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

The United States is in midst of a political and cultural divide. The last time the United States faced this deep of a division, the nation descended into Civil War. Can history help us solve our present-day political and cultural crisis? Today, we investigate whether the past might help us with the present with Rachel Shelden, author of Washington Brotherhood: Politics, Social Life, and the Coming of the Civil War. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/078   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you have what it takes to be a pioneer? If offered the opportunity, would you undertake a journey across the Oregon Trail in a mule-pulled covered wagon? Today, we explore the Oregon Trail past and present with Rinker Buck, author of The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey.   Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/077   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What did it mean to be a citizen during the late-18th and early-19th centuries? Why and how did early American sailors seem intent on proving their citizenship to the United States? In this episode, we explore citizenship and maritime life during the Age of Revolutions with Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, an Assistant Professor of History and Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California and author of Citizen Sailors: Becoming American in the Age of Revolution. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/076   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historians research history in archives. But how do you gain access to one? And how do you use an archive once you find that it likely contains the information you seek? In this third episode of our “Doing History: How Historians Work” series, we investigate how archives work with Peter Drummey, an archivist and the Stephen T. Riley Librarian at the Massachusetts Historical Society.   Doing History Series This episode is part of the "Doing History: How Historians Work" series.  “Doing History” episodes will introduce you to historians who will tell you what they know about the past and reveal how they came to their knowledge. Each episode will air on the last Tuesday of each month in 2016. This series is part of a partnership between Ben Franklin’s World and the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/075   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian Ben Franklin's World Facebook P

George Washington stands as one of the most famous Americans in history, but what do we know of his helpmeet and partner, Martha? Who was the woman who stood beside and encouraged Washington? How did she assist him as he led the Continental Army and governed a new nation? Today, we investigate the life of Martha Washington with Mary Wigge, Research Editor at the Martha Washington Papers Project. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/074   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What role did the Bible play in the development of British North America and the early United States? How did the settlement of numerous religious groups in the thirteen American colonies affect the politics and religion of both the colonies and early United States? Today, we address these questions by exploring the place of the Bible in early America. Our guide for this exploration is Mark Noll, the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and the author of In the Beginning Was the Word The Bible in American Public Life, 1492-1783. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/073   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about yo

The American Civil War took place over 150 years ago. The war claimed over 600,000 American lives and its legacy affects the way present-day Americans view civil rights and race relations. The Civil War stands as an important, watershed event in United States history, which is why, in today’s episode, we will discuss the event with Civil War historian Ari Kelman, Professor of History at the Pennsylvania State University. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/072   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historians refer to the Battle of Saratoga as the “turning point” of the American Revolution. They argue the Patriot Army’s defeat of British General John Burgoyne’s forces convinced the French to enter the War for Independence. Together, the Franco and American forces cornered Charles, Earl Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781 and ended the war. This is the quick version of Saratoga, but as we know, history is more complicated. Today, we explore the Saratoga Campaign of 1777 in more depth with Bruce M. Venter, author of The Battle of Hubbardton: The Rear Guard Action that Saved America. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/071   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.

How did enslaved African and African American women experience slavery? What were their daily lives like? And how do historians know as much as they do about enslaved women? Today, we explore the answers to these questions with Jennifer L. Morgan, a Professor of History and Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University and our guide for an investigation into how historians research history.    Doing History Series This episode is part of the "Doing History: How Historians Work" series.  “Doing History” episodes will introduce you to historians who will tell you what they know about the past and reveal how they came to their knowledge. Each episode will air on the last Tuesday of each month in 2016. This series is part of a partnership between Ben Franklin’s World and the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture.   Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/070   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian Ben Frankli

Law and order stood as a sign of civilization for many 17th-century Europeans, which is why some of the first European settlers in North America created systems of law and order in their new homeland. Today, we explore the legal history of colonial New England with Abby Chandler, author of Law and Sexual Misconduct in New England 1650-1750. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/069   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Abraham Lincoln grew up as the son of a poor farmer. Yet, he became the 16th President of the United States. How did the son of a poor farmer achieve election to the presidency? Today, we investigate the life of Abraham Lincoln and his journey to the presidency with Richard Brookhiser, author of Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/068   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aside from nice weather, what do California and Hawaii have in common? Spanish longhorn cattle. Today, we explore how Spanish longhorn cattle influenced the early American and environmental histories of California and Hawaii with John Ryan Fischer, author of Cattle Colonialism: An Environmental History of the Conquest of California and Hawaii. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/067   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did average, poor, and enslaved men and women live their day-to-day lives in the early United States? Today, we explore the answers to that question with Simon P. Newman, a Professor of History at the University of Glasgow and our guide for an investigation into how historians choose their research topics.    Doing History Series This episode is part of the "Doing History: How Historians Work" series.  “Doing History” episodes will introduce you to historians who will tell you what they know about the past and reveal how they came to their knowledge. Each episode will air on the last Tuesday of each month in 2016. This series is part of a partnership between Ben Franklin’s World and the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture.   Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/066   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin

History is about people, but what do we know about the people behind history’s scenes? Who are the people who tell us what we know about our past? How do they come to know what they know? Today, we begin our year-long “Doing History” series with a special bonus episode about historians and why they do the work that they do.   Doing History Series This episode is part of the "Doing History: How Historians Work" series.  “Doing History” episodes will introduce you to historians who will tell you what they know about the past and reveal how they came to their knowledge. Each episode will air on the last Tuesday of each month in 2016. This series is part of a partnership between Ben Franklin’s World and the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture.   Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/historians   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sig

Today, we explore espionage during the American Revolution and the origins and operations of the Culper Spy Ring with Alexander Rose, author of Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring and a historian, writer, and producer for AMC’s television drama TURN. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/065   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most early Americans practiced chattel slavery: the practice of treating slaves as property that people could buy, sell, trade, and use as they would draught animals or real estate. But, did you know that some early Americans practiced a different type of slavery? Today, we investigate the practice of Native American or indigenous slavery, a little-known aspect of early American history, with Brett Rushforth, author of Bonds of Alliance: Indigenous and Atlantic Slaveries in New France. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/064   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The American Civil War claimed more than 620,000 American lives. Did you know that it also cost American forests, landscapes, cities, and institutions? Today, we explore the different types of ruination wrought by the American Civil War with Megan Kate Nelson, author of Ruin Nation: Destruction and the American Civil War. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/063   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know that when James Madison originally proposed the Bill of Rights, it consisted of 36 amendments and that the House of Representatives did not want to consider or debate Madison’s proposed amendments to the Constitution? Today, we explore the Bill of Rights and its ratification with Carol Berkin, author of The Bill of Rights: The Fight to Secure America’s Liberties.   Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/062   Helpful Show Links Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign   Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you had only six years to enjoy retirement what would you do? Would you improve your plantation? Build canals? Or work behind-the-scenes to unite your country by framing a new central government? These were just some of the activities undertaken by George Washington during his brief retirement from public service between 1783 and 1789. Today, we explore the brief retirement of George Washington with Edward Larson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in history and author of The Return of George Washington, 1783-1789. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/061   Helpful Show Links Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did Washington really start the French and Indian War? Why should we remember a battle that took place over 260 years ago? In this episode, we investigate the answers to those questions as we explore the Battle of the Monongahela with David Preston, author of Braddock’s Defeat: The Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/060   Helpful Show Links Ask the Historian 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 *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices