

Ben Franklin's World
Liz Covart
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.
Each episode features conversations with professional historians who help shed light on important people and events in early American history.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 28, 2020 • 1h 13min
279 The Cabinet: Creation of an American Institution
As the first President of the United States, George Washington set many precedents for the new nation. One of the biggest precedents Washington set came in the form of the Cabinet, a body of advisors from across the U.S. government who advise the president on how to handle matters of foreign and domestic policy.Today, we investigate Washington’s creation of the Cabinet and how it became a government institution with Lindsay Chervinsky, a Scholar-in-Residence at the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies, a Senior Fellow at the International Center for Jefferson Studies, and the author of the book, The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution.Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/279 Complementary Episodes🎧 Episode 040: Kathleen Bartoloni-Tuazon, For Fear of an Elected King🎧 Episode 137: Erica Dunbar, The Washington’s Runaway Slave, Ona Judge🎧 Episode 193: Partisans: The Friendship and Rivalry of John Adams & Thomas Jefferson🎧 Episode 202: The Early History of the United States Congress🎧 Episode 203: Joanne Freeman: Alexander Hamilton🎧 Episode 265: Lindsay Chervinsky, An Early History of the White House REQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.comWHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 14, 2020 • 56min
278 Polygamy: An Early American History
Polygamy is not a practice that often comes to mind when many of us think about early America. But it turns out, polygamy was a ubiquitous practice among different groups of early Americans living in 17th and 18th-century North America. Sarah Pearsall, a University Teaching Officer, Fellow, and Historian at the University of Cambridge, joins us to discuss the surprising history of polygamy in early North America, with details from her book, Polygamy: An Early American History. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/278 Join Ben Franklin's World! Subscribe and help us bring history right to your ears! Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Ben Franklin's World Shop Complementary Episodes Episode 013: Rachel Hope Cleves, Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America Episode 027: Lisa Wilson, A History of Stepfamilies in Early America Episode 045: Spencer McBride, Joseph Smith and the Founding of Mormonism Episode 120: Marcia Zug, A History of Mail Order Brides in Early America Episode 223: Susan Sleeper-Smith, A Native American History of the Ohio River Valley & Great Lakes Region Episode 225: Elaine Forman Crane, The Poison Plot: Adultery & Murder in Colonial Newport Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links
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Jun 30, 2020 • 1h 14min
277 Whose Fourth of July?
On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech to an anti-slavery society and he famously asked “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” In this episode, we explore Douglass’ thoughtful question within the context of Early America: What did the Fourth of July mean for African Americans in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries? To help us investigate this question, we are joined by Martha S. Jones, the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University, and Christopher Bonner, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Maryland. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/277 Join Ben Franklin's World! Subscribe and help us bring history right to your ears! Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute Derrick Spires, “Dreams of a Revolution Deferred” Suggested Readings: “Slavery and the American Revolution” Complementary Episodes Episode 018: Danielle Allen, Our Declaration Episode 119: Steve Pincus, The Heart of the Declaration Episode 141: A Declaration in Draft Episode 157: The Revolution’s African American Soldiers Episode 166: Freedom and the American Revolution Episode 245: Celebrating the Fourth Episode 255: Martha S. Jones, Birthright Citizens Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links
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Jun 26, 2020 • 18min
Bonus Listener Q & A: Young Benjamin Franklin
This special bonus episode introduces the Ben Franklin's World Subscription program and a new monthly Listener Question & Answer feature for subscribers to that program. In this preview, award-winning historian Nick Bunker answers your questions about the life of young Benjamin Franklin. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/207 Join Ben Franklin's World! Subscribe and help us bring history right to your ears! Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Ben Franklin's World Shop Complementary Episodes Episode 086: George Goodwin, Benjamin Franklin in London Episode 112: Mary Beth Norton, The Tea Crisis of 1773 Episode 160: The Politics of Tea Episode 169: Thomas Kidd, The Religious Life of Benjamin Franklin Episode 175: Daniel Mark Epstein, House Divided: The Revolution in Ben Franklin's House Episode 207: Nick Bunker: Young Benjamin Franklin Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links
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Jun 16, 2020 • 1h 7min
276 Benjamin Rush: Founding Father
Who gets to be a founding father? “Founding Father” status goes to men who helped found the United States. That means the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, those who led the Continental Army, and the 36 delegates who signed the Constitution. We’re talking about more than 100 men and yet, we don’t really talk about more than a handful of these “founders” as Founders. Stephen Fried, an award-winning journalist and author of Rush: Revolution, Madness, and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father, joins us to explore the life and deeds of one founder we don’t always talk about, Benjamin Rush. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/276 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Ben Franklin's World Shop The Ben Franklin's World Reading Group Complementary Episodes Episode 112: Mary Beth Norton, The Tea Crisis of 1773 Episode 169: Thomas Kidd, The Religious Life of Benjamin Franklin Episode 193: Partisans: The Friendship & Rivalry of Adams and Jefferson Episode 209: Considering Biography Episode 263: Sari Altschuler, The Medical Imagination Episode 273: Victoria Johnson, David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Early Republic Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links
