Think the Boston Tea Party made America a coffee-drinking nation? Historian Michelle McDonald reveals the truth: colonists were already choosing coffee over tea because it was cheaper.

Michelle Craig McDonald, the Librarian/Director of the Library & Museum at the American Philosophical Society and author of Coffee Nation: How One Commodity Transformed the Early United States, explains how coffee shaped American identity long before the Revolution.

You'll hear about Revolutionary-era women storming a Boston warehouse to seize hoarded coffee and sell it at regulated prices. You'll discover why Parliament protected coffee while taxing tea. And you'll learn how enslaved Caribbean laborers made America's favorite beverage possible.

From colonial coffee houses to debates about caffeine addiction in the early republic, discover how one imported commodity became distinctly American.

Michelle's Website | Book |
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/429
 
EPISODE OUTLINE

RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 160: The Politics of Tea
🎧 Episode 161: Smuggling and the American Revolution
🎧 Episode 288: Smugglers & Patriots in the 18th-Century Atlantic World
🎧 Episode 294: 1774, The Long Year of American Revolution
🎧 Episode 319: Cuba: An Early American History
🎧 Episode 401: Tea, Boycotts, & Revolution

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In the 1820s, American entrepreneurs, engineers, and politicians dared to dream big. They believed they could cut a canal, not through Panama, but through the wild, rain-soaked terrain of Nicaragua. Their goal: To link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and transform global trade forever.

But what inspired these ambitious "canal dreamers?” And why did they believe Nicaragua held the key to controlling the future of commerce? 

Jessica Lepler, Associate Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire and author of Canal Dreamers: The Epic Quest to Connect the Atlantic and Pacific in the Age of Revolutions, joins us to explore this nearly forgotten story of innovation, illusion, and international ambition in early American history.

Jessica’s Website | Book
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/428
 
EPISODE OUTLINE
00:01:00  Introduction
00:04:05 Desire to Build a Canal Across Central America
00:08:01 Political Landscape of Central America During the 1820s
00:09:55 Creating a Stable Central American Government
00:11:55 Geography of the Nicaraguan Canal Route
00:16:03 Economic Opportunities of an Interoceanic Canal
00:17:57 Individual vs. State Interest in a Nicaraguan Canal
00:21:58 Why Americans Sought A Private Canal Contract
00:26:44 Information Canal Dreamers Relied On to Build a Canal
00:33:12 Competitive Advantages of American Canal Dreamers
00:35:40 American Surveys of a Central American Canal Route
00:39:12 Influence of the Erie Canal
00:42:32 Why the Nicaraguan Canal Failed
00:44:50 What Canal Dreamers Reveal About the Early United States

0046:40 Overview of the Panama Canal
00:49:50 Time Warp
00:56:00 Conclusion
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 028: Building the Erie Canal
🎧 Episode 090: The Age of American Revolutions
🎧 Episode 113: Building the Empire State
🎧 Episode 165: The Age of Revolutions
🎧 Episode 186: The New Map of Empire
🎧 Episode 329: Freemasonry in Early America
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As we look ahead to the 250th anniversary—the semiquincentennial—of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, communities and commissions across the United States are asking big questions:
How should we commemorate this historic milestone?
What’s the right balance between celebration and education? And how can this moment bring people together across political divides, generational gaps, and complex histories? 
To explore these questions, I’ve invited my friend, colleague, and Clio Digital Media co-founder Karin Wulf to guest host a special conversation with two people who are leading the way: Gregg Amore, Chair of the Rhode Island 250 Commission, and Carly Fiorina, Chair of the Virginia 250 Commission.
Together, they reveal how their states are planning commemorative programs that center civic engagement, local storytelling, and inclusive history—and how the 250th can be more than a moment. It can be a spark.

Karin’s Website | Book |
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/427
 
EPISODE OUTLINE
00:00:00  Introduction
00:01:10  Welcome & Episode Overview
00:04:45  Guest Introductions
00:07:32 Virginia & Rhode Island's Commemorative Plans
00:11:21 State Efforts and Collaborations
00:16:32 Engaging Young People
00:20:11 Educational Initiatives
00:22:13 Ken Burns's The American Revolution
00:24:30 Navigating the Political Climate
00:32:05 Reflections on the Bicentennial
00:35:00 Challenges to Achieving Commemorative Goals
00:42:51 Conclusion and Future Opportunities
00:46:53 Final Thoughts
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 250: Virginia, 1619
🎧 Episode 373: The Gaspee Affair
🎧 Episode 417: Roger Williams, Rogue Puritan
🎧 Episode 416: Lineage: Genealogy in Early America
🎧 Episode 424: Dunmore's Proclamation & the American Revolution in Virginia
🎧 Episode 425: Ken Burns's The American Revolution
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Each November, we Americans come together to celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday that invites us to reflect on gratitude, community, and the stories we tell about our past.

