What do we mean by the American Revolution?
How do we define it? Was it a war? Was it a movement? Was it a series of movements?
The Doing History: To the Revolution! series seeks to explore not just the history of the American Revolution, but the histories of the American Revolution.
In this episode, we undertake the difficult task of trying to define the American Revolution by going behind-the-scenes of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.
About the Series
The mission of episodes in the Doing History: To the Revolution! series is to ask not just “what is the history of the American Revolution?” but “what are the histories of the American Revolution?”
The Doing History series explores early American history and how historians work. It’s produced by the the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture.
Be sure to check out Doing History season 1, Doing History: How Historians Work.
About the Show
Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.
It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.
Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.
Ben Franklin’s World is a production of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture.
Episode Summary
This episode investigates what we mean by the American Revolution. In addition to sampling the ideas of many historians, we explore how the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia undertook the task of defining and explaining the American Revolution for its visitors.
During our conversation with Philip Mead, the Curator and Historian of the Museum of the American, we discover how the Museum of the American Revolution came to be; How the museum defines the American Revolution; And, how the museum interprets the American Revolution in the stories its physical and digital exhibits convey.
What You’ll Discover
- Why the Museum of the American Revolution came to be
- Layout of the Museum of the American Revolution and its exhibits
- How the Museum of the American Revolution defines the Revolution
- When the Museum starts its interpretation of the Revolution
- Why the Museum chose its starting point
- Interpreting the American Revolution and the War for Independence
- Interpreting the Revolution with objects
Links to People, Places, and Publications
- Museum of the American Revolution
- Brendan McConville, The King's Three Faces: The Rise and Fall of Royal America, 1688-1776
- Letters and Memoirs of Baroness Frederika Charlotte von Riedesel
Sponsor Links
- Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture
- Doing History: To the Revolution! series
- OI Reader
Complementary Blog Posts
- “The Histories of the Revolution,” Uncommon Sense
Complementary Episodes
- Episode 112: Mary Beth Norton, The Tea Crisis of 1773
- Episode 123: Revolutionary Allegiances
- Episode 130: Paul Revere’s Ride Through History
- Episode 141: A Declaration in Draft
- Bonus: Why Historians Study History
- Bonus: History and Historians in the Public
Questions, Comments, Suggestions
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