Ben Franklin's World

What does it take to bring the American Revolution to life? How can an event that took place 250 years ago be conveyed to us through modern-day film? Ken Burns and his team worked to answer these questions in their new, epic six-part documentary, Ken Burns’ The American Revolution. Their work promises to deepen, complicate, and transform our understanding of the Revolution over 12 hours of film. But how did Burns and his team make this film? What stories did they choose to tell? And what challenges did they face in telling those stories? Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, the two co-directors of Ken Burns’ The American Revolution, join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of their film and how they made it. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/425 EPISODE OUTLINE00:00:00 Introduction00:03:09 Guest Introduction00:04:42 Becoming Involved in the Documentary00:07:57 Approach to Telling the Story of the Revolution 00:18:57 Images and Representation00:21:53 Challenges Faced00:27:03 Choosing Which Stories to Include00:39:00 Relevance and Meaning of the Revolution00:45:45 Time Warp00:52:15 ConclusionRECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 307: History and the American Revolution🎧 Episode 314: Native Americans in Early American Cities🎧 Episode 327: Ken Burns' Benjamin Franklin🎧 Episode 352: James Forten and the Making of the United States🎧 Episode 382: Hessians🎧 Episode 408: The Memory of 1776SUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.comWHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November 1775, as tensions between the British Empire and its rebellious colonies continued to escalate, Virginia’s royal governor made a radical—and to some, terrifying—proclamation: Any enslaved person who fled a revolutionary enslaver and joined the British Army would gain their freedom. Known to history as Dunmore’s Proclamation, this single decree changed the course of the American Revolution in the South. It offered a lifeline to thousands of enslaved men, women, and their families, ignited fierce debates about loyalty and liberty, and revealed deep contradictions at the heart of a revolution that claimed to fight for freedom. In honor of the 250th anniversary of Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation, we’re taking a deeper look at the man behind it: John Murray, Fourth Earl of Dunmore, and at the Revolution in Virginia, which he helped fuel. Our guide for this exploration is Andrew Lawler, an award-winning journalist and author of A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis that Spurred the American Revolution. Andrew's Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/424 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 109: The American Enlightenment & Cadwallader Colden🎧 Episode 162: Dunmore's New World🎧 Episode 252: The Highland Soldier in North America🎧 Episode 322: Running From Bondage in Revolutionary America🎧 Episode 333: Disruptions in Yorktown🎧 Episode 398: The Shawnee-Dunmore War, 1774SUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.comWHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. = Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What did it take to end the War for Independence? When we think of the American Revolution's final chapter, we think of the Siege of Yorktown. Between September 28 and October 19, 1781, British forces endured a siege by the Franco-American forces that ultimately led to a triumphant Franco-American victory, British recognition of American independence, and the birth of a new nation. But the real story of the Yorktown victory is far more layered. It involved international alliances, enslaved people seeking freedom, and years of hardship. Today, we're revisiting the events of October 1781 as we revisit Episode 333. In this episode, we join three historians–Marcus Nevius, Ed Ayers, and Gretchen Johnson– who help us uncover: Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/333 EPISODE OUTLINE 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:59 Siege of Yorktown 00:05:13 The British Military Approach 00:08:50 The Importance of Virginia's Regions 00:18:57 The Impact of War on Yorktown 00:28:03 Dunmore's Proclamation and the British Strategy 00:33:44 The British Invasion of Virginia 00:48:00 Aftermath and Legacy 00:55:49 Conclusion RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 162: Dunmore's New World 🎧 Episode 208: Turning Points of the American Revolution 🎧 Episode 250: Virginia, 1619 🎧 Episode 289: Maroonage in the Great Dismal Swamp 🎧 Episode 306: The Horse's Tail 🎧 Episode 332: Occupied Philadelphia SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

