Ben Franklin's World

In this bonus episode, we explore a listener requested topic of colonial inns and taverns by investigating the history of the oldest inn still in operation: Longfellow’s Wayside Inn. 

The Wayside Inn served as the inspiration for Henry Wadsworth Longfellows poetry collection "Tales of a Wayside Inn," in which you will find his poem "The Landlord's Tale," better known as "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere."

Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/wayside

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What can John Hancock’s suit tell you about the man who wore it?

The clothing a person wears tells you a lot about them: Whether they are rich or poor, what kind of work they do, what colors they like, and what they value.

We know that John Hancock was a wealthy merchant and prominent politician, but did you know that his suit reveals even more about his life and personality than the documents and portraits he left behind?

Museum professional and textiles expert Kimberly Alexander joins us to explore the world of 18th-century fashion and material culture and what objects like John Hancock's suit communicate about the past. 

Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/024

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Have you ever wondered what happens when four historians get together to talk about early American history?

In this episode, we chat with three young and promising historians of early America: Michael Hattem, Roy Rogers, and Ken Owen. All three scholars discuss history at the Junto Blog, A Group Blog on Early American History and as regular panelists on the JuntoCast, a monthly podcast about Early American History.

Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/023

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Have you heard the saying that behind every great man stands a great woman?

Vivian Bruce Conger, the Robert Ryan Professor in the Humanities at Ithaca College, joins us to explore the two great women that Benjamin Franklin had standing behind and beside him: his wife, Deborah Read Franklin, and his daughter, Sally Franklin Bache.

Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/022

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Do you know that John Hancock was a smuggler?

Smuggling presented a large problem for the imperial governments of Great Britain and France during the colonial period.

Eugene Tesdahl, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, joins us to discuss the early American business of smuggling and his involvement with living history as a French and Indian War-era re-enactor.

Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/021

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Have you ever wondered about how early American men, women, and slaves worshipped?

Religion played a large role in why some Europeans settled in British North America. 

The Puritans of New England, the German Protestants of the Mid-Atlantic region, and the Catholics of Maryland all migrated to North America to worship freely, to name but a few religious groups in colonial North America.

Kyle T. Bulthuis, Assistant Professor of History at Utah State University and author of Four Steeples Over the City Streets: Religion and Society in New York’s Early Republic Congregations, takes us on an exploration of early American religious life. 

Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/020

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Have you ever wondered where colonial Americans purchased their food?

Although many colonial Americans lived in rural areas or on farms where they could grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs, graze their livestock, or hunt wild game, many others lived in early American cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston.

Where did these colonial city-dwellers get their food?

Kenneth Turino, the Manager of Community Relations and Exhibitions for Historic New England, joins us to explore the colonial Boston marketplace.

Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/019

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Do you know who authored the Declaration of Independence?

If you answered “Thomas Jefferson,” you would be wrong. Jefferson merely wrote the first draft of a document others created.

In this episode, Danielle Allen, a Professor at Harvard University and author of Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality, leads us on an exploration of the Declaration of Independence. 

Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/018

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Parlez-vous Français? 

Do you speak French?

Believe it or not in the 1790s many Americans spoke French. They may not have spoken the French language, but they understood and embraced French culture, art, and culinary traditions. 

Early Americans experimented with and adopted many forms of French culture as they sought to define their new identity as Americans.

François Furstenberg, Associate Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University and author of When the United States Spoke French: Five Refugees Who Shaped a Nation, joins us to explore how and why the United States spoke French during the 1790s. 

Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/017

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The United States claimed victory in the War of 1812, but did you know that the British nearly won the war by promising freedom to escaped slaves in Virginia and Maryland?

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Alan Taylor, author of The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832, reveals how Virginia’s “Internal Enemy” almost cost the United States its second war for independence.

Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/016

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*Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.

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