Two Country Boys and the Making of a Harvard Legacy

On this episode of Our American Stories, Harvard is often defined by its oldest traditions and its most privileged stories, but some of its lasting influence came from students who began far from that world. James Bradley Thayer and Chauncey Wright grew up in the rural corners of Massachusetts at a time when Harvard seemed reserved only for Boston’s elite. Their path into the university reshaped their lives in uneven ways, revealing how talent, timing, and circumstance can intersect. Andrew Porwancher traces how these two boys reached Harvard Yard and their ongoing legacy.

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