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Jun 2, 2020 • 27min
275 Pets in Early America
What kinds of animals did early Americans keep as pets? How did early Americans acquire pets? What kinds of animals did early Americans keep as pets? Ingrid Tague, a Professor of History at the University of Denver and the author of Animal Companions: Pets and Social Change in Eighteenth-Century Britain, joins us to answer your questions about pets and pet keeping in Early America. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/275 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Ben Franklin's World Shop Virtual Public Event: Equality: A Historical Perspective Complementary Episodes Episode 067: John Ryan Fischer, An Environmental History of Early California & Hawaii Episode 077: Rinker Buck, The Oregon Trail Episode 168: Andrea Smalley, Wild By Nature: Colonists and Animals in North America Episode 234: Richard Bushman, Farms & Farm Families in Early America Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links
Join the Ben Franklin's World Facebook Group Ben Franklin’s World Twitter: @BFWorldPodcast Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter *Books purchased through the links on this post will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 19, 2020 • 1h 11min
274 Walter Ralegh: Architect of Empire
What do we know about how and why England came to establish its first permanent colony at Jamestown? And what do we know about the English colony that came before it, the Colony of Roanoke? Alan Gallay, Lyndon B. Johnson chair of United States History at Texas Christian University and author of Walter Ralegh: Architect of Empire, leads us on exploration of the life and work of Sir Walter Ralegh, the man who crafted the blueprint for England’s colonization plans in the Americas. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/274 Production of this episode was made possible by a grant from the Roller-Bottimore Foundation of Richmond, Virginia. Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Ben Franklin's World Shop Virtual Public Event: Equality: A Historical Perspective Complementary Episodes Episode 132: Coll Thrush, Indigenous London Episode 139: Andrés Reséndez, The Other Slavery Episode 184: David Silverman, Thundersticks Episode 220: Margaret Ellen Newell, New England, Indians, Colonists, and the Origins of Slavery Episode 250: Virginia, 1619 Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links
Join the Ben Franklin's World Facebook Group Ben Franklin’s World Twitter: @BFWorldPodcast Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter *Books purchased through the links on this post will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 5, 2020 • 1h 5min
273 David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Early Republic
How did Americans learn to establish philanthropic institutions? Victoria Johnson, an Associate Professor of Urban Policy and Planning at Hunter College in New York City and author of American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic, leads us on an investigation of the life of Dr. David Hosack and the many organizations he founded, including the Elgin Botanical Garden. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/273 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Ben Franklin's World Shop Ben Franklin's World Virtual Reading Group Complementary Episodes Episode 203: Joanne Freeman, Alexander Hamilton Episode 209: Considering Biography Episode 210: Considering John Marshall, Part 1 Episode 211: Considering John Marshall, Part 2 Episode 212: Researching Biography Episode 237: Nora Doyle, Motherhood in Early America Episode 263: Sari Altschuler, The Medical Imagination Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links
Join the Ben Franklin's World Facebook Group Ben Franklin’s World Twitter: @BFWorldPodcast Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter *Books purchased through the links on this post will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 21, 2020 • 13min
272 Origins of the 11th Amendment
What do you know about the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution? Caitlin Galante-DeAngelis Hopkins, a Lecturer in the History Department at Harvard University and a former research associate for the Harvard and Slavery Project, joins us to explore the origins of the Eleventh Amendment and why the United States added it to its Constitution. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/272 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute Ben Franklin’s World Virtual Reading Group The Ben Franklin's World Shop Complementary Episodes Episode 107: Mary Sarah Bilder, Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention Episode 143: Michael Klarman, The Making of the United States Constitution Episode 259: American Legal History & the Bill of Rights Episode 260: Creating the First Ten Amendments Episode 261: Creating the Fourth Amendment Episode 262: Interpreting the Fourth Amendment Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links
Join the Ben Franklin's World Facebook Group Ben Franklin’s World Twitter: @BFWorldPodcast Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 31, 2019 • 1h 35min
271 BFW Team Favorites: Paul Revere's Ride Through History
On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere rode to Lexington, Massachusetts to spread the alarm that the Regulars were marching. Revere made several important rides between 1774 and 1775, including one in September 1774 that brought the Suffolk Resolves to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. So why is it that we remember Paul Revere’s ride to Lexington and not any of his other rides? Why is it that we remember Paul Revere on the night of April 18, 1775 and nothing about his life either before or after that famous ride? Why is it that Paul Revere seems to ride quickly into history and then just as quickly out of it? In this episode we speak with four scholars to explore Paul Revere’s ride through history. This episode originally posted as Episode 130. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/271 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Ben Franklin's World Shop Complementary Episodes Episode 075: Peter Drummey, How Archives Work (History of Paul Revere’s Accounts of his Ride) Episode 106: Jane Kamensky, The World of John Singleton Copley Episode 112: Mary Beth Norton, The Tea Crisis of 1773 Episode 128: Alan Taylor, American Revolutions: A Continental History Episode 129: John Bell, The Road to Concord, 1775 Episode 245: Celebrating the Fourth of July Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links
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