Ben Franklin's World
723 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago - ★★★★★ - 988 ratingsThis is a multiple award-winning podcast about early American history. It’s a show for people who love history and who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.
Each episode features conversations with professional historians who help shed light on important people and events in early American history. It is produced by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
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Episodes
193 Partisans: The Friendship and Rivalry of Adams and Jefferson
July 03, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 76.6 MBJohn Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Two drafters and signers of the Declaration of Independence, two diplomats who served the United States abroad in Europe, and two men who went on to serve as vice president and president of the United States. Both men left indelible marks on American society. Adams and Jefferson are two founders who captivate the attention of and greatly interest Americans today, so in honor of the 242nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the 192nd anniversa...
192 Brian Regal, The Secret History of the Jersey Devil
June 26, 2018 05:00 - 56 minutes - 52.4 MBThe Jersey Devil is a monster legend that originated in New Jersey’s early American past. How and why did this legend emerge? And, what can it tell us about New Jersey’s past? Brian Regal, an Associate Professor of History at Kean University and the co-author of The Secret History of the Jersey Devil: How Quakers, Hucksters, and Benjamin Franklin Created A Monster, takes us into New Jersey’s past by taking us through the origins of the New Jersey Devil story. Show Notes: https://www.be...
192 The Secret History of the Jersey Devil
June 26, 2018 05:00 - 56 minutes - 52.4 MBThe Jersey Devil is a monster legend that originated in New Jersey’s early American past. How and why did this legend emerge? And, what can it tell us about New Jersey’s past? Brian Regal, an Associate Professor of History at Kean University and the co-author of The Secret History of the Jersey Devil: How Quakers, Hucksters, and Benjamin Franklin Created A Monster, takes us into New Jersey’s past by taking us through the origins of the New Jersey Devil story. Show Notes: https://www.be...
191 Lisa Brooks, A New History of King Philip's War
June 19, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBKing Philip’s War is an event that appears over and over again in books about colonial America. So when you have an event that has been as studied as King Philip’s War has been, is there anything new that we can learn about it by re-examining it in our own time? Lisa Brooks, an Associate Professor of English and American Studies at Amherst College believes the answer to this question is “yes.” And today, she’s going to help us re-examine and re-think what we know about King Philip’s War ...
191 A New History of King Philip's War
June 19, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBKing Philip’s War is an event that appears over and over again in books about colonial America. So when you have an event that has been as studied as King Philip’s War has been, is there anything new that we can learn about it by re-examining it in our own time? Lisa Brooks, an Associate Professor of English and American Studies at Amherst College believes the answer to this question is “yes.” And today, she’s going to help us re-examine and re-think what we know about King Philip’s War ...
190 Jennifer Goloboy, Origins of the American Middle Class
June 12, 2018 05:00 - 50 minutes - 47.1 MBAs many as 70 percent of Americans consider themselves to be members of the middle class. But if you consider income as a qualifier for membership, only about 50 percent of Americans qualify for membership. So what does it meant to be middle class and why do so many Americans want to be members of it? Jennifer Goloboy, an independent scholar based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the author of Charleston and the Emergence of Middle-Class Culture in the Revolutionary Era, helps us explore th...
190 Origins of the American Middle Class
June 12, 2018 05:00 - 50 minutes - 47.1 MBAs many as 70 percent of Americans consider themselves to be members of the middle class. But if you consider income as a qualifier for membership, only about 50 percent of Americans qualify for membership. So what does it meant to be middle class and why do so many Americans want to be members of it? Jennifer Goloboy, an independent scholar based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the author of Charleston and the Emergence of Middle-Class Culture in the Revolutionary Era, helps us explore th...
189 Sam White, The Little Ice Age
June 05, 2018 05:00 - 51 minutes - 47.8 MBWe’re living in a period of climate change. Our Earth has been getting warmer since the mid-19th century. So how will humans adapt to and endure this period of global warming? Will they adapt to it and endure? It turns out the people of early America also lived through a period of climate change and their experiences may hold some answers for us. Sam White, an Associate Professor at The Ohio State University and author of A Cold Welcome: The Little Ice Age and Europe’s Encounter, joins...
