Revolution 250 Podcast
225 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsRevolution 250 is a consortium of organizations in New England planning commemorations of the American Revolution's 250th anniversary. https://revolution250.org/Through this podcast you will meet many of the people involved in these commemorations, and learn about the people who brought about the Revolution--which began here. To support Revolution 250, visit https://www.masshist.org/rev250Theme Music: "Road to Boston" fifes: Doug Quigley, Peter Emerick; Drums: Dave Emerick
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Episodes
Battle of Valcour Island with Jack Kelly
November 30, 2021 20:00 - 33 minutes - 22.8 MBJack Kelly, author of Valcour: The 1776 Campaign that Saved the Cause of Liberty tells us about this critical--and nearly forgotten--naval battle on Lake Champlain. It was not an American victory--but it did prevent the British from moving down the Hudson and winning the war. Find out how Benedict Arnold built a fleet in the summer of 1776 to slow down the British invasion, and make victory possible.
American Revolution Geographies Online: Maps of the Revolution
November 24, 2021 20:00 - 35 minutes - 24.5 MBThe Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, with a collection of more than 200,000 maps, has joined forces with the Fred W. Smith Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon, which holds the Richard H. Brown Revolutionary War Map Collection to create "ARGO: American Revolutionary Geographies Online." These on-line, digitized Revolutionary-era maps will help us understand the Revolutionary era as its participants saw it. We talk with Garrett Dash Nelson, President...
Parson Weems & the Biography of George Washington, with Steven C. Bullock
November 16, 2021 19:00 - 36 minutes - 24.9 MBDid Washington really cut down the cherry tree? Steven C. Bullock tells us about his new project--the life of Mason Locke "Parson" Weems, Washington's most popular biographer, who shaped the legend of Washington, and Francis Marion, as he tried to shape American character for the better. Steven Bullock, author of Tea Sets and Tyranny: The Politics of Politeness in Early America, and Revolutionary Brotherhood, on the Masons in early America, is a professor of history at Worcester Polytech...
The Revolutionary City - American Philosophical Society
November 10, 2021 03:00 - 34 minutes - 23.9 MBAn exciting collaboration between the American Philosophical Society, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and the Library Company of Philadelphia, is changing the way future historians will be able to access historical collections. Kyle Roberts, Sabrina Bocanegra, and Bayard Miller tell us about the "Revolutionary City Portal" a ground-breaking one-stop portal into Philadelphia’s role in the American Revolution. This remarkable collaboration, and mining of metadata, will bring to li...
Revolutionary America, the Atlantic World & the British Empire with Patrick Griffin
November 02, 2021 15:00 - 32 minutes - 22.6 MBPatrick Griffin looks at the nexus of the American Revolution and the British Empire. The Madden-Hennebry Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, he talks about his books including The Townshend Moment, about two brothers trying to reform the empire, and he and Frank Cogliano co-edited Ireland and America: Empire, Revolution, and Sovereignty,.
"Liberty is Sweet" - Woody Holton
October 26, 2021 15:00 - 32 minutes - 22.2 MBThe history of the American Revolution is often simplified for easier digestion by the American public, but it is a complex and shifting story that can be viewed from thousands of different perspectives. Woody Holton, author of Liberty is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution joins us to talk about some of these different perspectives in the complex story. Holton , the McCausland Professor of History at the University of South Carolina, focuses on economic history, as well ...
New Deal Art & the American Revolution with Susan Brauner
October 19, 2021 15:00 - 30 minutes - 21 MBDuring the New Deal era there was a tremendous increase in public infrastructure. As part of that story, the United States federal government hired artists to help decorate public spaces with works of art that spoke to the community in which these structures were built. Susan Brauner tells us about some of the artists and their work.
The Marquis de Lafayette with Alan Hoffman
October 12, 2021 16:00 - 34 minutes - 23.5 MBWho was Lafayette, and why was he so important? Alan Hoffman, President of the American Friends of Lafayette who has translated Auguste Levasseur's Lafayette in America,. an account of Lafayette's American tour in 1824-1825. Find out why May 20 is Lafayette Day in Massachusetts, and what you can do to commemorate it.
