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

Today we address the President of the United States as “Mr. President.” But did you know that the proper title for the office was almost “His Highness the President?” Kathleen Bartoloni-Tuazon, author of For Fear of an Elective King, leads us on an exploration of the presidential title controversy of 1789, the first controversy to wrack the United States Congress. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/040 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

The American Revolution was a revolution against Parliament not a king. This is the idea offered by Eric Nelson in his new book The Royalist Revolution: Monarchy and the American Founding. We explore the royalist revolution and how it affected the American Revolution with Eric Nelson, Professor of Government at Harvard University. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/039   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

Are you ready to time travel? 2015 marks the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, a document created to limit the powers of King John of England and his successors in 1215. Today, Magna Carta and its four key principles continue to influence and inspire the governments of English-speaking countries around the world, including the United States and Canada. We explore Magna Carta and its long legacy with Carolyn Harris, author of Magna Carta and Its Gifts to Canada: Democracy, Law, and Human Rights. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/038   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 battle proved to be the turning point of the American War for Independence? If you answered Saratoga, you are in general agreement with most scholars of the American Revolution. General John Burgoyne’s surrender to the Continental Army on October 17, 1777 demonstrated to France that the American had what it took to defeat the British Army and France entered the war on the behalf of the United States. And with France came Spain.  Today, we explore the consequences of Spanish involvement in the War for American Independence with Kathleen DuVal, professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/037 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

How and where did the colonies of North America and the Caribbean fit within the British Empire? The answer to this question depends on whether you explore the views of a British imperial officer, such as the King of England, or a colonist who lived in one of the North American or Caribbean colonies. In today’s episode, Abigail Swingen, professor of history at Texas Tech University and author of Competing Visions of Empire: Labor, Slavery, and the Origins of the British Atlantic Empire, leads us on an exploration of how colonists and British imperial officers viewed the colonies and their place within the British Empire during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/036 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'

Who was the Marquis de Lafayette? How did he make the Patriots’ success in the American Revolution possible? And why did a group known as the Friends of Hermione-Lafayette in America build an exact replica of the French frigate that brought Lafayette to the United States? These are just some of the questions that Miles Young, President of the Friends of Hermione-Lafayette in America, will answer in this listener-requested episode. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/lafayette Ask the Historian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Washington Irving was an historian and writer. Some historians and biographers have called him the first great American author.  Today, Michael Lord, Director of Education at Historic Hudson Valley, joins us to explore the life of Washington Irving, his home, Sunnyside, and the historic Hudson Valley region that he immortalized in stories such as Diedrich Knickerbocker’s History of New York, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” and “Rip Van Winkle.” Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/035 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 Hero of New Orleans. Old Hickory. General. President of the United States. Andrew Jackson held and embodied all of these titles and nicknames.  During his lifetime, Jackson served as one of the most popular presidents and yet, today we remember him as a controversial figure given his views on slavery, Native Americans, and banks. Mark R. Cheathem, professor of history at Cumberland University and author of Andrew Jackson, Southerner, leads us on an exploration of the life and times of Andrew Jackson.  Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/034   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

When you think about George Washington, what image comes to mind? Washington the general? Washington the president? Perhaps, Washington the gentleman farmer of Mount Vernon? But did you know that George Washington loved to read? In this episode, we chat with Douglas Bradburn, the Founding Director of the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, which serves as the George Washington Presidential Library. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/033   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

What was everyday life like for average men and women in early America? Listeners ask this question more than any other question and today we continue to try to answer it. Michelle Marchetti Coughlin, author of One Colonial Woman's World: The Life and Writings of Mehetabel Chandler Coit, joins us to explore the life of an average woman who lived in early New England. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/032   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

Benjamin Franklin’s life spanned almost the entire 18th century.  Between his birth on January 17, 1706 and his death on April 17, 1790, Franklin lived well-traveled and accomplished life. Michael D. Hattem, research assistant for the Papers of Benjamin Franklin documentary editing project, leads us on an exploration of the life and deeds of Benjamin Franklin. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/031   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

