Much of early American history comprises stories of empire and how different Native, European, and Euro-American nations vied for control of North American territory, resources, and people. [Read more…] about The Highland Soldier in North America
Colonial History
The Colonial Ginseng Trade (Historians Podcast)
This week on The Historians Podcast our guest is Sherri Cash, history professor at Utica College, who talks about the ginseng root, which grew wild in upstate New York in the 18th century. A colonial global trading network shipped ginseng to China, where it was prized as a health tonic, in return for tea. Cash recently gave a talk on the subject at Old Fort Johnson in Fort Johnson, NY.
Listen to the podcast here. [Read more…] about The Colonial Ginseng Trade (Historians Podcast)
An Early History of Delaware
Delaware may be the second smallest state in the United States, but it has a BIG, rich history that can tell us much about the history of early America.
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, David Young, the Executive Director of the Delaware Historical Society, joins us to explore the early American history of Delaware from its Native American inhabitants through its emergence as the first state in the United States. [Read more…] about An Early History of Delaware
Mixed-Race Britons & the Atlantic Family
Who do we count as family? It a relative was born in a foreign place and one of their parents was of a different race? Would they count as family?
Eighteenth-century Britons asked themselves these questions. As we might suspect, their answers varied by time and whether they lived in Great Britain, North America, or the Caribbean. [Read more…] about Mixed-Race Britons & the Atlantic Family
Crispus Attucks: The First Martyr of Liberty
Samuel Gray, James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick, Patrick Carr, and Crispus Attucks. These are the five men who died as a result of the shootings on Boston’s King Street on the night of March 5, 1770.
Of these five victims, evidence points to Crispus Attucks falling first, and of all the victims, Crispus Attucks is the name we can recall. Why is that? [Read more…] about Crispus Attucks: The First Martyr of Liberty
Boston’s Massacre
On the evening of March 5, 1770, a crowd gathered in Boston’s King Street and confronted a sentry and his fellow soldiers in front of the custom house. The confrontation led the soldiers to fire their muskets into the crowd, five civilians died.
What happened on the night of March 5, 1770 that led the crowd to gather and the soldiers to discharge their weapons?
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World: A Podcast About Early American History Eric Hinderaker, a distinguished professor of history at the University of Utah and the author of Boston’s Massacre (Harvard University Press, 2017) assists our quest to discover more about the Boston Massacre. [Read more…] about Boston’s Massacre
Aquatic Culture in Early America
The Atlantic World has brought many disparate peoples together, which has caused a lot of ideas and cultures to mix.
How did the Atlantic World bring so many different peoples and cultures together? How did this large intermixing of peoples and cultures impact the development of colonial America?
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World: A Podcast About Early American History Kevin Dawson, an Associate Professor of History at the University of California-Merced and author of Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), joins us to explore answers to these questions with an investigation of the African Diaspora and African and African American aquatic culture. [Read more…] about Aquatic Culture in Early America
Taverns in Early America
Inns and taverns played prominent roles in early American life. They served the needs of travelers who needed food to eat and places to sleep. They offered local communities a form of poor relief. And they functioned as public spaces where men could gather to discuss news, organize movements, and to drink and play cards. [Read more…] about Taverns in Early America