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PODCAST

Ben Franklin"s World

This is a multiple award-winning podcast about early American history. It’s a show for people who love history and who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world. Each episode features conversations with professional historians who help shed light on important people and events in early American history.

history

All Episodes

01:15:56

227 Copyright & Fair Use in Early America

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2019/02/26

In the 21st century, we are all creators and users of content. We take original photos with our smartphones, generate blog posts, digital videos, and podcasts. Some of us write books and articles. And nearly everyone contributes content to social media. Given all of the information and content we generate and use, it’s really important for us to understand the principles of copyright and fair use, principles that have an early American past. Kyle Courtney, a lawyer, librarian, and Copyright Advisor

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01:01:07

226 Making the State of South Carolina

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2019/02/19

What do we mean by “the state?” How is a “state” produced? Is “the state” something everyone can participate in producing? Ryan Quintana, an Associate Professor of History at Wellesley College and the author of Making a Slave State: Political Development in Early South Carolina, joins us to answer these questions with a look at the creation and development of the State of South Carolina. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/226 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute William and Mary Quarterly

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51:12

225 The Poison Plot: Adultery and Murder in Colonial...

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2019/02/12

In 1738, a cooper named Benedict Arnold petitioned the Rhode Island General Assembly for a divorce from his wife Mary Ward Arnold. Benedict claimed that Mary had taken a lover and together they had attempted to murder him with poison. How did this story of love, divorce, and attempted murder unfold? What does it reveal about the larger world of colonial America and the experiences of colonial American men and women? Elaine Forman Crane, a Distinguished Professor of History at Fordham University,

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57:00

224 Aquatic Culture in Early America

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2019/02/05

The Atlantic World has brought many disparate peoples together, which has caused a lot of ideas and cultures to mix. How did the Atlantic World bring so many different peoples and cultures together? How did this large intermixing of people and cultures impact the development of colonial America? Kevin Dawson, an Associate Professor of History at the University of California-Merced and author of Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora, joins us to explore answers to these

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01:07:10

223 A Native American History of the Ohio River...

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2019/01/29

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Ohio River Valley proved to be a rich agrarian region. Many different Native American peoples prospered from its land both in terms of the the land’s ability to produce a wide variety of crops and its support of a wide variety of small fur-bearing animals for the fur trade. Susan Sleeper-Smith, a Professor of History at Michigan State University and author of Indigenous Prosperity and American Conquest: Indian Women and the Ohio River Valley, 1690-1792, helps

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01:10:08

222 The Early History of Washington, D.C.

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2019/01/22

Have you ever wondered how the capital of the United States came to be situated at Washington D.C.? The banks of the Potomac River represent an odd place to build a national city, a place that would not only serve as the seat of government for the nation, but also as an economic, cultural, and intellectual hub. Still in 1790, the United States Congress passed the Residence Act and mandated that it would establish a new, permanent capital along the banks of the Potomac River. Why? Adam Costanzo, a

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54:35

221 The Culinary Adventures of Benjamin Franklin

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2019/01/15

Can food help us better understand the people and events of the past? Can we better understand a person like Benjamin Franklin and who he was by the foods he ate? Rae Katherine Eighmey, an award-winning food historian, author, and cook, joins us to explore the culinary tastes and habits of Benjamin Franklin and colonial British Americans with details from her book Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin: A Founding Father’s Culinary Adventures. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/221

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01:14:25

220 New England Indians, Colonists, & the Origins of...

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2019/01/08

Did you know that one of the earliest practices of slavery by English colonists originated in New England? In fact, Massachusetts issued the very first slave code in English America in 1641. Why did New Englanders turn to slavery and become the first in English America to codify its practice? Margaret Ellen Newell, a professor of history at The Ohio State University and the author of Brethren By Nature: New England Indians, Colonists, and the Origins of American Slavery, joins us to investigate

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51:01

219 Taverns in Early America

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2019/01/01

Inns and taverns played prominent roles in early American life. They served the needs of travelers who needed food to eat and places to sleep.They offered local communities a form of poor relief. And they functioned as public spaces where men could gather to discuss news, organize movements, and to drink and play cards. Adrian Covert, author of Taverns of the American Revolution, helps us explore taverns and the many roles they played in early American life. Show

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41:38

218 How the Dutch Brough Us Santa, Presents, & Treats

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2018/12/25

Have you ever wondered where the Christmas traditions of stockings, presents, and cookies come from? What about jolly, old Saint Nicholas? Who was he and why do we often call him Santa Claus? Peter G. Rose, culinary historian of Dutch foodways in North America and author of Delicious December: How the Dutch Brought Us Santa, Presents, and Treats joins us to discuss the origins of Santa Claus and edible goodies such as cookies in the United States. This episode originally posted as Episode 009.

