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

Between the 1830s and 1860s, a clandestine communications and transportation network called the “Underground Railroad” helped thousands of slaves escape to freedom. Today, we will investigate and explore this secret network with Eric Foner, a Pulitzer Prize winning historian and author of Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/059   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

Why do we refer to the men who founded the United States as the “founding fathers?” Why do we choose to remember the American Revolution as a glorious event that had almost universal, colonial support when in fact, the Revolution’s events were bloody, violent, and divisive? Today, we explore our memory of the American Revolution and how our memory of the event and its participants evolved with Andrew Schocket, author of Fighting over the Founders: How We Remember the American Revolution. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/058   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

Do you know what we have in common with our early American forebears? Taxes. As Benjamin Franklin stated in 1789, “nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Given the certainty of taxes it seems important that we understand how the United States’ fiscal system developed. Today, we explore the development of the early American fiscal system with Max Edling, Professor of History at King’s College, London and author of A Hercules in the Cradle: War, Money, and the American State, 1783-1867. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/057     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

Between 1754 and 1763, North Americans participated in the French and Indian War; a world war Europeans call the Seven Years’ War. As this world war raged, many South Carolinians, Virginians, Britons, and Cherokee people also fought a war for land, trade, and respect. Today, we explore the Anglo-Cherokee War with Daniel Tortora, author of Carolina in Crisis: Cherokees, Colonists, and Slaves in the American Southeast.   Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/056   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

Who was John Jay? Jay played important and prominent roles during the founding of the United States and yet, his name isn’t one that many would list if asked to name founding fathers. Today, we explore John Jay and his contributions to the founding of the United States with Robb Haberman, associate editor of The Selected Papers of John Jay documentary editing project.   Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/055   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 App Ben Franklin's World Android App Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States is a diverse nation of immigrants and their ancestors. With such diversity, and no one origination point for its people, how do we describe what the United States is and what its people stand for? What is the underlying ideological current that links Americans together regardless of their ancestral or regional diversity? We explore “American Exceptionalism” and the ideas it embodies with John D. Wilsey, author of American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion: Reassessing the History of an Idea. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/054   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 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 believe in the supernatural? In ghosts, zombies, or perhaps witches? Today we celebrate All Hallows Eve with an exploration of the specters and witches that haunted 17th-century Massachusetts. Our guide for this exploration is Emerson W. Baker, author of A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience.   Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/053   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 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

Much like the United States, the colonists of Saint Domingue (present-day Haiti) sought their independence from France by fighting a war and waging a revolution. However, unlike the Americans, the San Dominguans who fought the war and waged the revolution were predominantly African and Caribbean-born slaves. We explore the Haitian Revolution and the quest of both the United States and Saint Domingue to establish diplomatic and trade relations with each other. Our guide for this exploration is Ronald A. Johnson, a history professor at Texas State University and author of Diplomacy in Black and White: John Adams, Toussaint L’Ouverture, and Their Atlantic World Alliance. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/052     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 App Ben Franklin's World Android App   *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Fra

Located 600 miles inland from Philadelphia and over 700 miles from Québec City, early Detroit could have been a backwater, a frontier post that Europeans established to protect colonial settlements from Native American attacks. Yet Detroit emerged as a cosmopolitan entrepôt filled with many different peoples and all of the goods you would expect to find in early Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, or Charleston. Today, we explore the early history of Detroit with Catherine Cangany, an associate professor of history at the University of Notre Dame and author of Frontier Seaport: Detroit’s Transformation into an Atlantic Entrepôt. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/051   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 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 a

How did every day men and women experience life in colonial America? How did the American Revolution transform their work and personal lives? Today, we explore the answers to those questions by investigating the life of Betsy Ross with Marla Miller, professor of history at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and author of Betsy Ross and the Making of America. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/050   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 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

Why did England want to establish colonies in North America and how did Englishmen go about establishing them? We explore the early days of English settlement in North America with Malcolm Gaskill, Professor of History at the University of East Anglia and author of Between Two Worlds: How the English Became American. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/049   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 App Ben Franklin's World Android App   *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. *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

When we think about the War for American Independence many of us conjure images of Washington crossing the Delaware, Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown, or perhaps the freezing winters at Valley Forge or Jockey Hollow. What we don’t tend to think about are enemy prisoners of war, the British and German soldiers the patriot militia and Continental Army units captured during and after battles. Today, we explore the day-to-day experiences of British and German POWs during the War for Independence with Ken Miller, Associate Professor of History at Washington College and author of Dangerous Guests: Enemy Captives and Revolutionary Communities during the War for Independence. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/048   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 App Ben Franklin's World Android App   *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Fran

Where did the United States fit within the world between 1810 and 1847? After the United States secured its independence from Great Britain, many Americans looked at the world and wondered about their place within it. What role would early Americans play in shaping the world around them? Today, we explore early American conceptions of the world with Emily Conroy-Krutz, an Assistant Professor of History at Michigan State University and author of Christian Imperialism: Converting the World in the Early American Republic. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/047   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 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 caused the American Revolution? Can we use the term “American Revolution” to describe both the revolution and the War for Independence? What was the greatest challenge that George Washington and his Continental Army faced during the War for Independence? In this listener-requested episode, we dive deep into the American Revolution with John Ferling, professor emeritus at the University of West Georgia and author of Whirlwind: The American Revolution and the War That Won It. Show Notes Page: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/046 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 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

Many Americans associate the state of Utah with Mormons. But did you know the Mormons almost settled in Texas? Spencer McBride, an editor with the Joseph Smith Papers Documentary Editing Project, joins us to explore the life of Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism and the Church of Latter Day Saints. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/045   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 App Ben Franklin's World Android App   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you know which early American reform movement pushed for abolition, women’s rights, pacifism, and economic growth? Today, Adam Shprintzen, Assistant Professor of History at Marywood University and author of The Vegetarian Crusade: The Rise of an American Reform Movement, 1817-1921, takes us on a journey through the origins of vegetarianism and the Vegetarian reform movement in the United States. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/044   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 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 and when did doctors become respected professionals in American society? The answer lies in early Americans’ fascination with delirium tremens, or alcoholic insanity, and the Temperance Movement of the early-to-mid 19th century. Matthew Osborn, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and author of Rum Maniacs: Alcoholic Insanity in the Early Republic, leads us on an exploration of early American medical history and reform movements. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/043   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 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

“No Taxation Without Representation!” August 14, 2015 marks the 250th anniversary of the first Boston Stamp Act riot. Today’s bonus episode commemorates the anniversary with a conversation about the Stamp Act, the Boston riots, and the American Revolution with J.L. Bell, proprietor of Boston1775.net. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/stampact Ask the Historian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the Republican Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln? The United States has entered presidential primary season, which means it won’t be long before a Republican presidential candidate or a reporter mentions the birth of the ‘Grand Old Party’ in 1854 and its association with Lincoln. We explore the history of the Republican Party with Heather Cox Richardson, Professor of History at Boston College and author of To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/042   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 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 Canada almost join the American Revolution? In September 1775, Major-General Philip Schuyler launched the Patriot’s invasion into Canada. The Patriots hoped to end the threat of a British invasion from the north by occupying Canada and bringing the colony into the American Revolution. Did the Patriots’ plans work? Today, we discuss Canada and how the American Revolution played out there with Bruno Paul Stenson, an historian and musicologist with the Château de Ramezay historic site in Montréal. Château de Ramezay served as the headquarters for the American forces between 1775 and 1776. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/041   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 App Ben Franklin's World Android App   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices