Ben Franklin's World

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 World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App   Complementary Episodes Episode 018: Danielle Allen, Our Declaration Episode 062: Carol Berkin, The Bill of Rights Episode 113: Brian Murphy, Building the Empire State (Political Economy) Episode 117: Annette Gordon-Reed, The Life and Ideas of Thomas Jefferson   *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

31 Jan 201756min

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 Episode 064: Brett Rushforth, Native American Slavery in New France Episode 083: Jared Hardesty, Unfreedom: Slavery in Colonial Boston Bonus: Lonnie Bunch, History & Historians in the Public (National Museum of African American History and Culture)   *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

24 Jan 201757min

Thomas Jefferson wrote about liberty and freedom and yet owned over six hundred slaves during his lifetime. He’s a founder who many of us have a hard time understanding. This why we need an expert to lead us through his life, so we can better understand who Jefferson was and how he came to his seemingly paradoxical ideas about slavery and freedom. Annette Gordon-Reed, a professor of history and legal history at Harvard University and the winner of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for her work on Thomas Jefferson and the Hemings Family, leads us on an exploration through the life and ideas of Thomas Jefferson.
 Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/117   Sponsor Links Cornell University Press Margaret Newell, Brethren by Nature   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 027: Lisa Wilson, A History of Stepfamilies in Early America Episode 026: Robert Middlekauff, George Washington's Revolution Episode 033: Douglas Bradburn, George Washington and His Library Episode 061: Edward Larson, George Washington in Retirement Episode 096: Nicholas Guyatt, The Origins of Racial Segregation in the United States Episode 107: Mary Sarah Bilder, Madison's Hand   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Jan 201747min

When we think of the French and Indian, or Seven Years’ War, we often think of battles: The Monongahela, Ticonderoga, Québec. Yet, wars aren’t just about battles. They’re about people and governments too. In this episode, we explore a very different aspect of the French and Indian or Seven Years’ War. We explore the war through the lens of disease and medicine and how disease prompted the British government to take steps to keep its soldiers healthy. Our guide for this investigation is Erica Charters, an Associate Professor of the History of Medicine at the University of Oxford and author of Disease, War, and the Imperial State: The Welfare of British Armed Forces during the Seven Years’ War. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/048   Sponsor Links Cornell University Press Episode 109: John Dixon, The Enlightenment of Cadwallader Colden   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 060: David Preston, Braddock’s Defeat Episode 086: George Goodwin, Benjamin Franklin in London Episode 091: Gregory Dowd, Rumors, Legends, and Hoaxes in Early America Episode 108: Ann Little, The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright   *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

10 Jan 201747min

Like many states in the south and west, Texas has an interesting early American past that begins with Native American settlement followed by Spanish colonization. It's also a state that was an independent nation before being admitted to the United States. Today we explore Texas’ intriguing early American history with Andrew Torget, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Texas and author of Seeds of Empire: Cotton, Slavery, and the Transformation of the Texas Borderlands, 1800-1850. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/115   Sponsor Links Cornell University Press Episode 046: Ken Miller, Dangerous Guests Episode 047: Emily Conroy-Krutz, Christian Imperialism   Complementary Episodes Episode 067: John Ryan Fischer, Environmental History of Early California & Hawaii Episode 075: Rinker Buck, The Oregon Trail Episode 090: Caitlin Fitz, Age of Revolutions     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

3 Jan 201755min

Throughout the “Doing History: How Historians Work” series we’ve explored how historians find and research historical topics, how they identify and read historical sources for information, and how they publish their findings so others can know what they know about the past. But not all historians work to publish their findings about history in books and articles. Some historians work to convey knowledge about history to the public in public spaces and in public ways. Therefore, we conclude the “Doing History: How Historians Work” series with a look at how historians do history for the public with guest historian Lonnie Bunch, the Founding Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.   About the 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.   Partner Links Omohundro Institute OI Reader Doing History series   Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/museums   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 011: Jessica Baumert, The Woodlands Historic Site of Philadelphia Episode 028: Janice Fontanella, The Erie Canal (Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site) Episode 033: Douglas Bradburn, George Washington & His Library Episode 035: Michael Lord, Historic Hudson Valley & Washington Irving Episode 041: Bruno Paul Stenson, Canada & the American Revolution (Château Ramesay) Episode 079: Jim Horn, What is a Historical Source? (Historic Jamestown) Episode 103: Sara Bon-Harper, James Monroe and His Highland Estate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Des 201636min

History has a history and genealogy has a history. And the histories of both affect how and why we study the past and how we understand and view it. Today, we explore why it’s important for us to understand that the practices and processes of history and genealogy have histories by exploring what the history of genealogy reveals about the early American past. Our guide for this exploration is Karin Wulf, a Professor of History at the College of William & Mary and the Director of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture.   About the 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/114   Partner Links Omohundro Institute OI Reader Doing History series Karin's article "Bible, King, and Common Law" is available on the OI Reader   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   Complementary Episodes Episode 070: Jennifer Morgan, How Historians Research Episode 084, Zara Anishanslin, How Historians Read Historical Sources Episode 110: Joshua Taylor, How Genealogists Research Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

27 Des 201650min

After seven, long years of occupation, Americans found New York City in shambles after the British evacuation on November 25, 1783. Ten to twenty-five percent of the city had burned in 1776. The British used just about every building that remained to billet officers, soldiers, refugees, and their horses. Plus more refugees and animals crammed into vacant lots, streets, and alleyways. New York City stood in need of a lot of repair. Which raises the question: How did New Yorkers rebuild New York City? Where did they get the money to rebuild, improve, and encourage the economic development that would transform the city into the thriving metropolis and economic hub that it would be come? Brian Murphy, an Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University-Newark, takes us through part of this amazing story with details from his book Building the Empire State: Political Economy in the Early Republic. Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/113   Episode Sponsor Cornell University Press     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   Complementary Episodes Episode 028: Janice Fontanella, The Erie Canal Episode 088: Michael McDonnell, The History of History Writing (What is Historiography) Episode 111: Jonathan Eacott, India in the Making of Britain and America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Des 201648min