Ben Franklin's World

Ben Franklin's World

A Podcast About Early American History

Episode 248: BFW Road Trip: Washington, D.C., NMAAHC

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Not all historians publish their findings about history in books and articles. Some historians convey knowledge about history to the public in public spaces and in public ways. 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 & Culture. This episode … [Read more...]

Episode 247: BFW Road Trip: New York, Schoharie Crossing

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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 … [Read more...]

Episode 246: BFW Road Trip: Montréal, Château Ramezay

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Did Canada almost join the American Revolution? Bruno Paul Stenson, a historian and musicologist with the Château de Ramezay historic site in Montréal, joins us to discuss how the American Revolution played out in Canada. This episode originally posted as Episode 041.   Listen Now   About the Show Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history. It is a show for people who love history and for those … [Read more...]

Episode 245: Celebrating the Fourth

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It wasn’t always fireworks on the Fourth. John Adams predicted Americans would celebrate the Second of July, the day Congress voted in favor of independence, "with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other." He got the date wrong, but he was right about the festivities in commemoration of Independence Day. And yet July Fourth events have changed a great deal since … [Read more...]

Episode 244: Kimberly Alexander, Shoe Stories from Early America

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There’s an old saying that tells us we should walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. It’s a reminder that we should practice empathy and try to understand people before we cast judgement. As it happens, this expression is right on the mark because it seems when we use shoes as historical objects, we can learn a LOT about people and their everyday lives and actions. Kimberly Alexander, museum specialist, lecturer at the University of New … [Read more...]

Episode 243: Joseph Adelman, Revolutionary Print Networks

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For the American Revolution to be successful, it needed ideas people could embrace and methods for spreading those ideas. It also needed ways for revolutionaries to coordinate across colonial lines. How did revolutionaries develop and spread their ideas? How did they communicate and coordinate plans of action? Joseph Adelman, an Assistant Professor of History at Framingham State University and author of Revolutionary Networks: The Business … [Read more...]

Episode 242: David Young, A History of Early Delaware

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Delaware may be the second smallest state in the United States, but it has a BIG, rich history that can tell us much about the history of early America. David Young, the Executive Director of the Delaware Historical Society, joins us to explore the early American history of Delaware from its Native American inhabitants through its emergence as the first state in the United States.   Listen Now   About the Show Ben … [Read more...]

Episode 241: Molly Warsh, Pearls & the Nature of the Spanish Empire

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In 1492, Christopher Columbus’ voyage across the Atlantic linked Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean. As Columbus’ sponsor, Spain became the first European power to use the peoples, resources, and lands of the Americas and Caribbean as the basis for its Atlantic Empire. How did this empire function and what wealth was Spain able to extract from these peoples and lands? Molly Warsh, an Associate Professor of History at the University of … [Read more...]

Episode 240: Flora Fraser, Biography & a Biographer’s Work

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Have you ever had one of those really interesting conversations where the person was so fascinating that you wished the conversation didn’t have to end? Flora Fraser joins us for one of those conversations. We’ll talk about biography, and in doing so, she’ll tell us what it was like to grow up as the daughter and granddaughter of two famed, British biographers and about the genre of biography and how it developed in the United … [Read more...]

Episode 239: Joseph Adelman, Post & Travel in Early America

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How did the postal system work in Early America? How did people send mail across the North American colonies and the British Empire? You sent these questions for Episode 200: Everyday Life in Early America. You also said you wanted to know more about transportation in early America. Joseph Adelman, an Assistant Professor of History at Framingham State University and author of Revolutionary Networks: The Business and Politics of Printing, … [Read more...]

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