The Old World with Will Tanner

51:45

Arthur Lee: The Forgotten Founder, Spy, and Diplomat...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/07/15

Without Arthur Lee, America would not have won the revolution: one of the earliest revolutionaries and most important pamphleteers, he became a spy and diplomat whose efforts secured the arms that won the battle of Saratoga. Yet now he is all but forgotten. Why? He was described by John Adams as a man too honest and intrepid to be popular, and the episode traces how that temperament shaped his career, a career that was integral to the Founding of America and victory in the American Revolution

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01:01:52

The Virginia Gentry: America's Only Aristocracy and...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/07/11

In this episode, Will discusses the history, formation, and immense accomplishments of the Virginia Gentry with J Burden. The two cover why the Virginian planter class was different from the planters of the Deep South and the WASPs of the North, making it the only real American aristocracy. They then cover how the famed "Virginia Cavalier" migration wave was true in a sense, and how it brought the concept of state, church, and property being unified to the Old Dominion. Building on that, they

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28:40

The Conway Cabal: Did Richard Henry Lee Betray George...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/07/05

This episode investigates the vital, lifelong partnership between George Washington and Richard Henry Lee, examining the persistent historical rumors that Lee sought to undermine the Commander in Chief in favor of General Nathanael Greene during the desperate winter at Valley Forge. Long before the whispers of the Conway Cabal or the publication of forged letters designed to divide them, their alliance was forged in the Northern Neck of Virginia and tested within the House of Burgesses, where they

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57:01

The First and Forgotten Founding Father: Richard...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/07/01

First of the Founding Fathers to openly call for independence, the first to call for union of the states, and the first to call for a bill of rights, Richard Henry Lee was one of the greatest Founding Fathers and is the Founder most remarkable for the number of "firsts" to his name. It was also Richard Henry Lee who authored the Westmoreland Resolves that led the field in organized and armed resistance to Britain, introduced the idea of Intercolonial Committees of Correspondence, was first chosen by

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40:00

Founding Brothers: How One Generation of Lees Won the...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/06/28

In the winter of 1750, the death of Thomas Lee left his six sons to inherit a massive empire of Tidewater land and transatlantic commerce—an inheritance that would ultimately forge them into the most formidable family alliance of the American Revolution. Steeped in the stern classical traditions of Greece and Rome, the five younger brothers—Thomas Ludwell, Richard Henry, Francis Lightfoot, William, and Arthur Lee—found themselves bound together by a shared Classical tradition, patriotic American

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47:25

Father of Four Founding Fathers: Thomas Lee of...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/06/25

How does a younger son, marginalized by primogeniture, forge America's most formidable revolutionary dynasty, siring four of the greatest Founding Fathers and two signers of the Declaration of Independence? This is the epic saga of Thomas Lee, the father of the Founding Fathers, builder of Stratford Hall, and great frontier fortune builder. Listen ad-free here: https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/father-of-four-founding-fathers-thomas Before his sons shook the foundations of the British Empire,

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46:27

The Reluctant Patriarch: Richard Lee II and the Lees...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/06/21

This is the tale of how the Lee Family of Virginia became a fledgling American aristocracy after Richard Lee I died in 1664, leaving behind the foundations of a great family fortune: a large commercial and landholding empire divided between Virginia and London. In this episode, we dive into how Richard Lee II, known as Richard the Scholar, became the patriarch and guided his family into becoming a dynasty, while navigating crises like Bacon's Rebellion and the Glorious Revolution, always working to

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32:09

The Lee Family of Virginia: Descended from a Norman...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/06/17

This episode examines the Lee family of Virginia and their claim to descend from a Norman named Reynard de Lega through the landed gentry of Shropshire, namely the Lees of Coton Hall and Nordley Regis, the arms of whom they long claimed, and to whom they insisted they were related. It traces the evidence that supported the pedigree, including a silver cup, a Latin inscription, a tombstone, heraldic writing, and a family Bible, all of which helped persuade the College of Heralds to confirm the Lee

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52:01

Richard Lee I, the Emigrant: Founder of the Lees of...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/06/13

This is the story of the dynast who founded the Lee Family of Virginia: Richard Lee I, also known as Richard Lee the Emigrant. In it we tell the story of his rise in Virginia, from his start as a Clerk of the Quarter Court and Indian trader to his time as great landed proprietor and Secretary of State of Virginia. We discuss his marriage to Anne Constable, how he accumulated landed wealth on a massive scale, and how he survived the Commonwealth and the Restoration. It's an exciting tale of frontier

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51:19

Who Were the First Families of Virginia?

