: Abby Swingen, Competing Visions of Empire Ep