189 The Little Ice Age
June 05, 2018 05:00 - 51 minutes - 47.8 MBWe’re living in a period of climate change. Our Earth has been getting warmer since the mid-19th century. So how will humans adapt to and endure this period of global warming? Will they adapt to it and endure? It turns out the people of early America also lived through a period of climate change and their experiences may hold some answers for us. Sam White, an Associate Professor at The Ohio State University and author of A Cold Welcome: The Little Ice Age and Europe’s Encounter, joins...
188 The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798
May 29, 2018 05:00 - 56 minutes - 52.3 MBThe Alien and Sedition Acts consisted of four laws enacted by the United States government in 1798. The United States passed these laws during a time of great uncertainty, a time when many Americans feared for the very survival for their nation. But why did Americans fear for the United States’ existence and why did they think four laws that limited citizenship and freedom of speech would protect and secure their young republic? Terri Halperin, an instructor at the University of Richmond...
188 Terri Halperin, The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798
May 29, 2018 05:00 - 56 minutes - 52.3 MBThe Alien and Sedition Acts consisted of four laws enacted by the United States government in 1798. The United States passed these laws during a time of great uncertainty, a time when many Americans feared for the very survival for their nation. But why did Americans fear for the United States’ existence and why did they think four laws that limited citizenship and freedom of speech would protect and secure their young republic? Terri Halperin, an instructor at the University of Richmond...
187 Sport in Early America
May 22, 2018 05:00 - 50 minutes - 47 MBOur present-day American culture is obsessed with sports. To cite just two pieces of evidence of this, on average, more than 67,000 fans attend each National Football League game and more than 30,000 fans attend each Major League Baseball game. This is to say nothing of the millions of fans who watch these sports on television or listen to them on the radio. When did America become a place filled with sports nuts? When did the business of professional sports become a thing in the United St...
187 Kenneth Cohen, Sport in Early America
May 22, 2018 05:00 - 50 minutes - 47 MBOur present-day American culture is obsessed with sports. To cite just two pieces of evidence of this, on average, more than 67,000 fans attend each National Football League game and more than 30,000 fans attend each Major League Baseball game. This is to say nothing of the millions of fans who watch these sports on television or listen to them on the radio. When did America become a place filled with sports nuts? When did the business of professional sports become a thing in the United St...
186 The New Map of the British Empire
May 15, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 60.5 MBAs a result of Great Britain’s victory in the Seven Years’ War, British North America expanded so that it stretched from the Atlantic seaboard west to the Mississippi River and from Hudson Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence south to Florida. Plus, it also included islands in the Caribbean. How exactly would Great Britain, centered on a small island over 3,000 miles away, govern this new, expanded North American empire? Max Edelson, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Vir...
186 Max Edelson, The New Map of the British Empire
May 15, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 60.5 MBAs a result of Great Britain’s victory in the Seven Years’ War, British North America expanded so that it stretched from the Atlantic seaboard west to the Mississippi River and from Hudson Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence south to Florida. Plus, it also included islands in the Caribbean. How exactly would Great Britain, centered on a small island over 3,000 miles away, govern this new, expanded North American empire? Max Edelson, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Vir...
185 Joyce D. Goodfriend, Early New York City and its Culture
May 08, 2018 05:00 - 56 minutes - 52.2 MBWho should determine our culture and the morals our society follows? Culture, or the intellectual achievements, attitudes, and behaviors of our particular places and social groups, is all around us. It impacts how we think and act as members of families, local communities, states, and nations. Culture is important. So how do we establish culture? Who sets the unwritten social rules and ideas that we adopt and live by? Joyce Goodfriend, a professor of history at the University of Denver...
