Ben Franklin's World

• BFW Revisited: Disruptions in Yorktown

  What did it take to end the War for Independence? When we think of the American Revolution’s final chapter, we think of the Siege of Yorktown. Between September 28 and October 19, 1781, British forces endured a siege by the Franco-American forces that ultimately led to a triumphant Franco-American victory, British recognition of American independence, and the birth of a new nation. But the real story of the Yorktown victory is far more layered. It involved international alliances, enslaved people seeking freedom, and years of hardship. Today, we’re revisiting the events of October 1781 as we revisit Episode 333. In this episode, we join three historians–Marcus Nevius, Ed Ayers, and Gretchen Johnson– who help us uncover: How American, French, and British forces converged at Yorktown The vital role of the French army and navy in securing victory And what this final battle looked like on the ground for soldiers, civilians, and Black Virginians alike Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/333 EPISODE OUTLINE00:00:00  Introduction00:03:59 Siege of Yorktown00:05:13 The British Military Approach00:08:50 The Importance of Virginia's Regions00:18:57 The Impact of War on Yorktown00:28:03 Dunmore's Proclamation and the British Strategy00:33:44 The British Invasion of Virginia00:48:00 Aftermath and Legacy00:55:49 ConclusionRECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 162: Dunmore's New World🎧 Episode 208: Turning Points of the American Revolution🎧 Episode 250: Virginia, 1619🎧 Episode 289: Maroonage in the Great Dismal Swamp🎧 Episode 306: The Horse's Tail🎧 Episode 332: Occupied PhiladelphiaSUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• 423 The Forgotten Artists of the American Revolution

  Have you ever noticed how conversations about the American Revolution often center on great battles, founding documents, and famous statesmen? What if, instead, we explored that world through the eyes—and the hands—of everyday people who shaped it through art? Zara Anishanslin, Associate Professor of History and Art History at the University of Delaware and Director of its Museum Studies and Public Engagement Program, joins us to uncover the hidden world of artists, artisans, and makers who painted, stitched, and crafted the Revolution into being. Drawing from her book The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution, Zara helps us see how creativity and craftsmanship tell a fuller—and more human—story of America’s founding.Zara’s Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/423  EPISODE OUTLINE 00:00:00  Introduction 00:41.79  Welcome & Episode Overview 00:02:59  Meet Our Guest 00:07:11  The Transatlantic Network of Revolutionary Artists 00:11:28  Why Revolutionary Artwork Didn't Survive 00:14:13  Prince Demah & His Mother Daphny 00:21:21  How Art Patronage Worked in the 18th Century 00:24:01  Finding Prince Demah a Teacher in London 00:27:40  Life as a Black Artist in London 00:41:22  Prince Demah's Life in Revolutionary Boston 00:49:24  Robert Edge Pine: The English Artist Who Supported America 00:59:24  How Revolutionary Art Differs from Later Commemorative Art 01:04:55  What Artists Reveal About the Revolution 01:07:29  Closing Thoughts & Resources RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 084: How Historians Read Historical Sources🎧 Episode 106: The World of John Singleton Copley🎧 Episode 201: Art, Politics, and Everyday Life in Early America🎧 Episode 299: Colonial Virginia Portraits🎧 Episode 390: Objects of Revolution🎧 Episode 422: Plantation GoodsSUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• BFW Revisited: The World of John Singleton Copley

  What does it mean to be caught between two worlds? Between loyalty and liberty, artistry and commerce, and between the British North American colonies and the British Empire? We’re revisiting our exploration of the life of John Singleton Copley, one of early America’s most celebrated portrait artists. Copley’s story reveals much about the upheaval of the American Revolution and the choices people made as events unfolded around them.Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/106 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Bonus: The Boston Stamp Act Riots of 1765🎧 Episode 075: How Archives Work (Paul Revere)🎧 Episode 084: How Historians Read Historical Sources🎧 Episode 136: Material Culture and the Making of America🎧 Episode 201: Art, Politics, and Everyday Life in Early America🎧 Episode 299: Colonial Virginia PortraitsSUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• 422: Plantation Goods: How Northern Industry Fueled Slavery

  When we talk about slavery in Early America, we often focus on plantations: their large, fertile fields, their cash crops, and the people who labored on those fields to produce those cash crops under conditions of enslavement. But what about the ordinary objects that made slavery work? The shoes, axes, cloth, and hoes? What can these everyday objects reveal about the economic and social systems that sustained slavery in the early United States?  Seth Rockman, a Professor of History at Brown University and author of Plantation Goods: A Material History of Slavery, which was a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History, joins us to rethink how Northern manufacturing, labor, and commerce were entangled with the southern slave economy. Seth’s Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/422 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Bonus: Lonnie Bunch: History & Historians in the Public🎧 Episode 084: How Historians Read Historical Sources🎧 Episode 244: Shoe Stories from Early America🎧 Episode 281: The Business of Slavery🎧 Episode 390: Objects of Revolution🎧 Episode 406: Threads of PowerSUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• BFW Revisited: Origins of American Manufacturing

  When we picture the early United States, we often imagine a young nation fighting for political independence. But what about economic independence—and what did it take to achieve it? Historian Lindsay Schakenbach Regele of Miami University in Ohio joins us to explore how manufacturing became central to the nation's post-Revolution identity. Drawing from her book Manufacturing Advantage: War, the State, and the Origins of American Industry, 1776–1848, Lindsay reveals how the federal government championed industries like firearms and textiles as tools of sovereignty, security, and self-reliance. Tune in to discover: Why early leaders saw manufacturing as essential to independence. 2. How state-sponsored factories shaped key sectors like arms and textiles. 3. How these efforts laid the foundation for America’s industrial and social transformation This episode sheds light on the surprising role of government in jumpstarting the U.S. economy. Lindsay’s Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/298 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 098: Birth of the American Tax Man🎧 Episode 113: Building the Empire State🎧 Episode 140: Nathaniel Bowditch🎧 Episode 281: The Business of Slavery🎧 Episode 292: Craft SUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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