Samuel Adams with Ira Stoll
October 05, 2021 15:00 - 33 minutes - 23.4 MBBest remembered now for the eponymous beer that started the craft brewing industry, Samuel Adams was a great political leader in Massachusetts. Yet this fervent author of editorial pieces in support of the rights and liberties of the people is little known today. We learn more thanks to Ira Stoll, author of Samuel Adams: A Life.
The Battle of Chelsea Creek
September 29, 2021 01:00 - 32 minutes - 22.5 MBThe first time the patriots use artillery, the first time they sink a British ship, and the first time officers and men from different colonies stage a joint operation--the battle of Chelsea Creek, in what today are the cities of Chelsea and Revere, and the East Boston neighborhood, along an industrial waterway that still retains much of its 18th-century contour. We hear from archaeologists Craig Brown, a PhD candidate at the University of Ediburgh, and Victor Mastone, President of the Mas...
New York Burning, 1776 - with Benjamin L. Carp
September 21, 2021 15:00 - 33 minutes - 22.8 MBBenjamin Carp (Associate Professor and Daniel M. Lyons Chair of History at Brooklyn College) about the Great Fire of New York that occurred September 20 & 21, 1776, the Boston Tea Party and urban life during the Revolution.
African Americans in the American Revolution with Robert A. Bellinger
September 15, 2021 17:00 - 34 minutes - 23.6 MBProfessor Robert Bellinger on the lives and experiences of African Americans in the American Revolution, the presence of free and enslaved persons at Lexington and Concord and the connections between Massachusetts and Middleton Place in South Carolina.
Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution with State Regent Paula Renkas
September 07, 2021 17:00 - 32 minutes - 22.1 MBWith over 190,000 members nationwide, the Daughters of the American Revolution have been preserving America's heritage, awarding scholarships and supporting American civics and patriotism for more than 100 years. Paula Renkas, State Regent for the Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution, tells us about their work in education, historic preservation, and fostering patriotism by supporting veterans.
The Martyr and the Traitor: Nathan Hale & Moses Dunbar, with Virginia DeJohn Anderson
August 31, 2021 23:00 - 31 minutes - 22 MBVirginia DeJohn Anderson (University of Colorado) eminent scholar of life in Colonial America and most recently the author of The Martyr and the Traitor: Nathan Hale, Moses Dunbar, and the American Revolution talks with us about these two men from Connecticut, both hanged in the first year of the War--Hale hanged by the British as a spy, Dunbar hanged in Connecticut as a loyalist. What lead each one his particular path? What do their stories tell us about the Revolution?
Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry & Religious Freedom with John Ragosta
August 24, 2021 22:00 - 32 minutes - 22 MBThe Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, passed by the Virginia legislature in 1786 is both a statement on religious conscience and the concept of the separation of church and state. A conversation with John Ragosta, author of Wellspring of Liberty , historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello, which maintains a great database of Jefferson materials, on the topic of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and on why Jefferson and Patr...
American Founders & Christina Proenza Coles
August 17, 2021 15:00 - 30 minutes - 21.3 MBChristina Proenza Coles new work, AMERICAN FOUNDERS reveals men and women of African descent as key protagonists in the story of American democracy. It chronicles how black people developed and defended New World settlements, undermined slavery, and championed freedom throughout the Americas from the 16th through the 20th century. Join Professor Bob Allison in conversation with the author in a discussion on the lives and legacies of the thousands of African-Americans who supported the cause...
Adams National Historical Park
August 10, 2021 16:00 - 32 minutes - 22.5 MBWe talk with Kelly Cobble, Curator at the Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, home to four generations of the Adams family. We hear about Louisa Catherine Adams's harrowing trip across war-torn Europe in 1815, and about the two Adams birthplaces--the John Adams birthplace is the oldest Presidential birthplace in the nation. What did these four generations of Adamses have in common? Courage.