185 Early New York City and its Culture
May 08, 2018 05:00 - 56 minutes - 52.2 MBWho should determine our culture and the morals our society follows? Culture, or the intellectual achievements, attitudes, and behaviors of our particular places and social groups, is all around us. It impacts how we think and act as members of families, local communities, states, and nations. Culture is important. So how do we establish culture? Who sets the unwritten social rules and ideas that we adopt and live by? Joyce Goodfriend, a professor of history at the University of Denver...
184 Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America
May 01, 2018 05:00 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBEarly North America was a place rife with violent conflict. Between the 17th and 19th centuries we see a lot of conflict between different Native American peoples, Native American peoples and colonists, colonists from one empire versus colonists from another empire, settlers from one state quarreling with settlers from another state, and in the 19th century, we also see strife between Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans. Today, we’re going to explore some of the causes of the violent confli...
184 David Silverman, Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America
May 01, 2018 05:00 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBEarly North America was a place rife with violent conflict. Between the 17th and 19th centuries we see a lot of conflict between different Native American peoples, Native American peoples and colonists, colonists from one empire versus colonists from another empire, settlers from one state quarreling with settlers from another state, and in the 19th century, we also see strife between Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans. Today, we’re going to explore some of the causes of the violent confli...
183 George Washington's Mount Vernon
April 24, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 61.5 MBGeorge Washington played three very important public roles during his lifetime. He served as the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, the President of the Constitutional Convention, and as the first President of the United States. In addition to these important public roles, Washington also played a role that was very important to him. He served as a farmer and agricultural innovator. Douglas Bradburn, the CEO and President of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, joins us so we can e...
183 Douglas Bradburn, George Washington's Mount Vernon
April 24, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 61.5 MBGeorge Washington played three very important public roles during his lifetime. He served as the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, the President of the Constitutional Convention, and as the first President of the United States. In addition to these important public roles, Washington also played a role that was very important to him. He served as a farmer and agricultural innovator. Douglas Bradburn, the CEO and President of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, joins us so we can e...
182 Douglas Winiarski, Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: The Great Awakening in New England
April 17, 2018 05:00 - 59 minutes - 54.5 MBWhat was it like to live through an extraordinary time? The 1740s and 1750s proved to be an extraordinary time for many ordinary New Englanders. It was a period when itinerant preachers swept through the region and asked its people to question the fundamental assumptions of their religion: What did it mean to be a Puritan? What did it mean to be a Protestant Christian? Douglas Winiarski, a Professor of American Studies and Religious Studies at the University of Richmond and the author of...
182 Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: The Great Awakening in New England
April 17, 2018 05:00 - 59 minutes - 54.5 MBWhat was it like to live through an extraordinary time? The 1740s and 1750s proved to be an extraordinary time for many ordinary New Englanders. It was a period when itinerant preachers swept through the region and asked its people to question the fundamental assumptions of their religion: What did it mean to be a Puritan? What did it mean to be a Protestant Christian? Douglas Winiarski, a Professor of American Studies and Religious Studies at the University of Richmond and the author of...
181 Virginia DeJohn Anderson, The Martyr and the Traitor: Nathan Hale & Moses Dunbar
April 10, 2018 05:00 - 54 minutes - 50 MBWhy did early Americans choose to become patriots or loyalists during the American Revolution? How did they make the decision to either stand with or against their neighbors? Did political beliefs really drive them to support one side of the imperial conflict over the other? In this episode, we explore answers to these questions about how and why Americans chose to support the sides they did during the American Revolution, by looking at the lives of two young soldiers from Connecticut:...
181 The Martyr and the Traitor: Nathan Hale & Moses Dunbar
April 10, 2018 05:00 - 54 minutes - 50 MBWhy did early Americans choose to become patriots or loyalists during the American Revolution? How did they make the decision to either stand with or against their neighbors? Did political beliefs really drive them to support one side of the imperial conflict over the other? In this episode, we explore answers to these questions about how and why Americans chose to support the sides they did during the American Revolution, by looking at the lives of two young soldiers from Connecticut:...