Have you ever noticed how conversations about the American Revolution often center on great battles, founding documents, and famous statesmen? What if, instead, we explored that world through the eyes—and the hands—of everyday people who shaped it through art? Zara Anishanslin, Associate Professor of History and Art History at the University of Delaware and Director of its Museum Studies and Public Engagement Program, joins us to uncover the hidden world of artists, artisans, and makers who painted, stitched, and crafted the Revolution into being. Drawing from her book The Painter's Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution, Zara helps us see how creativity and craftsmanship tell a fuller—and more human—story of America's founding. Zara's Website | Book | Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/423 EPISODE OUTLINE 00:00:00 Introduction 00:41.79 Welcome & Episode Overview 00:02:59 Meet Our Guest 00:07:11 The Transatlantic Network of Revolutionary Artists 00:11:28 Why Revolutionary Artwork Didn't Survive 00:14:13 Prince Demah & His Mother Daphny 00:21:21 How Art Patronage Worked in the 18th Century 00:24:01 Finding Prince Demah a Teacher in London 00:27:40 Life as a Black Artist in London 00:41:22 Prince Demah's Life in Revolutionary Boston 00:49:24 Robert Edge Pine: The English Artist Who Supported America 00:59:24 How Revolutionary Art Differs from Later Commemorative Art 01:04:55 What Artists Reveal About the Revolution 01:07:29 Closing Thoughts & Resources RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 084: How Historians Read Historical Sources 🎧 Episode 106: The World of John Singleton Copley 🎧 Episode 201: Art, Politics, and Everyday Life in Early America 🎧 Episode 299: Colonial Virginia Portraits 🎧 Episode 390: Objects of Revolution 🎧 Episode 422: Plantation Goods SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

What does it mean to be caught between two worlds? Between loyalty and liberty, artistry and commerce, and between the British North American colonies and the British Empire? We're revisiting our exploration of the life of John Singleton Copley, one of early America's most celebrated portrait artists. Copley's story reveals much about the upheaval of the American Revolution and the choices people made as events unfolded around them. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/106 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Bonus: The Boston Stamp Act Riots of 1765 🎧 Episode 075: How Archives Work (Paul Revere) 🎧 Episode 084: How Historians Read Historical Sources 🎧 Episode 136: Material Culture and the Making of America 🎧 Episode 201: Art, Politics, and Everyday Life in Early America 🎧 Episode 299: Colonial Virginia Portraits SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

When we talk about slavery in Early America, we often focus on plantations: their large, fertile fields, their cash crops, and the people who labored on those fields to produce those cash crops under conditions of enslavement. But what about the ordinary objects that made slavery work? The shoes, axes, cloth, and hoes? What can these everyday objects reveal about the economic and social systems that sustained slavery in the early United States? Seth Rockman, a Professor of History at Brown University and author of Plantation Goods: A Material History of Slavery, which was a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History, joins us to rethink how Northern manufacturing, labor, and commerce were entangled with the southern slave economy. Seth's Website | Book | Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/422 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Bonus: Lonnie Bunch: History & Historians in the Public 🎧 Episode 084: How Historians Read Historical Sources 🎧 Episode 244: Shoe Stories from Early America 🎧 Episode 281: The Business of Slavery 🎧 Episode 390: Objects of Revolution 🎧 Episode 406: Threads of Power SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

When we talk about slavery in Early America, we often focus on plantations: their large, fertile fields, their cash crops, and the people who labored on those fields to produce those cash crops under conditions of enslavement. But what about the ordinary objects that made slavery work? The shoes, axes, cloth, and hoes? What can these everyday objects reveal about the economic and social systems that sustained slavery in the early United States? Seth Rockman, a Professor of History at Brown University and author of Plantation Goods: A Material History of Slavery, which was a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History, joins us to rethink how Northern manufacturing, labor, and commerce were entangled with the southern slave economy. Seth’s Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/422 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Bonus: Lonnie Bunch: History & Historians in the Public🎧 Episode 084: How Historians Read Historical Sources🎧 Episode 244: Shoe Stories from Early America🎧 Episode 281: The Business of Slavery🎧 Episode 390: Objects of Revolution🎧 Episode 406: Threads of PowerSUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.comWHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we picture the early United States, we often imagine a young nation fighting for political independence. But what about economic independence—and what did it take to achieve it? Historian Lindsay Schakenbach Regele of Miami University in Ohio joins us to explore how manufacturing became central to the nation's post-Revolution identity. Drawing from her book Manufacturing Advantage: War, the State, and the Origins of American Industry, 1776–1848, Lindsay reveals how the federal government championed industries like firearms and textiles as tools of sovereignty, security, and self-reliance. Tune in to discover: This episode sheds light on the surprising role of government in jumpstarting the U.S. economy. Lindsay's Website | Book | Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/298 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 098: Birth of the American Tax Man 🎧 Episode 113: Building the Empire State 🎧 Episode 140: Nathaniel Bowditch 🎧 Episode 281: The Business of Slavery 🎧 Episode 292: Craft SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