You may know the stereotype of the “busibody New Englander,” the person who knows all about their neighbors’ private affairs.  This stereotype comes from the New England town-church ideal: The idea that ministers and congregants of the town church had a responsibility to maintain civic and moral order in their town. Shelby M. Balik, Assistant Professor of History at Metropolitan State University of Denver and author of Rally the Scattered Believers: Northern New England’s Religious Geography, joins us to explore the New England town-church ideal, how it helped New Englanders organize their towns, and why the post-Revolution migration into northern New England forced New Englanders to change and adapt how they maintained civic and moral order in their towns. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/030 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 A

Can you name the battle that took place between the United States Army and the Miami Confederacy on November 4, 1791? It's a trick question. You can’t name the battle because the victory has no name. Colin Calloway, Professor of History and Native American History at Dartmouth College, joins us to discuss how American settlement in the Ohio Valley led to The Victory with No Name: The Native American Defeat of the First American Army. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/029   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 can maps tell us about the past?  How do maps affect the way we view events such as the American Revolution? The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library has a new, traveling exhibition called We Are One: Mapping America’s Road from Revolution to Independence, which seeks to help us change the way we look at and explore the tumultuous events that led thirteen colonies to break away from Great Britain and forge a new nation.  Michelle LeBlanc, Director of Education and Public Programming at the Leventhal Map Center joins us to explore maps as historical documents and this amazing new exhibit. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/maps Ask the Historian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A “little short of madness.” That is how Thomas Jefferson responded when two delegates from New York approached him with the idea to build the Erie Canal in January 1809.  Jefferson’s comment did not discourage New Yorkers. On January 4, 1817, New York State began building a 363-mile long canal to link the Hudson River and Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes and the Midwest. Janice Fontanella, site manager of Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site in Fort Hunter, New York, joins us to discuss the Erie Canal, its construction, and the impact that this waterway made on New York and the United States. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/028 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

What do George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln have in common? They all grew-up in blended or stepfamilies.  Lisa Wilson, the Charles J. MacCurdy Professor of American History at Connecticut College and author of A History of Stepfamilies in Early America, leads us on an exploration of blended and stepfamilies in early America. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/027   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 drove George Washington to become a Patriot during the American Revolution? How did he overcome the ill-trained and inexperienced troops, inadequate pay, and supply problems that plagued the Continental Army to win the War for American Independence? Robert Middlekauff, professor emeritus of colonial and early United States history at the University of California, Berkeley, reveals the answers to these questions as we explore details from his book Washington’s Revolution: The Making of America’s First Leader. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/026   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 know who George Whitefield was? George Whitefield stood as one of the most visible figures in British North America between the 1740s and 1770. He was a central figure in the trans-Atlantic revivalist movement and a man whose legacy remains influential to evangelical Christians today. Historian Jessica Parr, author of Inventing George Whitefield: Race, Revivalism, and the Making of a Religious Icon, introduces us to the Reverend George Whitefield. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/025   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

In this bonus episode, we explore a listener requested topic of colonial inns and taverns by investigating the history of the oldest inn still in operation: Longfellow’s Wayside Inn.  The Wayside Inn served as the inspiration for Henry Wadsworth Longfellows poetry collection "Tales of a Wayside Inn," in which you will find his poem "The Landlord's Tale," better known as "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/wayside Ask the Historian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What can John Hancock’s suit tell you about the man who wore it? The clothing a person wears tells you a lot about them: Whether they are rich or poor, what kind of work they do, what colors they like, and what they value. We know that John Hancock was a wealthy merchant and prominent politician, but did you know that his suit reveals even more about his life and personality than the documents and portraits he left behind? Museum professional and textiles expert Kimberly Alexander joins us to explore the world of 18th-century fashion and material culture and what objects like John Hancock's suit communicate about the past.  Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/024 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