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49:17

217 Slavery and Freedom in Early Maryland

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2018/12/18

How do you uncover the life of an enslaved person who left no paper trail? What can the everyday life of an enslaved person tell us about slavery, how it was practiced, and how some enslaved people made the transition from slavery to freedom? We explore the life of Charity Folks, an enslaved woman from Maryland who gained her freedom in the late-18th century. Our guide through Charity’s life is Jessica Millward, an Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine and author of

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43:33

216 A History of Stepfamilies in Early America

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2018/12/11

What do George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln have in common? They all grew-up in blended or stepfamilies. Lisa Wilson, the Charles J. MacCurdy Professor of American History at Connecticut College and author of A History of Stepfamilies in Early America, takes us through the creation and interactions of blended and stepfamilies in early America. This episode originally posted as Episode 027. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/216 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute

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52:00

215 A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2018/12/04

We tend to view gay marriage as a cultural and legal development of the 21st century. But did you know that some early Americans lived openly as same-sex married couples? Rachel Hope Cleves, a Professor of History at the University of Victoria in British Columbia and author of Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America, reveals the story of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, women who lived as a married couple in Weybridge, Vermont between 1807 and 1851. This episode originally posted

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55:59

214 Skpeticism and American Faith

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2018/11/27

Was the early United States a “Christian nation?” Did most of its citizenry accept God and the Bible as the moral authority that bound them together as one nation? Scholars have taken a binary stance on these questions. Some argue that early America was a thoroughly religious place and that even those who didn’t attend church were on the same basic page as those who did. While others argue early America boasted an increasingly secularized society. Christopher Grasso, a professor of history at

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58:12

213 The Pilgrims of Plimoth

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2018/11/20

In 1621, the Pilgrims of Plimoth Colony and their Wampanoag neighbors came together to celebrate their first harvest. Today we remember this event as the first Thanksgiving. But what do we really know about this holiday and the people who celebrated it? So much of what we know about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving comes to us through myth and legend, which is why Rebecca Fraser, author of The Mayflower: The Families, The Voyage, and the Founding of America, joins us to help suss out fact

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01:09:02

212 Researching Biography (Doing History)

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2018/11/13

How do historians and biographers reconstruct the lives of people from the past? Good biographies rely on telling the lives of people using practiced historical methods of thorough archival research and the sound interrogation of historical sources. But what does this practice of historical methods look like? In this final episode of the Omohundro Institute’s Doing History series about biography, Erica Dunbar, the Charles and Mary Beard Professor of History at Rutgers University and author of Never

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52:36

Bonus: The Washingtons' Runaway Slave, Ona Judge

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2018/11/09

As part of the Omohundro Institute's Doing History series on biography, Episode 212 offers us a new conversation with Erica Dunbar, the author of Never Caught: The Washington’s Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave Ona Judge. The new episode will explore how historians and biographers reconstruct the lives of people from the past using the story of Ona Judge. In preparation for this new episode, here is our original conversation with Erica Dunbar about Ona Judge. Show

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01:10:46

211 Considering John Marshall, Part 2 (Doing History)

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2018/11/06

Can a biography help us explore big historical questions? Can knowing about the life of John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, help us better understand the Supreme Court and how it came to occupy the powerful place it has in the United State government? The Doing History: Biography series continues and explores these questions with Richard Brookhiser, author of John Marshall: The Man Who Made The Supreme Court. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/211

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01:15:46

210 Considering John Marshall, Part 1 (Doing History)

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2018/10/30

For 34 years, John Marshall presided as the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. During his service, Marshal transformed the nation’s top court and its judicial branch into the powerful body and co-equal branch of government we know it as today. The Doing History: Biography series continues as Joel Richard Paul, a professor of law at the University of California, Hastings Law School and author of Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times, joins us to explore the life

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01:35:59

209 Considering Biography (Doing History)

Ben Franklin"s World ·

2018/10/23

Biography. Since the earliest days of the United States, and even before the thirteen colonies came together to forge a nation, Americans have been interested in biography. But why? What is it about the lives of others that makes the past so interesting and fun to explore? This episode marks the start of the Omohundro Institute’s 4-episode Doing History series about biography. This series will take us behind-the-scenes of biography and how historians and biographers reconstruct the lives of people

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