When we picture the early United States, we often imagine a young nation fighting for political independence. But what about economic independence—and what did it take to achieve it? Historian Lindsay Schakenbach Regele of Miami University in Ohio joins us to explore how manufacturing became central to the nation's post-Revolution identity. Drawing from her book Manufacturing Advantage: War, the State, and the Origins of American Industry, 1776–1848, Lindsay reveals how the federal government championed industries like firearms and textiles as tools of sovereignty, security, and self-reliance. Tune in to discover: Why early leaders saw manufacturing as essential to independence. 2. How state-sponsored factories shaped key sectors like arms and textiles. 3. How these efforts laid the foundation for America’s industrial and social transformation This episode sheds light on the surprising role of government in jumpstarting the U.S. economy. Lindsay’s Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/298 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 098: Birth of the American Tax Man🎧 Episode 113: Building the Empire State🎧 Episode 140: Nathaniel Bowditch🎧 Episode 281: The Business of Slavery🎧 Episode 292: Craft SUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.comWHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if loyalty, not rebellion, was the default position in revolutionary British North America? It's easy to forget that before 1776, most colonists identified as proud Britons. They didn't see themselves as future Americans or revolutionaries; they saw themselves as subjects of a global empire. And in the colony of Georgia, many clung to that identity longer than we might expect. Greg Brooking, a historian of the American Revolution in the South and a high school history and social studies teacher, joins us to explore the American Revolution in Georgia with details from his book From Empire to Revolution: Sir James Wright and the Price of Loyalty in Georgia. Greg's Website | Book | Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/421 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 126: The Reintegration of American Loyalists 🎧 Episode 171: Native Americans, British Colonists, and Trade in North America 🎧 Episode 280: The British Are Coming 🎧 Episode 409: The Battles of Lexington & Concord, 1775 🎧 Episode 413: Dr. Joseph Warren & the Battle of Bunker Hill SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

When we think of the American Revolution, we often focus on the patriots who fought for independence. But what about the Loyalists—those who chose to remain faithful to the British crown? In this episode, we revisit a thought-provoking conversation with historian Brad Jones of Fresno State University, author of Resisting Independence: Popular Loyalism in the Revolutionary British Atlantic. Brad challenges the long-held view of Loyalists as passive or fearful, instead revealing Loyalism as a vibrant political identity shaped by faith, governance, and a broader sense of British belonging. Listen as we explore: Why the Revolution was also a civil war among neighbors. How Protestantism influenced Loyalist thought. What loyalty meant across the diverse communities of the British Atlantic. This episode offers a deeper, more nuanced view of the Revolution—and the people who resisted it. Brad's Website | Book | Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/330 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 119: The Heart of the Declaration 🎧 Episode 122: The Men Who Lost America 🎧 Episode 151: Defining the American Revolution 🎧 Episode 232: The Acadian Diaspora 🎧 Episode 238: Benedict Arnold 🎧 Episode 306: The Horse's Tail SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