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/06/10

This episode introduces the First Families of Virginia, explaining how a small group of younger sons of the gentry and merchant families became a class of elite colonial families came to dominate first the Tidewater, and then Virginia. It begins by describing how younger sons hoped to rebuild themselves as landed gentlemen in the New World, and then discusses the debate over whether these First Families of Virginia were truly "Cavaliers" or whether that label stems from a later legend meant to

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58:09

What Was Life Like Growing Up in Rhodesia During the...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/06/07

Listen ad-free here: https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/what-was-life-like-growing-up-in If you are interested in what life was like in Rhodesia in the 1970s, during the height of the Bush War, from the perspective of a woman who grew up on a frontline farm often attacked, this is the interview for you! In this show, Alice Henningway tells Will what life was like in Rhodesia, where she grew up during the Bush War in the 1970s. Alice and Will discuss the dangerous reality of life on a farm

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02:11:22

The Virginia Series Sources: What Books about...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/06/03

These are the works I read to study and learn about the history of Virginia, from the earliest days of colonization into the modern, postbellum era. Collectively, these are a good way of learning about practically every aspect of the Old Dominion over that time period, from managing a plantation and Cavalier culture, to the mechanics of politics in the state and Westward expansion. In this video, I discuss which ones are best for getting a general history of the state, learning about the

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01:05:14

The Knights of the Golden Circle: A Secret...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/05/31

This is the tale of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a pro-slavery, semi-secret, and paramilitary society in the 1850s and early 1860s that aimed to conquer a vast territorial sphere comprising much of the Caribbean world, centered on Havana, and used filibustering in an attempt to realize that immense dream of a tropical empire built on slavery. In it, Will and Clossington explore the history, foundation, and structure of the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe. We discuss its roots in earlier

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01:06:48

Building Christian Heroes with Chase Davis

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/05/27

In this episode, Will and J. Chase Davis discuss his new book, Offensive Christianity, through the lens of where the modern church went wrong, and how to reclaim the Christian spirit of days past. They discuss the egalitarian drift of the church and where it began, how the Enlightenment and rise of democracy played into that drift, and what we can do about it. They comment on steady state Christian society versus a fervent Christian society that burns itself out, the Puritans, monarchy, and the

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34:13

The Real Story of Pocahontas: Betrayed by Her People,...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/05/24

This is the true story of Pocahontas, not the Disney one. This is the tale of a beloved little princess in the Powhatan Confederacy named Matoaka known for her curiosity, hence the nickname "Pocahontas" that became invariably associated with the tale of Virginia's earliest days. She was used in a game of high-stakes frontier diplomacy with John Smith that turned into a legend of lovestruck sacrifice, she was sold to Samuel Argall by her own people for a copper kettle during the Anglo-Powhatan War,

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33:38

The Cradle of the Revolution: How Virginia's Greatest...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/05/20

Listen ad-free here: https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/the-cradle-of-the-revolution-how In this show, Will argues that Virginia, rather than Massachusetts, was the cradle of the American Revolution. To do so, he begins with the French and Indian War, describing the cost of it to both Virginia and Britain, and how it led to the Stamp Act, one of the key causes of the American Revolution. He then explains why the Stamp Act's silver currency requirement was particularly harmful to the agrarian,

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50:10

The Life of John Smith: Virginia's First Hero

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/05/18

In this episode, Will tells the tale of the life of John Smith, the mercenary-turned-explorer who was the first great Virginia hero. This is the tale of how Smith won his knighthood by defeating three Ottoman Turks in single combat, how he ended up as a leader in the original settlement of Virginia, and how his lasting legacy was the map he made out of his own explorations. Will also discusses why Pocahontas saved John Smith, how Smith saved Jamestown, and his legacy in mapping New England, along

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30:02

John Rolfe: How the Hero Twice Saved Virginia

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/05/13

Listen ad-free and access the transcript here: ⁠https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/john-rolfe-the-hero-who-twice-saved⁠ This is the tale of the heroic John Rolfe, the English farmer and gentleman who saved the fledgling colony of Virginia not once, but twice. In this episode, we describe how Rolfe smuggled Orinoco tobacco into Virginia, and used his unique skills to learn how to cultivate it and save the broke colony from financial collapse. We then tell the true story of Rolfe's fairy

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38:53

The Golden Age: How the Virginia Gentry Cultivated...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/05/10

This is the story of Colonial Virginia in its fullest flowering. From its unique culture to its excellent people, from the glorious Georgian mansions for which it is still remembered to the political leaders its tobacco plantations produced, this is how the special society that grew out of the Virginia Tidewater turned into the cradle of the American Revolution. Particularly, we discuss why the Virginia gentry produced such excellent leaders as it did, and how the culture of leadership and command,

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30:40

The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe: The Birth of...

The Old World with Will Tanner ·

2026/05/06

The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe: 12 Virginia Gentlemen who embarked upon the Transmontane Expedition with Governor Alexander Spotswood as he sought to open new lands to settlement, defeat the attempt of the French to box Virginia in, and bend the Topping People to his will. A romantic adventure story populated by frontier guides, swaggering Cavaliers, and a frolicking tavern of an expedition through primeval forests! It is a riotous tale of high living on the frontier, from the travelling

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