How did the American revolutionaries organize and coordinate local, provincial, and intercolonial action?
How did the revolutionaries form governments?
In this episode of the Doing History: To the Revolution series we explore governance and governments of the American Revolution with three scholars: Mark Boonshoft, Benjamin Irvin, and Jane Calvert.
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 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
In this episode of the Doing History: To the Revolution series we explore governance during the American Revolution with three scholars: Mark Boonshoft, Benjamin Irvin, and Jane Calvert.
Together these scholars provide us with a detail overview of the creation and function of committees of safety and correspondence, the First and Second Continental Congresses, and the internal workings of these bodies.
What You’ll Discover
- The Boston Committee of Correspondence and its formation
- Historical precedents for the committees of correspondence
- Powers the committees of correspondence exercised
- How committees of correspondence worked
- The Boston Pamphlet
- Legal colonial government response to committees of correspondence
- Role committees of correspondence played in encouraging support for revolutionary politics
- Committees of Safety and their function
- Other revolutionary committees Provincial Congresses
- The formation of the First Continental Congress
- How the First Continental Congress organized and operated
- Goals and business of the First Continental Congress
- The Articles of Association
- Effectiveness of the First Continental Congress
- The formation and organization of the Second Continental Congress
- Interaction between the Second Continental Congress and local and state committees
- Politics within Congress
- Ways Congress worked to forge an American national identity
- Conclusion of the Second Continental Congress
- John Dickinson
- How Dickinson and other congressmen represented their constituents’ interests
- The Continental Congress’ day-to-day operation
- Congressional committee work
- The Olive Branch Petition
- Influence of individual congressmen
- The Articles of Confederation
Links to People, Places, and Publications
- Mark Boonshoft
- New York Public Library
- Boston Committee of Correspondence Minutes
- Richard D. Brown, Revolutionary Politics in Massachusetts: The Boston Committee of Correspondence and the Towns, 1772-1774
- Minutes of the Albany Committee of Correspondence, 1775-1778 Vol 1
- Minutes of the Albany Committee of Correspondence, 1775-1778 Vol 2
- Joseph Adelman, “A Constitutional Conveyance of Intelligence Public and Private”: The Post Office, the Business of Printing, and the American Revolution
- Benjamin Irvin
- Clothed in Robes of Sovereignty: The Continental Congress and the People Out of Doors
- H. James Henderson, Party Politics in the Continental Congress
- Jack Rakove, The Beginnings of National Politics: An Interpretive History of the Continental Congress
- Journals of the Continental Congress
- Letters to the Continental Congress
- Jane Calvert
- Quaker Constitutionalism and the Political Thought of John Dickinson
- John Dickinson Writings Project
Sponsor Links
- Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture
- Doing History: To the Revolution! series
- OI Reader App
- Care.com senior services
Complementary Blog Posts
- William Huntting Howell, “The Committee of Correspondence and the War at Home“
Complementary Episodes
- Episode 112: Mary Beth Norton, The Tea Crisis of 1773
- Episode 123: Revolutionary Allegiances
- Episode 129: J.L. Bell, The Road to Concord
- Episode 130: Paul Revere’s Ride Through History
- Episode 134: Spencer McBride, Pulpit and Nation
- Episode 141: A Declaration in Draft
- Episode 143: Michael Klarman, The Making of the United States Constitution
- Episode 144: Robert Parkinson, The Common Cause of the American Revolution
- Episode 152: Bernard Bailyn, Origins of the American Revolution
Questions, Comments, Suggestions
Do you have a question, comment, or suggestion?
Get in Touch! Send me an e-mail, tweet, or leave a comment.
Subscribe!
Enjoy the Podcast?
Why Not Subscribe?
| 
| 
Ratings & Reviews
If you enjoy this podcast, please give it a rating and review.
Positive ratings and reviews help bring Ben Franklin's World to the attention of other history lovers who may not be aware of our show
Click here to rate & review on iTunes | Click here to rate & review on Stitcher