When we think of the American Revolution, we often focus on the patriots who fought for independence. But what about the Loyalists—those who chose to remain faithful to the British crown? In this episode, we revisit a thought-provoking conversation with historian Brad Jones of Fresno State University, author of Resisting Independence: Popular Loyalism in the Revolutionary British Atlantic. Brad challenges the long-held view of Loyalists as passive or fearful, instead revealing Loyalism as a vibrant political identity shaped by faith, governance, and a broader sense of British belonging. Listen as we explore: Why the Revolution was also a civil war among neighbors. How Protestantism influenced Loyalist thought. What loyalty meant across the diverse communities of the British Atlantic. This episode offers a deeper, more nuanced view of the Revolution—and the people who resisted it.Brad’s Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/330RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 119: The Heart of the Declaration🎧 Episode 122: The Men Who Lost America🎧 Episode 151: Defining the American Revolution🎧 Episode 232: The Acadian Diaspora🎧 Episode 238: Benedict Arnold🎧 Episode 306: The Horse's Tail SUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.comWHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we think about the founding of the United States, we often focus on the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, and those first landmark elections. But how did the United States actually build its federal government, the entire apparatus of state that could collect revenue, manage international diplomacy, provide law and order, and extend its reach across a rapidly expanding nation? Who were the people who made that government work? And how did their service to the nation shape what it meant to be an American citizen? Peter Kastor, a Professor of History and American Cultural Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, and the Founder of the Creating a Federal Government, 1789-1829 digital project, joins us to explore the remarkable and often overlooked story of how the United States built its federal government between 1789 and 1829. Peter's Website | Digital Project | Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/420 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 098: Birth of the American Tax Man 🎧 Episode 202: The Early History of the United States Senate 🎧 Episode 279: The Cabinet: Creation of an American Institution 🎧 Episode 259: American Legal History 🎧 Episode 315: History and American Democracy 🎧 Episode 338: The Early History of the United States Senate 🎧 Episode 393: Politics and Political Culture in the Early American Republic SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

When we think about the founding of the United States, we often focus on the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, and those first landmark elections. But how did the United States actually build its federal government, the entire apparatus of state that could collect revenue, manage international diplomacy, provide law and order, and extend its reach across a rapidly expanding nation? Who were the people who made that government work? And how did their service to the nation shape what it meant to be an American citizen? Peter Kastor, a Professor of History and American Cultural Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, and the Founder of the Creating a Federal Government, 1789-1829 digital project, joins us to explore the remarkable and often overlooked story of how the United States built its federal government between 1789 and 1829. Peter’s Website | Digital Project |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/420 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 098: Birth of the American Tax Man🎧 Episode 202: The Early History of the United States Senate🎧 Episode 279: The Cabinet: Creation of an American Institution🎧 Episode 259: American Legal History🎧 Episode 315: History and American Democracy🎧 Episode 338: The Early History of the United States Senate 🎧 Episode 393: Politics and Political Culture in the Early American Republic SUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.comWHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Each September, Constitution Day marks the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. But beyond celebration, this commemoration invites deeper reflection: Whose voices helped shape this foundational document? And who was imagined as part of the political community it created? In honor of Constitution Day and Constitution Month, we're revisiting a pivotal conversation from Episode 339 with constitutional historian Mary Sarah Bilder. Drawing from her book, Female Genius: Eliza Harriot and George Washington at the Dawn of the Constitution, Mary challenges us to reconsider who influenced the Constitution and how women publicly engaged with its political possibilities. Join us as we explore: Eliza Harriot's advocacy for "female genius" and intellectual equality. Why the Constitution's gender-neutral language mattered. And, the debates over representation, education, and citizenship in 1787 Mary's Website | Book | Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/339 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 107: Madison's Hand 🎧 Episode 137: The Washingtons' Runaway Slave, Ona Judge 🎧 Episode 255: Birthright Citizens 🎧 Episode 259: American Legal History & the Bill of Rights 🎧 Episode 285: Elections & Voting in Early America SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

What happens when the very people meant to uphold justice become the ones exploiting it? In 1760s North Carolina, farmers watched sheriffs pocket their tax payments, judges rule in favor of corrupt land speculators, and government officials literally steal their land all while claiming to represent the Crown's interests. Nathan Schultz, a public historian and the Site Manager at the Alamance Battleground State Historic Site in North Carolina, joins us to explore the North Carolina Regulator Movement. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/419 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 330: Loyalism in the British Atlantic World 🎧 Episode 356: The Moravian Church in North America 🎧 Episode 373: The Gaspee Affair 🎧 Episode 374: The American Revolutionary War in the West 🎧 Episode 380: The Tory's Wife 🎧 Episode 409: The Battles of Lexington & Concord, 1775 SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