The Continental Congress, James Madison & the Revolutionaries with Jack Rakove
August 04, 2021 00:00 - 32 minutes - 22.4 MBJack Rakove. Pulitzer-prize winning historian and political scientist from Stanford, joins us for a discussion of religious freedom, (see his book, Beyond Belief, Beyond Conscience) the Continental Congress, (the subject of his first book, The Beginnings of National Politics), the Federalist papers, James Madison, John Dickinson and other Revolutionaries.
Dr. Joseph Warren with Dr. Samuel A. Forman
July 27, 2021 16:00 - 33 minutes - 22.8 MBHe was trained to cure the sick and aid the wounded. He wrote eloquently in the cause of liberty. He organized resistance to tyranny and oppression. He was a political leader admired and respected throughout the colonies. He volunteered to stand in the front lines, and died in the name of freedom, at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The role of Dr. Joseph Warren in bringing about American Independence cannot be overstated. We talk with Dr. Samuel Forman, about his book Dr. Joseph Warren: The B...
Saratoga: The Compleat Victory with Kevin J. Weddle
July 20, 2021 23:00 - 32 minutes - 22.7 MBWhen the King heard his forces had taken Ticonderoga in August 1777, he thought he had won the war. What went wrong? We talk with Kevin Weddle about his new book, The Compleat Victory, about the decisive battle of Saratoga. How did the British strategy go so badly wrong--and why did the Americans win? And what did the victory mean? Kevin Weddle is an historian, but also a graduate of West Point with a 28-year career in the United States Army. He now teaches military theory and strategy...
Fort Ticonderoga with Matthew Keagle
July 13, 2021 16:00 - 34 minutes - 23.8 MBOriginally built as Fort Carillon by the French army between 1755 - 1757, Fort Ticonderoga sits at a strategic junction of Lake Champlain, La Chute River, and Lake George. British forces--including soldiers from Massachusetts--captured it in 1759, and then in May 1775 forces from Massachusetts and Connecticut, and from what is now Vermont took it from the British. Henry Knox brought sixty tons of artillery from Ticonderoga to help General Washington drive the British from Boston. Fort Tic...
The Fourteenth Colony: British West Florida in the Revolution with Mike Bunn
July 06, 2021 18:00 - 33 minutes - 23.3 MBHistorian Mike Bunn tells us about the tumultuous political scene in this borderland colony of West Florida, stretching from the Appalachicola River to the Mississippi, featuring a host of bold and colorful characters on the fringes of the British and Spanish empires. Find out more in this episode, and in Mike Bunn's book, The Fourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Guf South During America's Revolutionary Era.
Nathaniel Philbrick on the Revolution
June 29, 2021 18:00 - 32 minutes - 22.3 MBNathaniel Philbrick talks about the impact of the American Revolution on American culture and history; the importance of George Washington as a political unifier; the Battle of Bunker Hill as a seminal event on the road to American Independence; and Moby Dick.
Thomas Jefferson & the University of Virginia with Andrew O'Shaughnessy
June 22, 2021 21:00 - 33 minutes - 23.3 MBWhy was education such a critical goal of America's revolutionaries? We talk with Andrew J. O'Shaughnessy about his new book, TheThe Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind, about Thomas Jefferson's idea of a university. Andrew O'Shaughnessy teaches at the college Jefferson founed, and he is director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. His most recent book was The Men Who Lost America, on the British officers and politicians who lost the war. His new book...
The Freedom Trail
June 22, 2021 21:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MBNow in its 70th year, the 2.5 mile route through historic downtown Boston sees millions of visitors every year. The marked route connects 16 nationally important historic sites in Boston covering three centuries of history. Suzanne Taylor, Executive Director of the Freedom Trail Foundation, and Emily Kovatch, the Trail's Experiences Manager and occasionally Mehitable Dawes, tell us how the Freedom Trail brings history to life for visitors and residents.