180 Alexander Hamilton and the Making of American Law
April 03, 2018 05:00 - 59 minutes - 55.1 MBThe legacy of Alexander Hamilton tells us that he was Thomas Jefferson’s political rival, a man who fought to secure strong powers for the national government, and the first Secretary of the Treasury. What Hamilton’s legacy doesn’t tell us is that he also fought for states rights and championed civil liberties for all Americans, even those Americans who had supported the British during the American Revolution. Kate Elizabeth Brown, an Assistant Professor of History and Political Science ...
180 Kate Elizabeth Brown, Alexander Hamilton and the Making of American Law
April 03, 2018 05:00 - 59 minutes - 55.1 MBThe legacy of Alexander Hamilton tells us that he was Thomas Jefferson’s political rival, a man who fought to secure strong powers for the national government, and the first Secretary of the Treasury. What Hamilton’s legacy doesn’t tell us is that he also fought for states rights and championed civil liberties for all Americans, even those Americans who had supported the British during the American Revolution. Kate Elizabeth Brown, an Assistant Professor of History and Political Science ...
Bonus: Listener Q&A About Religion in Early New England
March 30, 2018 05:00 - 9 minutes - 8.89 MBDouglas Winiarski answers your questions about religion in early New England with details from his book, Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England. Darkness Falls on the Land of Light is the story of how ordinary New Englanders living through extraordinary times ended up giving birth to today’s evangelical movement. Doug performed a close reading of letters, diaries, and testimonies to write this book and his outstanding schola...
179 George Van Cleve, After the Revolution: Governance During the Critical Period
March 27, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 37.5 MBThe Confederation period is one of the most neglected aspects of United States History. And yet, it’s a very important period. Between 1781 and 1789, the Confederation Congress established by the Articles of Confederation had to deal with war, economic depression, infighting between the states, trouble in the west, foreign meddling, and domestic insurrection. It’s a critical period where no one knew whether the United States would survive as an independent nation. George William Van Cleve...
179 After the Revolution: Governance During the Critical Period
March 27, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 37.5 MBThe Confederation period is one of the most neglected aspects of United States History. And yet, it’s a very important period. Between 1781 and 1789, the Confederation Congress established by the Articles of Confederation had to deal with war, economic depression, infighting between the states, trouble in the west, foreign meddling, and domestic insurrection. It’s a critical period where no one knew whether the United States would survive as an independent nation. George William Van Cleve...
178 Muslims and Moriscos in Colonial Spanish America
March 20, 2018 05:00 - 49 minutes - 46.2 MBIn 1535, Spanish holdings in the Americas proved so great that the Spanish government created the Viceroyalty of New Spain to govern all territory north of the Isthmus of Panama. The jurisdiction of New Spain included areas of upper and lower California and large areas of the American southwest and southeast, including Florida. Karoline Cook, author of Forbidden Passages: Muslims and Moriscos in Colonial Spanish America, serves as our guide as we explore some of the political, cultural,...
178 Karoline Cook, Muslims and Moriscos in Colonial Spanish America
March 20, 2018 05:00 - 49 minutes - 46.2 MBIn 1535, Spanish holdings in the Americas proved so great that the Spanish government created the Viceroyalty of New Spain to govern all territory north of the Isthmus of Panama. The jurisdiction of New Spain included areas of upper and lower California and large areas of the American southwest and southeast, including Florida. Karoline Cook, author of Forbidden Passages: Muslims and Moriscos in Colonial Spanish America, serves as our guide as we explore some of the political, cultural,...
177 The Social Life of Maps in America
March 13, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 51.4 MBDid you know that maps have social lives? Maps facilitate a lot of different social and political relationships between people and nations. And they did a lot of this work for Americans throughout the early American past. Martin Brückner, a Professor of English at the University of Delaware, joins us to discuss early American maps and early American mapmaking with details from his book The Social Life of Maps in America. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/177 Sponsor ...
