We see him as the artist who gave us the iconic imagery of our nation's founding. He saw himself as a historian. John Trumbull, soldier, spy, and artist was the son of a Connecticut Governor, a scion of the first-families of New England. Join Professor Robert Allison in conversation with award-winning author Richard Brookhiser on his book Glorious Lessons; John Trumbull, the Painter of the American Revolution.

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Mount Vernon's historical status was secured by George Washington's ownership, but its full history cannot be told without examining the other people who lived here. Sarah Johnson, first living enslaved at Mount Vernon and later emancipated, saw the change in Mount Vernon from family home to national treasure. We discuss this story with Scott E. Casper, author of Sarah Johnson's Mount Vernon: The Forgotten History of an American Shrine. And we also discuss Scott Casper's favorite place, the American Antiquarian Society and its amazing collections and programs.

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Ben and William Frank became part of the Second Rhode Island Regiment in 1777. AFter figinting in the Battle of Rhode Island, Ben switched sides, joined with the British, and wound up in Nova Scotia after the war. His descendant Shirley Green, a Toledo police officer and now director of the Toledo Police Museum, wrote about the Frank Brothers in her terrific book, Revolutionary Blacks: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence. We talk with her about the Frank brothers and their story.

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As we approach our 200th episode we talk with Gordon Wood on his first book, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776 - 1787 which ranks among the most important books ever written about the American Revolutionary period and the formation of the American Republic. Join us as to hear about what the founders got right, what they got wrong, and how it continues to influence and evolve in America today.

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June 2024 marks the 250th Anniversary of General & Governor Thomas Gage's attempt to move the Massachusetts government to Salem. Join us as we learn how this important seaport town reacted to 2 regiments of Redcoats moving into town. Join us as we speak with Emily Murphy of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site on the impact of Gage's plan to run Massachusetts from Salem and how Salem Maritime is planning to mark the occasion on June 15 & 16, 2024 in Salem, Massachusetts.

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The Revolution 250 tag line is that these Revolutionary moments in America are "Moments that Changed the World." Within two generations of the end of the French and Indian wars, social and political hierarchies lay in ruins across the Americas and Europe and new republics rose up to take their place. Join us as we converse with award-winning author Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, Professor of History at the University of Southern California, about these new republics, the people they raised up and the new political dispensation they left behind. which is the subject of his new book, The Age of Revolutions and the Generations who Made It.

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How well do we know George Washington, the man—and why have we created so many myths about him? We talk with Edward G. Lengel, award-winning author and teacher, and long-time editor-in-chief of the Washington Papers Project, about this well-known but enigmatic character. Ed Lengel has written about Washington the General,
General George Washington: A Military Life, and about Washington the First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built his--and the Nation's--Prosperity , and about our continued invention of new Washington’s to suit our times and tempers (Inventing George Washington: America’s Founder in Myth and Memory). We will explore the many facets of Washington and his long career—during his life and after—in American culture.

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Matthew Skic from the Museum of the American Revolution and I talk about their exhibit Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia . 9-year old James Forten heard the Declaration of Independence read in July of 1776, and never forgot its promise of liberty and equality. At the age of 14 he signed aboard a privateer, was captured, taken to New York where a British officer offered to release him and send him to England. He refused rather than betray his country. Back in Philadelphia after the war he became a successful businessman--a sail maker--one of the wealthiest Black men in the country, and the chief benefactor of William Lloyd Garrison's newspaper The Liberator. Join us to hear more about James Forten and his family's story--and for more on Forten, read Julie Winch's great book Gentleman of Color.

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