USS CONSTITUTION with Commander John Benda
June 15, 2021 19:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MBCommander John A. Benda, the 76th commanding officer of the USS CONSTITUTION, tells us a bit about the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, and its crew of 80 active-duty sailors. We hear about George Sirian's 50-year naval career, which began when he arrived on the ship orphaned in the Greek war for independence, and about the Pope's visit, and CONSTITUTION's encounters in Vietnam in the 1840s, and how the ship represents the nation and the Navy today.
USS CONSTITUTION with Commander John Benda
June 15, 2021 19:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MBCommander John A. Benda, the 76th commanding officer of the USS CONSTITUTION, tells us a bit about the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, and its crew of 80 active-duty sailors. We hear about George Sirian's 50-year naval career, which began when he arrived on the ship orphaned in the Greek war for independence, and about the Pope's visit, and CONSTITUTION's encounters in Vietnam in the 1840s, and how the ship represents the nation and the Navy today.
The Burning of the Gaspee
June 08, 2021 16:00 - 32 minutes - 22.3 MBDr. John Concannon of the Gaspee Days Committee discusses the 1772 event the "first blow for Liberty" in Rhode Island. Was this a pre-coordinated event, or the passionate response of a seafaring people upon the Royal Customs Commission? Learn about the plans for the Gaspee Days 2022 - the 250th anniversary of the burning of the HMS Gaspee, and about where you can learn more about the burning of the Gaspee.
Sons of the American Revolution
June 01, 2021 20:00 - 33 minutes - 22.8 MBFor 132 years, the Sons of the American Revolution have been promoting patriotism, preserving American history & teaching American history to future generations. The largest male lineage organization in the United States, consisting of more than 33,000 members over 50 states and several international societes. A conversation with Joe Gauthier of the Massachusetts Sons of the American Revolution.
Thomas Jefferson with Frank Cogliano
May 25, 2021 23:00 - 32 minutes - 22.2 MBProfessor Frank Cogliano (University of Edinburgh) on the life of Thomas Jefferson, his legacy in the study of the American Revolution, his thoughts on diplomacy and why we might think about Jefferson differently today than we did in 1976.
Thomas Jefferson with Frank Cogliano
May 25, 2021 23:00 - 32 minutes - 22.2 MBProfessor Frank Cogliano (University of Edinburgh) on the life of Thomas Jefferson, his legacy in the study of the American Revolution, his thoughts on diplomacy and why we might think about Jefferson differently today than we did in 1976.
The REAL Founding Fathers of America with We are Thomasse
May 19, 2021 12:00 - 35 minutes - 24.3 MBA conversation with the hilarious British-American comedy duo Nick Afka Thomas and Sarah Ann Masse, who have together formed We are Thomasse, and tell the story of the "Awkward Exes" Britain and America as a messy divorce emerging "special relationship." They have followed this with more episodes and stories, "Real Founding Fathers of America," a series which they plan to tell the story of the difficult years between Yorktown and Ratification as a reality show. You can view these videos...
The Treaty of Paris featuring Eliga Gould
May 11, 2021 15:00 - 31 minutes - 21.7 MBWhy is the Treaty of Paris important? Why do we know so little about it? Eliga Gould joins us to answer these and other questions. The 1783 Treaty of Paris ended the American War for Independence, defined the new nation's boundaries (see the John Mitchell Treaty Map ) and had tragic consequences for Native Americans as well as some of the African-Americans and Anglo-Americans who sided with the British. It also required complicated negotiations among the allies--France, Spain, and the Un...
The Treaty of Paris featuring Eliga Gould
May 11, 2021 15:00 - 31 minutes - 21.7 MBWhy is the Treaty of Paris important? Why do we know so little about it? Eliga Gould joins us to answer these and other questions. The 1783 Treaty of Paris ended the American War for Independence, defined the new nation's boundaries (see the John Mitchell Treaty Map ) and had tragic consequences for Native Americans as well as some of the African-Americans and Anglo-Americans who sided with the British. It also required complicated negotiations among the allies--France, Spain, and the Un...
Revolution 250 Podcast - Phillis Wheatley, Olauda Equiano, Ignatius Sancho & the Black Atlantic World
May 04, 2021 16:00 - 34 minutes - 23.7 MBProfessor Bob Allison (Suffolk University & Harvard Extension School) discusses Phillis Wheatley with Vincent Carretta, Professor Emeritus of the University of Maryland and Guggenheim Fellow. Phillis Wheatley was an enslaved person in Boston who became noted for her poetry. Her printed volume of poetry was brought to America onboard the infamous "Tea Ships." Professors Allison and Carretta will discuss Phillis' development as an author and how her story fits in with Olauda Equiano, Ignati...
Phillis Wheatley, Ignatius Sancho & the Black Atlantic World
May 04, 2021 16:00 - 34 minutes - 23.7 MBWhy do we talk about Phillis Wheatley and the American Revolution? Vincent Carretta, Professor emeritus of the University of Maryland, and author of Phillis Wheatley: Biography of a Genius in Bondage joins us to talk about Wheatley's life, career, and influence. Professor Caretta has just edited The Writings of Phillis Wheatley , as well as the writings of The Letters of Ignatius Sancho , and he has written Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man. We discuss these writers...
Phillis Wheatley, Ignatius Sancho & the Black Atlantic World with Vincent Carretta
May 04, 2021 16:00 - 34 minutes - 23.7 MBWhy do we talk about Phillis Wheatley and the American Revolution? Vincent Carretta, Professor emeritus of the University of Maryland, and author of Phillis Wheatley: Biography of a Genius in Bondage joins us to talk about Wheatley's life, career, and influence. Professor Caretta has just edited The Writings of Phillis Wheatley , as well as the writings of The Letters of Ignatius Sancho , and he has written Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man. We discuss these writers ...
Revolutionary Marblehead: Jeremiah Lee & John Glover
April 29, 2021 00:00 - 32 minutes - 22.3 MBLauren McCormack, (Marblehead Museum), Seamus Daly & Larry Sands (Glover's Regiment) about the lives and legacies of these two important figures in the history of the American Revolution. Jeremiah Lee, a merchant and importer in Marblehead played a lead role in connecting the American colonists with the financial and military resources of Europe. John Glover and his Marblehead regiment played an outsized role in the early days of the war by utilizing their boating skills along with their m...
Patriot's Day
April 20, 2021 18:00 - 32 minutes - 22.1 MBJoin Professor Robert Allison (Suffolk University & Harvard Extension School) in conversation with Jonathan Lane (Revolution 250) about the events of the most recent Patriot's Day celebration and the history of Patriot's Day here in Massachusetts and in other states across the country.
Paul Revere
April 13, 2021 19:00 - 33 minutes - 23.2 MBNina Zannieri, Executive Director of the Paul Revere Memorial Association which manages the Paul Revere House, talks with us about about the life and legacy of Paul Revere, the Midnight Ride, and Revere's entreprenuerial spirit.
Isaiah Thomas, Patriot Printer
April 06, 2021 15:00 - 32 minutes - 22.2 MBJames D. Moran, vice president for programs and outreach at the American Antiquarian Society joins us to talk about the amazing life and career of tsaiah Thomas (1749-1831), publisher of the Massachusetts Spy, and a leader in the Sons of Liberty, and founder of the American Antiquarian Society. Find out how Thomas stole his printing press out of Boston on April 16, 1775, and then published his account of the battles of Lexington and Concord (he was a witness to the fighting in Lexington)...
Dorchester Heights
March 30, 2021 16:00 - 32 minutes - 22 MBRuth Raphael, Landscape Architect, & Julia Mize, Lead Ranger, from the Boston National Historical Park, join us to discuss Dorchester Heights in South Boston, past, present and future. The Park Service has just completed a short documentary Dorchester heights and its importance, and is planning a multi-million dollar restoration of the Park and Monument. The Park Service has also installed 360 degree cameras atop both the Dorchester Heights and the Bunker Hill Monuments, check out the vi...
Karin Wulf, the Omohundro Institute & the Georgian Papers Programme
March 23, 2021 17:00 - 30 minutes - 21 MBKarin Wulf, the Executive Director of the Omohundro Institute, joins us to talk about many things. We learn about the Georgian Papers Programme,a ten-year interdisciplinary project to digitise, conserve, catalogue, transcribe, interpret and disseminate 425,000 pages or 65,000 items in the Royal Archives and Royal Library relating to the Georgian period, 1714-1837. We also talk about #vastearlyamerica, and exciting developments in archives and scholarship as we approach the 250th anniversar...
Revolution 250 Podcast - Life and Legacy of Henry Knox
March 16, 2021 15:00 - 36 minutes - 24.9 MBProfessor Bob Allison (Suffolk University & Harvard Extension School) in conversation with "Henry Knox" (portrayed by J. Archer O'Reilly, III) discussing the "Noble Train of Artillery," and Knox's subsequent career as General Washington's chief of Artillery and the 1st Secretary of War.
Life and Legacy of Henry Knox
March 16, 2021 15:00 - 36 minutes - 24.9 MBA conversation with "Henry Knox" (portrayed by J. Archer O'Reilly, III) discussing the "Noble Train of Artillery," and Knox's subsequent career as General Washington's chief of Artillery and the 1st Secretary of War. We also hear about the Society of the Cincinnati, which Knox helped to found, which is now the nation's oldest patriotic organization, and its American Revolution Institute with great resources for teachers. And Montpelier, the grand home that Henry Knox built in Thomaston, Ma...
The Stockbridge-Munsee Community and the American Revolution
March 09, 2021 18:00 - 30 minutes - 21.3 MBHeather Breugl, Director of Cultural Affairs for the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohican Indians tells us about the Stockbridge and Mohican's role in the American Revolution. The Stockbridge Militia, led by Abraham Nimham and Jehoiaikim Mtohksin fought on the Patriot side from the "Shot Heard Round the World," through the Siege of Boston, through White Plains, Valley Forge, Saratoga and the British surrender at Yorktown. We also talk about the inter-relations between other indigenous tr...
Benedict Arnold. with Stephen Brumwell
March 02, 2021 18:00 - 36 minutes - 24.8 MBHow does a man whose personal acts of bravery and leadership, wounded on multiple occasions, abandon his friends, comrades and cause for the enemy? Was Benedict Arnold seduced by gold, promotion or the adverse influence of his wife? Join Professor Bob Allison in Conversation with Stephen Brumwell,, author of the NY Times bestseller, Turncoat: Benedict Arnold and the Crisis of American Liberty.
The Life & Death of Christopher Seider
February 23, 2021 18:00 - 34 minutes - 23.6 MBJoin Bob Allison (Suffolk University), Jonathan Lane (Revolution 250) in conversation with J.L. Bell (Boston1775) as we discuss the life and death of Christopher Seider, an 11 year old killed in an affray at the shop of Theophilus Lillie just days before the Boston Massacre. We also get into the celebration of George Washington's birthday on February 22...or is it February 11?
True Inheritors of the Revolution's Legacy
February 17, 2021 00:00 - 31 minutes - 21.9 MBShawn Quiqley of the National Parks of Boston discusses the legacy of Crispus Attucks, killed at the Boston Massacre, and how abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass and Black Bostonians such as William Cooper Nell and Lewis Hayden used the Revolution and revolutionary rhetoric as a tool to advance the antislavery cause, and made Boston a hub on the Underground Railroad.
The Will of the People with T.H. Breen
February 09, 2021 17:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MBRenowned scholar of the American Revolution, T.H. Breen joins us to discuss his . latest book, The Will of the People,: The Revolutionary Birth of America, the story of ordinary Americans who created the Revolution through their local communities. Professor Breen also talks about prisoners of war, and how his essay "Making History: The Force of Public Opinion and the Last Years of Slavery in Massachusetts," Through a Glass Darkly: Reflections on Personal Identity in Early America was turn...