Ben Franklin's World

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   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute John Marshall Foundation Richard Brookhiser’s Virginia Museum of History & Culture Talk OI Reader App for Bonus Content   Complementary Episodes Episode 055: Robb Haberman, John Jay: Forgotten Founder Episode 068: Richard Brookhiser, Founders’ Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln Episode 180: Kate Elizabeth Brown, Alexander Hamilton and the Making of American Law Episode 203: Joanne Freeman, Alexander Hamilton Episode 204: James Lewis Jr., The Burr Conspiracy Episode 209: Considering Biography Episode 210: Considering John Marshall, Part 1   Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Ben Franklin’s World Twitter: @BFWorldPodcast Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App   *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 of John Marshall and how he wrote his biography. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/210   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute John Marshall Foundation John Marshall Papers (Use 01BFW to save 40 percent) OI Reader App for Bonus Content   Complementary Episodes Episode 107: Mary Sarah Bilder, Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention Episode 117: Annette Gordon-Reed: The Life and Ideas of Thomas Jefferson Episode 143: Michael Klarman, The Making of the United States Constitution Episode 179: After the Revolution: Governance During the Critical Period Episode 193: Partisans: The Friendship & Rivalry of Adams & Jefferson Episode 209: Considering Biography     Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Ben Franklin’s World Twitter: @BFWorldPodcast Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App   *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 from the past. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/209   About the Series The Doing History: Biography series explores the genre of biography, how it relates to and is different from the genre of history, and how historians and biographers can best uncover and understand the lives of people from the past. The Doing History series explores early American history and how historians work. It is part of Ben Franklin’s World, which is produced by the Omohundro Institute.    Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute John Marshall Foundation OI Reader App for Bonus Content   Complementary Episodes Episode 055: Rob Haberman, John Jay: Forgotten Founder Episode 074: Mary Wigge, Martha Washington Episode 117: Annette Gordon-Reed, The Life and Times of Thomas Jefferson Episode 150: Woody Holton, Abigail Adams: Revolutionary Speculator Episode 183: Douglas Bradburn, George Washington’s Mount Vernon Episode 193: Partisans: The Friendship & Rivalry of Adams & Jefferson Episode 205: Jeanne Abrams, First Ladies of the Republic   Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Ben Franklin's World Twitter: @BFWorldPodcast Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2018 marks the 241st anniversary of the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga and the 240th anniversary of the Franco-American Alliance. But was the victory that prompted the French to join the American war effort, truly the "turning point" of the War for Independence? National Book Award-winner Nathaniel Philbrick joins us to explore the two events he sees as better turning points in the American War for Independence: Benedict Arnold’s treason and the French Navy’s participation in the war. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/208   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute Babbel (Free Trial) Follow Us onTwitter: @BFWorldPodcast   Complementary Episodes Episode 026: Robert Middlekauff, George Washington’s Revolution Episode 037: Kathleen DuVal, Independence Lost Episode 071: Bruce Venter, Saratoga and Hubbardton, 1777 Episode 081: Don Glickstein, After Yorktown: The Final Struggle for American Independence Episode 122: Andrew O’Shaughnessy, The Men Who Lost America Episode 161: Smuggling and the American Revolution     Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What in the first 40 years of his life made Benjamin Franklin the genius he became? Benjamin Franklin serves as a great window on to the early American past because as a man of “variety” he pursued many interests: literature, poetry, science, business, philosophy, philanthropy, and politics. But one aspect of Franklin’s life has gone largely unstudied: his childhood and early life. Nick Bunker, author of Young Benjamin Franklin: The Birth of Ingenuity, joins us to explore Benjamin Franklin’s early life and how family, childhood, and youthful experiences shaped him as a scientist and diplomat. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/207   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute Babbel.com (Free Trial) Follow Us onTwitter: @BFWorldPodcast   Complementary Episodes Episode 086: George Goodwin, Benjamin Franklin in London Episode 112: Mary Beth North, 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, The Revolution in Ben Franklin’s House     Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App   *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between 1500 and the 1860s, Europeans and Americans forcibly removed approximately 12 million African people from the African continent, transported them to the Americas, and enslaved them. Why did Europeans and Americans enslave Africans? How did they justify their actions? Katherine Gerbner, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota and author of Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World, leads us on an exploration of ways Christianity influenced early ideas about slavery and its practice. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/206   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The OI Reader App (Android | iOS) Babble (Free Trial)   Complementary Episodes Episode 047: Emily Conroy-Krutz, Christian Imperialism Episode 064: Brett Rusthforth, Native American slavery in New France Episode 135: Julie Holcomb, Moral Commerce Episode 139: Andrés Reséndez, Indian Enslavement in the Americas Episode 170: Wendy Warren, Slavery in Early New England Episode 173: Marisa Fuentes, Colonial Port Cities and Slavery Episode 178: Karoline Cook, Muslims & Moriscos in Colonial Spanish America   Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App   *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