Revolutionary upheaval didn't just reshape governments—it transformed daily life for ordinary families across colonial America. In this revisited episode, historian Cynthia Kierner reveals the remarkable story of Jane Spurgin, a woman navigating loyalty, survival, and family obligations in Revolutionary-era North Carolina. Through Jane's experience as a Loyalist's wife, we discover how political conflicts reached into homes and communities, forcing women to make difficult choices between personal safety and family loyalty. As we prepare to explore the North Carolina Regulator Movement, Jane's story illuminates the human cost of colonial resistance and the often-overlooked voices of women caught in the crossfire of revolution. Guest: Cynthia Kierner, Professor of History at George Mason University and author of The Tory's Wife: A Woman and Her Family in Revolutionary America Cynthia's Website | Book | Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/380 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 085: American Loyalists in Canada 🎧 Episode 126: The Reintegration of American Loyalists 🎧 Episode 237: Motherhood in Early America 🎧 Episode 325: Everyday People of the American Revolution 🎧 Episode 330: Loyalism in the British Atlantic World SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

We often learn about slavery in early America through broad economic or political terms—cotton, sugar, markets, revolutions. But what happens when we turn our focus to the lived experiences of enslaved people themselves? What did slavery feel and look like on the ground? What did survival look like day to day? And what do we make of the enslaved people who were forced into positions of authority over others, like the plantation drivers who were tasked with extracting labor from their fellow enslaved workers? Randy Browne, an award-winning historian and Professor of History at Xavier University, joins us to investigate plantation slavery and its driving system with details from his book The Driver's Story: Labor and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery. Randy's Website | Book | Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/418 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 281: The Business of Slavery 🎧 Episode 282: Tacky's Revolt 🎧 Episode 289: Maroonage & the Great Dismal Swamp 🎧 Episode 295: The Whitney Plantation & Museum 🎧 Episode 312: The Domestic Slave Trade 🎧 Episode 324: New Netherland & Slavery SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

When we think about slavery in early America, we often rightfully focus on the human toll–the violence, the exploitation, the dehumanization that defined the institution. But slavery wasn't just a system of forced labor; it was also a business. Next week, in Episode 418, we'll be investigating a different facet of the business of slavery: the story of slave drivers–enslaved people who were forced or took up positions of authority over others. To better understand the system slave drivers operated within, I thought we should revisit Episode 281 with historian Caitlin Rosenthal. Caitlin is an Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley. Her book, Accounting for Slavery: Masters and Management, won the Simkins Award from the Southern Historical Association and the Economic Historical Society's First Book Prize. Caitlin's Website | Book Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/403 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 173: Colonial Port Cities & Slavery 🎧 Episode 176: The Value of the Enslaved from Womb to Grave 🎧 Episode 312: The Domestic Slave Trade 🎧 Episode 324: New Netherland and Slavery 🎧 Episode 386: Sleeping with the Ancestors 🎧 Episode 387: California and Slavery SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin's World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz's Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

When we think of early American champions of religious liberty, one name often rises above the rest: Roger Williams. Best known as the founder of Rhode Island and a fierce advocate for the separation of church and state, Williams was a man who defied convention at every turn. He turned down a prestigious post in Boston, challenged Puritan orthodoxy, and was ultimately banished—only to build a new colony rooted in his radical ideas of liberty of conscience and religious toleration. In this episode, we explore the life and legacy of this “nonconformist among nonconformists” with the co-editors of Reading Roger Williams: Rogue Puritans, Indigenous Nations, and the Founding of America: Linford Fisher, Associate Professor of History at Brown University Sheila McIntyre, Professor of History at SUNY Potsdam Julie Fisher, scholar of Native American history Together, they help us uncover: How Williams challenged both church and colonial authority His relationships with Indigenous communities and his work as a translator And why his ideas still matter for understanding religious freedom in America today. Guests' Book Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/417 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 118: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island🎧 Episode 290: The World of the Wampanoag, Pt. 1🎧 Episode 291: The World of the Wampanoag, Pt. 2🎧 Episode 356: The Moravian Church in North America🎧 Episode 373: The Gaspee Affair🎧 Episode 392: Religion and Race in Early America SUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s World REQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 Pandora CONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s Website SAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices