What does it cost to stay loyal when a world is breaking apart? Historian Greg Brooking  explores the life and legacy of Sir James Wright, Georgia’s last royal governor, and the turbulent path from Crown colony to revolutionary state in his new book, From Empire to Revolution:  Sir James Wright and the Price of Loyalty in Georgia. In this conversation he digs into loyalty and dissent, political power and personal risk, and how events in the southern colonies reshaped the course of the American Revolution. Join us for a sharp, story-rich look at Georgia’s revolution—and the people who gambled everything on their principles.

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Emily Sneff, author of When the Declaration of Independence Was News explores how the Declaration spread across the colonies and the wider world—not as a sacred founding text, but as breaking news.  Her book traces how printers, sailors, and town criers turned Congress’s resolution into headlines that shaped the very idea of independence.   Historian of the Declaration of Independence, Emily Sneff is of the curators of the new exhibit, "Declaration's Journey, at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, and writes the newsletter Declaration Stories sharing her research on the Declaration of Independence, its  global echoes in newspapers and pamphlets,  how revolutionary ideas went viral in the 18th century—and how that moment still defines what it means to announce freedom today.

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Join host Professor Robert Allison as he speaks with historian and author Edward Andrews about his new book, Newport Gardner’s Anthem: A Story of Slavery, Struggle, and Survival in Revolutionary America. Together, they explore the remarkable life of Newport Gardner—born Occramer Marycoo in Africa, enslaved in Newport, and later freed to become a composer, community leader, and founder of one of America’s first Black churches. This story is a powerful look at how music, faith, and freedom intertwined in America’s first Black communities.

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 Donna Curtin, Executive Director of Pilgrim Hall Museum, the oldest continuously operating public museum in America, tells us about the surprising links between Plymouth’s Pilgrims and the Revolution. They spotlight the bold voices of James and Mercy Otis Warren, and explore Pilgrim Hall’s Revolutionary collections that connect 17th-century ideals to the fight for independence.

On October 11, they are hosting a performance of "Revolutionary Voices:  Plymouth Debates Liberty & Loyalists," a play drawn from the town records on the debates over Independence.

Tickets for the "Plymouth Voices" play can be purchased HERE!

Website for Pilgrim Hall is Here!

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We are just months away from the 250th Anniversary of Henry Knox's Noble Train.  Join Professor Robert Allison in conversation with Revolution 250 Executive Director Jonathan Lane as we review the history of the Knox Trail and discuss plans for the coming commemorations.

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Due to a technical difficulty this morning we are offering a "Revolution 250 Re-Podcast."  Today's podcast will be from December 7, 2021 on the epic biography of King George III by Andrew Roberts, the Bonnie and Tom McCloskey Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.  In this podcast, Professor Allison and Professor Roberts discuss the many remarkable qualities of George III as a monarch which are overshadowed by the events of the American Revolution.  It is worth noting that since the original airing of this podcast in 2021, Professsor Roberts has been elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom as Baron Roberts of Belgravia for his voluminous work in history.

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Johnson Hall, designed in 1763 by noted colonial architect Peter Harrison, was the grand estate of Sir William Johnson, the influential British Superintendent of Indian Affairs in New York. From this stately home, Johnson shaped alliances that helped keep many Indigenous nations aligned with the Crown during the struggle for American independence. Today, the Johnson Hall is preserved as a New York State Historic Site, offering a window into the complex relationships between empire, Native peoples, and the Revolution.

Join Professor Robert Allison in conversation with Ian Mumpton, Interpretive Programs Assistant at Johnson Hall, as they explore Johnson’s legacy, the role of diplomacy and cultural exchange on the frontier, and how this landmark continues to tell stories of power, conflict, and negotiation on the eve of the Revolution. 

https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/johnsonhall/details.aspx

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Host Robert Allison talks with Ron Peterson and David Martin about dramatic and little-known stories from Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket during the Revolution. From the fierce 1779 Battle of Falmouth to Nantucket’s divided loyalties, British shipwrecks, and the vital roles of African American and Native American patriots, this episode reveals how the Cape and Islands were anything but quiet backwaters in America’s fight for independence.

To order a copy of the Book, The Revolutionary War on the Cape and the Islands:

To Order, Send:
1. Check for $30 made out to “MMHS”
(tax and shipping included)
2. Mailing address

To:
David Martin
10 Colonial Farm Circle
Marstons Mills, MA 02648
(Allow 10 days for delivery)

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It is easy to see the Franklin stove as just an invention to improve the lives of colonial Americans. The stove, like many of Franklin's inventions, went through a series of improvements as he explored the science of heat convection and thermal dynamics.  Other changes and considerations came about as Franklin changed the fuel from wood to coal. This is just one aspect of the impact of Franklin's stove on the 18th-century world.  We talk with Professor Joyce Chaplin about her new book, The Franklin Stove:  An Unintended American Revolution, which explores the world which brought about Franklin's invention and how it was part of a changing world.  

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From Lucifer’s rebellion to Adam and Eve’s expulsion, from Lancelot’s betrayal to Macbeth’s downfall, stories of greatness undone have gripped audiences for centuries. For America’s Revolutionaries, the cautionary examples of Julius Caesar and Oliver Cromwell warned of leaders who turned against the people.

No figure embodies this tragic arc in American history more than General Benedict Arnold. Once a brilliant and passionate commander whose daring made him one of the Revolution’s most effective leaders, Arnold’s defection to the Crown became a devastating blow to the patriot cause—and forever branded him the nation’s most infamous traitor.

Historian Joyce Lee Malcolm joins us to explore Arnold’s rise, fall, covered in her acclaimed book  The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold: An American Life.

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