La Presidente? The Presidentess? The First Lady of the Land? The Second Article of the United States Constitution defines the Executive Branch of the government, the powers it has, and the role of the chief executive, the President of the United States. But what about the position of the President’s spouse? Jeanne Abrams, a Professor at the University Libraries and the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Denver, joins us to explore the lives and work of the first First Ladies of the American Republic with details from her book, First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and Dolley Madison and the Creation of an Iconic American Role. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/205   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute OI Special Events   Complementary Episodes Episode 005: Jeanne Abrams, Revolutionary Medicine Episode 074: Mary Wigge, Martha Washington Episode 137: Erica Dunbar, The Washingtons’ Runaway Slave, Ona Judge Episode 150: Woody Holton, Abigail Adams: Revolutionary Spectator Episode 193: Partisans: The Friendship & Rivalry of Adams & Jefferson   Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App   *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Burr: Revolutionary War hero, talented lawyer, Vice President, and Intriguer of treason? Between 1805 and 1807, Aaron Burr supposedly intended to commit treason by dividing the American union. How did Americans learn about and respond to this treasonous intrigue? James Lewis Jr., a Professor of History at Kalamazoo College and author of The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis, guides us through what we know and don’t know about about Aaron Burr’s supposed plot to divide the American union. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/204   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute Cameron Strang, Frontiers of Science: Imperialism and Natural Knowledge in the Gulf South Borderlands, 1500-1750 (Use promo code 01BFW to save 50 percent)   Complementary Episodes Episode 091; Gregory Dowd, Rumors, Legends, & Homes in Early America Episode 167: Eberhard Faber, The Early History of New Orleans Episode 177: Martin Bruckner, The Social Life of Maps in America Episode 200: Everyday Life in Early America Episode 202: Early History of the United States Congress Episode 203: Joanne Freeman, Alexander Hamilton   Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App   *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hamilton the Musical hit Broadway in August 2015 and since that time people all around the world have been learning about a man named Alexander Hamilton. Or, at least they’ve been learning about the musical’s character Alexander Hamilton. But who was Alexander Hamilton as a real person? Joanne Freeman, a Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University, and one of the foremost experts on the life of Alexander Hamilton, joins us to explore this large question so we can discover more about the man who helped to create the United States. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/203   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The History List (Use promo code BEN to save $5)   Complementary Episodes Bonus: The Marquis de Lafayette and the Hermione Episode 094: Cassandra Good, Founding Friendships Episode 153: Committees and Congresses: Governments of the Revolution Episode 179: George Van Cleve, Governance During the Critical Period Episode 180: Kate Elizabeth Brown, Alexander Hamilton and the Making of American Law Episode 202: Early History of the United States Congress     Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 17, 1787, a majority of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention approved the new form of government they had spent months drafting and submitted it to the 13 states for their ratification and approval. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the 9th state to ratify the Constitution, which prompted the transition to the government of the United States Constitution. Matt Wasniewski, the Historian of the United States House of Representatives and Terrance Rucker, a Historical Publications Specialist in the Office of the Historian at the United States House of Representatives, lead us on an exploration of why and how the United States Constitution established a bicameral Congress and how and why the House of Representatives took the shape and form that it did during its early meetings. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/202   Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Great Courses Plus (Free Month Unlimited Trial)   Complementary Episodes Episode 040: Kata Bartoloni-Tuazon, For Fear of an Elective King Episode 078: Rachel Shelden, Washington Brotherhood: Politics, Social Life, and the Coming of the Civil War Episode 112: Mary Beth Norton, The Tea Crisis of 1773 Episode 153: Committees and Congresses: Governments of the American Revolution Episode 179: George Van Cleve, Governance During the Critical Period Episode 180: Kate Elizabeth Brown, Alexander Hamilton and the Making of American Law   Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices