Ben Franklin's World

Ben Franklin's World

A Podcast About Early American History

Episode 166: Freedom and the American Revolution

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The Declaration of Independence described “all men” as “created equal” when its authors knew they were not. So was the revolutionary idea of freedom dependent on slavery? In this last episode of the Doing History: To the Revolution series we return to the place our series began: the world of Paul Revere. We speak with Christopher Cameron, an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, to discuss how Phillis … [Read more...]

Episode 165: The Age of Revolutions

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Between 1763 and 1848, revolutions took place in North America, South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. But why is it that we only seem to remember the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Haitian Revolution? Given that the American Revolution took place before all of these other revolutions, what was its role in influencing this larger “Age of Revolutions?” Did it influence this larger period? Our exploration of … [Read more...]

Episode 164: The American Revolution in the Age of Revolutions

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The American Revolution took place within a larger period known today as the “Age of Revolutions.” What does the Revolution look like when we place it within this larger context? Did it really help foment the many other failed and successful revolutions that took place during the period? Over the next two episodes of the Doing History: To the Revolution series, we’ll explore answers to these questions by taking a closer look at how the … [Read more...]

Episode 163: The American Revolution in North America

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When we think about North America during the American Revolution, most of our brains show us images of eastern Canada and the thirteen British American colonies that waged a revolution and war for independence against Great Britain. But what about the rest of the North American continent? What about the areas that we know today as the midwest, the Great Plains, the southwest, the west, and the Pacific Northwest? What about Alaska? What went on … [Read more...]

Episode 162: Dunmore’s New World: The British Empire and the American Revolution

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What did British imperial officials in London and their North America-based representatives make of the American Revolution? In this episode, we explore the American Revolution through the eyes of John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, a British imperial official who served the empire in North America before, during, and after the American Revolution. James Corbett David, author of , serves as our guide for this exploration.   Listen … [Read more...]

Episode 160: The Politics of Tea

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How did early Americans go from hosting social tea parties to hosting protests like the Boston Tea Party? Tea played a central role in the economic, cultural, and political lives of early Americans. As such, tea came to serve as a powerful symbol of both early American culture and of the American Revolution. In this episode of the Doing History: To the Revolution series, Jane Merritt, Jennifer Anderson, and David Shields take us on an … [Read more...]

Episode 159: The Revolutionary Economy

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How much merit do the economic factors behind the cry “No Taxation Without Representation” have when we consider the origins of the American Revolution? In this episode of the Doing History: To the Revolution series we begin a 3-episode exploration of different aspects of the early American economy and what roles these economic aspects played in causing the American Revolution. Serena Zabin, a Professor of History at Carleton College and … [Read more...]

Episode 158: The Revolutionaries’ Army

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Between 1775 and 1783, an estimated 230,000 men served in the Continental Army with another approximately 145,000 men serving in state militia units. Who were the men who served in these military ranks? What motivated them to take up arms and join the army? And what was their military experience like? In this episode of the Doing History: To the Revolution series, we explore the development of the Continental Army, partisan militia groups, … [Read more...]

Episode 157: The Revolution’s African American Soldiers

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Between 1775 and 1783, an estimated 230,000 men served in the Continental Army with another approximately 145,000 men serving in state militia units. But who were the men who served in these military ranks? What motivated them to take up arms and join the army? And what was their military experience like? In this episode of the Doing History: To the Revolution series, we begin a 2-episode exploration of some of the military aspects of the … [Read more...]

Episode 156: The Power of the Press in the American Revolution

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How did Americans find out about the Revolution? What effect did printed materials like newspapers, pamphlets, and books have on shaping the debate about independence? And just how big of a role did Thomas Paine’s Common Sense play in causing Americans to declare their independence from Great Britain? In this episode of the Doing History: To the Revolution! series, we explore these question with four scholars of Revolutionary communication: … [Read more...]

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