177 Martin Brückner, The Social Life of Maps in America
March 13, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 51.4 MBDid you know that maps have social lives? Maps facilitate a lot of different social and political relationships between people and nations. And they did a lot of this work for Americans throughout the early American past. Martin Brückner, a Professor of English at the University of Delaware, joins us to discuss early American maps and early American mapmaking with details from his book The Social Life of Maps in America. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/177 Sponsor ...
176 The Value of the Enslaved From Womb to Grave
March 06, 2018 06:00 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBWhat did it mean to be a person and to also be a commodity in early America? Daina Ramey Berry, author of The Price for Their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved, from Womb to Grave, in the Building of a Nation, takes us behind the scenes of her research so we can explore how early Americans valued and commodified enslaved men, women, and children. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/176 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute Georgian Papers Programme Citizen Transc...
176 Daina Ramey Berry, The Value of the Enslaved From Womb to Grave
March 06, 2018 06:00 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBWhat did it mean to be a person and to also be a commodity in early America? Daina Ramey Berry, author of The Price for Their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved, from Womb to Grave, in the Building of a Nation, takes us behind the scenes of her research so we can explore how early Americans valued and commodified enslaved men, women, and children. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/176 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute Georgian Papers Programme Citizen Transc...
175 House Divided: The Revolution in Ben Franklin's House
February 27, 2018 06:00 - 45 minutes - 42.4 MBJust how personal was the American Revolution? What could the event and war mean for individual people and families? Daniel Mark Epstein, author of The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin’s House, guides as as we explore what the Revolution meant for Benjamin Franklin and his family and how the Revolution caused a major rift between Franklin and his beloved son, William. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/176 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute Georgian Papers Programm...
175 Daniel Epstein, House Divided: The Revolution in Ben Franklin's House
February 27, 2018 06:00 - 45 minutes - 42.4 MBJust how personal was the American Revolution? What could the event and war mean for individual people and families? Daniel Mark Epstein, author of The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin’s House, guides as as we explore what the Revolution meant for Benjamin Franklin and his family and how the Revolution caused a major rift between Franklin and his beloved son, William. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/176 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute Georgian Papers Programm...
174 Yellow Fever in the Early American Republic
February 20, 2018 06:00 - 50 minutes - 46.8 MBIt’s February 2018 and doctors have declared this year’s seasonal flu epidemic as one of the worst to hit the United States in over a decade. Yet this flu epidemic is nothing compared to the yellow fever epidemics that struck the early American republic during the 1790s and early 1800s. So what happened when epidemic diseases took hold in early America? How did early Americans deal with disease and illness? Thomas Apel, author of Feverish Bodies, Enlightened Minds: Science and the Yellow...
174 Thomas Apel, Yellow Fever in the Early American Republic
February 20, 2018 06:00 - 50 minutes - 46.8 MBIt’s February 2018 and doctors have declared this year’s seasonal flu epidemic as one of the worst to hit the United States in over a decade. Yet this flu epidemic is nothing compared to the yellow fever epidemics that struck the early American republic during the 1790s and early 1800s. So what happened when epidemic diseases took hold in early America? How did early Americans deal with disease and illness? Thomas Apel, author of Feverish Bodies, Enlightened Minds: Science and the Yellow...
173 Marisa Fuentes, Colonial Port Cities and Slavery
February 13, 2018 06:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBThe histories of early North America and the Caribbean are intimately intertwined. The same European empires we encounter in our study of early America also appear in the Caribbean. The colonies of these respective empires often traded goods, people, and ideas between each other. Marisa Fuentes, an associate professor of history and women and gender studies at Rutgers University and author of Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archive, joins us to explore some of the con...
173 Colonial Port Cities and Slavery
February 13, 2018 06:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBThe histories of early North America and the Caribbean are intimately intertwined. The same European empires we encounter in our study of early America also appear in the Caribbean. The colonies of these respective empires often traded goods, people, and ideas between each other. Marisa Fuentes, an associate professor of history and women and gender studies at Rutgers University and author of Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archive, joins us to explore some of the con...