But what do we really know about the origins of this holiday? What did the “First Thanksgiving” look like, and who were the people who made it happen?

In honor of Thanksgiving, we’re revisiting our 2018 conversation with Rebecca Fraser, author of The Mayflower: The Families, The Voyage, and the Founding of America. This rich conversation offers a look at the English Separatists or Pilgrims who settled in Massachusetts. It explores who they were, why they came to North America, and what their life was like in the early years of Plymouth Colony.

Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/213
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 095: A Tale of Two Bostons
🎧 Episode 104: The Saltwater Frontier
🎧 Episode 121: The Dutch Moment in the 17th-Century Atlantic World
🎧 Episode 182: The Great Awakening in New England
🎧 Episode 290: The World of the Wampanoag, Part 1
🎧 Episode 291: The World of the Wampanoag, Part 2
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As Thanksgiving approaches, many Americans are gathering to reflect on gratitude, family—and of course—food.

It's the time of year when we may think about the so-called "First Thanksgiving" and imagine scenes of Pilgrims and Native peoples gathering in Massachusetts to share in the bounty of their fall harvests.

But how much do we really know about the food systems and agricultural knowledge of Indigenous peoples of North America? In what ways were the Wampanoag people able to contribute to this harvest celebration—and what have we gotten wrong about their story?

Michael Wise, Associate Professor of History at the University of North Texas and author of Native Foods: Agriculture, Indigeneity, and Settler Colonialism in American History, joins us to challenge four persistent myths about Indigenous food practices. Discover how Native communities shaped and stewarded the land and its agriculture long before European colonists arrived—and why this history matters more than we might think.

Michael’s Website | Book |
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/426
 
EPISODE OUTLINE
00:00:00  Introduction
00:01:10  Episode Introduction
00:03:43 Guest Introduction
00:04:30 Myths about Indigenous Agriculture
00:11:29  Indigenous and European Gender Roles
00:15:56 Wampanoag Agriculture
00:17:29 Wampanoag Corn Cultivation
00:25:59 Wampanoag Cuisine
00:27:52 Indigenous Disspossession in New England
00:32:58 Cherokee Agriculture
00:37:13 The Cherokee Hunter Myth
00:40:53 The Origin of the Myths about Native American Agriculture
00:45:40 Future Projects
00:47:13 Closing Thoughts & Resources

RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 131: Thomas Jefferson's Empire of Liberty
🎧 Episode 189: The Little Ice Age
🎧 Episode 278: Polygamy: An Early American History
🎧 Episode 290: The World of the Wampanoag, Pt 1
🎧 Episode 291: The World of the Wampanoag, Pt 2
🎧 Episode 323: American Expansion and the Political Economy of Plunder

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What does it take to bring the American Revolution to life?

How can an event that took place 250 years ago be conveyed to us through modern-day film?

Ken Burns and his team worked to answer these questions in their new, epic six-part documentary, Ken Burns’ The American Revolution. Their work promises to deepen, complicate, and transform our understanding of the Revolution over 12 hours of film.

But how did Burns and his team make this film? What stories did they choose to tell? And what challenges did they face in telling those stories?

Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, the two co-directors of Ken Burns’ The American Revolution, join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of their film and how they made it.

Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/425
 
EPISODE OUTLINE
00:00:00  Introduction
00:03:09 Guest Introduction
00:04:42 Becoming Involved in the Documentary
00:07:57 Approach to Telling the Story of the Revolution 
00:18:57 Images and Representation
00:21:53 Challenges Faced
00:27:03 Choosing Which Stories to Include
00:39:00 Relevance and Meaning of the Revolution
00:45:45 Time Warp
00:52:15 Conclusion

RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 307: History and the American Revolution
🎧 Episode 314: Native Americans in Early American Cities
🎧 Episode 327: Ken Burns' Benjamin Franklin
🎧 Episode 352: James Forten and the Making of the United States
🎧 Episode 382: Hessians
🎧 Episode 408: The Memory of 1776

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In November 1775, as tensions between the British Empire and its rebellious colonies continued to escalate, Virginia’s royal governor made a radical—and to some, terrifying—proclamation: Any enslaved person who fled a revolutionary enslaver and joined the British Army would gain their freedom.

Known to history as Dunmore’s Proclamation, this single decree changed the course of the American Revolution in the South. It offered a lifeline to thousands of enslaved men, women, and their families, ignited fierce debates about loyalty and liberty, and revealed deep contradictions at the heart of a revolution that claimed to fight for freedom.