172 Spies, Patriots, and Traitors: American Intelligence in the Revolutionary War
February 06, 2018 06:00 - 49 minutes - 45.9 MBIntelligence gathering plays an important role in the foreign policies of many modern-day nation states, including the United States. Which raises the questions: How and when did the United States establish its foreign intelligence service? To answer those questions we’ll need to journey back to the American Revolution. Our guide is Kenneth Daigler, an intelligence professional with 33 years experience managing human sources and collection and the author of Spies, Patriots, and Traitor...
172 Kenneth Daigler, Spies, Patriots, and Traitors: American Intelligence in the Revolutionary War
February 06, 2018 06:00 - 49 minutes - 45.9 MBIntelligence gathering plays an important role in the foreign policies of many modern-day nation states, including the United States. Which raises the questions: How and when did the United States establish its foreign intelligence service? To answer those questions we’ll need to journey back to the American Revolution. Our guide is Kenneth Daigler, an intelligence professional with 33 years experience managing human sources and collection and the author of Spies, Patriots, and Traitor...
171 Native Americans, British Colonists, and Trade in North America
January 30, 2018 06:00 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBHistory books like to tell us that Native Americans did not fully understand British methods and ideas of trade. Is this really true? Did Native Americans only understand trade as a form of simplistic, gift exchange? Jessica Stern, a Professor of History at California State University, Fullerton and the author of The Lives in Objects: Native Americans, British Colonists, and Cultures of Labor and Exchange in the Southeast, takes us on a journey into the southeast during the early 18th ce...
171 Jessica Stern, Native Americans, British Colonists, and Trade in North America
January 30, 2018 06:00 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBHistory books like to tell us that Native Americans did not fully understand British methods and ideas of trade. Is this really true? Did Native Americans only understand trade as a form of simplistic, gift exchange? Jessica Stern, a Professor of History at California State University, Fullerton and the author of The Lives in Objects: Native Americans, British Colonists, and Cultures of Labor and Exchange in the Southeast, takes us on a journey into the southeast during the early 18th ce...
170 Wendy Warren, New England Bound: Slavery in Early New England
January 23, 2018 06:00 - 42 minutes - 39.7 MBNew England was a place with no cash crops. It was a place where many of its earliest settlers came to live just so they could worship their Puritan faith freely. New England was also a place that became known for its strong anti-slavery sentiment during the 19th century. So how did New England also become a place that practiced slavery? Wendy Warren, an Assistant Professor of History at Princeton University and author of the Pulitzer Prize-finalist book New England Bound: Slavery and Colo...
170 New England Bound: Slavery in Early New England
January 23, 2018 06:00 - 42 minutes - 39.7 MBNew England was a place with no cash crops. It was a place where many of its earliest settlers came to live just so they could worship their Puritan faith freely. New England was also a place that became known for its strong anti-slavery sentiment during the 19th century. So how did New England also become a place that practiced slavery? Wendy Warren, an Assistant Professor of History at Princeton University and author of the Pulitzer Prize-finalist book New England Bound: Slavery and Colo...
169 Thomas Kidd, The Religious Life of Benjamin Franklin
January 16, 2018 06:00 - 51 minutes - 47.3 MBWe remember Benjamin Franklin as an accomplished printer, scientist, and statesman. Someone who came from humble beginnings and made his own way in the world. Rarely do we remember Franklin as a man of faith. Benjamin Franklin spent more time grappling with questions of religion, faith, virtue, and morality in his writing than about any other topic. Thomas S. Kidd, a Professor of History at Baylor University and author of Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father, leads ...
169 The Religious Life of Benjamin Franklin
January 16, 2018 06:00 - 51 minutes - 47.3 MBWe remember Benjamin Franklin as an accomplished printer, scientist, and statesman. Someone who came from humble beginnings and made his own way in the world. Rarely do we remember Franklin as a man of faith. Benjamin Franklin spent more time grappling with questions of religion, faith, virtue, and morality in his writing than about any other topic. Thomas S. Kidd, a Professor of History at Baylor University and author of Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father, leads ...