In honor of the 250th anniversary of Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation, we’re taking a deeper look at the man behind it: John Murray, Fourth Earl of Dunmore, and at the Revolution in Virginia, which he helped fuel.

Our guide for this exploration is Andrew Lawler, an award-winning journalist and author of A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis that Spurred the American Revolution.

Andrew's Website | Book |
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/424
 
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 109: The American Enlightenment & Cadwallader Colden
🎧 Episode 162: Dunmore's New World
🎧 Episode 252: The Highland Soldier in North America
🎧 Episode 322: Running From Bondage in Revolutionary America
🎧 Episode 333: Disruptions in Yorktown
🎧 Episode 398: The Shawnee-Dunmore War, 1774
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What did it take to end the War for Independence?

When we think of the American Revolution’s final chapter, we think of the Siege of Yorktown.

Between September 28 and October 19, 1781, British forces endured a siege by the Franco-American forces that ultimately led to a triumphant Franco-American victory, British recognition of American independence, and the birth of a new nation.

But the real story of the Yorktown victory is far more layered. It involved international alliances, enslaved people seeking freedom, and years of hardship.

Today, we’re revisiting the events of October 1781 as we revisit Episode 333.

In this episode, we join three historians–Marcus Nevius, Ed Ayers, and Gretchen Johnson– who help us uncover:

Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/333
 
EPISODE OUTLINE
00:00:00  Introduction
00:03:59 Siege of Yorktown
00:05:13 The British Military Approach
00:08:50 The Importance of Virginia's Regions
00:18:57 The Impact of War on Yorktown
00:28:03 Dunmore's Proclamation and the British Strategy
00:33:44 The British Invasion of Virginia
00:48:00 Aftermath and Legacy
00:55:49 Conclusion
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 162: Dunmore's New World
🎧 Episode 208: Turning Points of the American Revolution
🎧 Episode 250: Virginia, 1619
🎧 Episode 289: Maroonage in the Great Dismal Swamp
🎧 Episode 306: The Horse's Tail
🎧 Episode 332: Occupied Philadelphia
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Have you ever noticed how conversations about the American Revolution often center on great battles, founding documents, and famous statesmen?

What if, instead, we explored that world through the eyes—and the hands—of everyday people who shaped it through art?

Zara Anishanslin, Associate Professor of History and Art History at the University of Delaware and Director of its Museum Studies and Public Engagement Program, joins us to uncover the hidden world of artists, artisans, and makers who painted, stitched, and crafted the Revolution into being. Drawing from her book The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution, Zara helps us see how creativity and craftsmanship tell a fuller—and more human—story of America’s founding.
Zara’s Website | Book |
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/423
 

EPISODE OUTLINE

00:00:00  Introduction

00:41.79  Welcome & Episode Overview

00:02:59  Meet Our Guest

00:07:11  The Transatlantic Network of Revolutionary Artists

00:11:28  Why Revolutionary Artwork Didn't Survive

00:14:13  Prince Demah & His Mother Daphny

00:21:21  How Art Patronage Worked in the 18th Century

00:24:01  Finding Prince Demah a Teacher in London

00:27:40  Life as a Black Artist in London

00:41:22  Prince Demah's Life in Revolutionary Boston

00:49:24  Robert Edge Pine: The English Artist Who Supported America

00:59:24  How Revolutionary Art Differs from Later Commemorative Art

01:04:55  What Artists Reveal About the Revolution

01:07:29  Closing Thoughts & Resources

RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 084: How Historians Read Historical Sources
🎧 Episode 106: The World of John Singleton Copley
🎧 Episode 201: Art, Politics, and Everyday Life in Early America
🎧 Episode 299: Colonial Virginia Portraits
🎧 Episode 390: Objects of Revolution
🎧 Episode 422: Plantation Goods
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What does it mean to be caught between two worlds? Between loyalty and liberty, artistry and commerce, and between the British North American colonies and the British Empire?

We’re revisiting our exploration of the life of John Singleton Copley, one of early America’s most celebrated portrait artists. Copley’s story reveals much about the upheaval of the American Revolution and the choices people made as events unfolded around them.
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/106
 
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Bonus: The Boston Stamp Act Riots of 1765
🎧 Episode 075: How Archives Work (Paul Revere)
🎧 Episode 084: How Historians Read Historical Sources
🎧 Episode 136: Material Culture and the Making of America
🎧 Episode 201: Art, Politics, and Everyday Life in Early America
🎧 Episode 299: Colonial Virginia Portraits
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