Episode 292: Craft in Early America

by Liz CovartJanuary 5, 2021

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What was everyday life like for those who lived in early America?

To get at the everyday lives of early Americans we need to look at the goods they made and how they produced those goods. In essence, nothing explains the everyday as much as the goods in people’s lives.

Glenn Adamson, author of Craft: An American History, joins us to investigate craft and craftspeople in Early America.

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.

Ben Franklin’s World is a production of the Omohundro Institute.

Episode Summary

Glenn Adamson, a scholar who has served as the curator or director of research at several museums and a scholar who has spent much of his career researching and writing about crafts and craft goods, joins us to investigate the early American world of craft and craftspeople.

Using details from his book Craft: An American History, Glenn reveals how we should think about and understand the term “craft”; Who could be an artisan or tradesman in Early America; And, how movements like the Consumer Revolution and the Industrial Revolution impacted the everyday lives of early American craftspeople.

What You’ll Discover

The term “craft”
How early Americans understood “craft”
Artisans and tradesmen
Women and craftsmanship
Knowledge and skill to practice a craft
Guilds and the guild system
Why the guild system did not work in early America
Benjamin Franklin and the myth of the self-made man
Origins of the “self-made man” myth
Producing goods for home use vs. the market
The cost of practicing a craft in early America
The Consumer Revolution and craft
Native Americans and craft in early America
Enslaved craftspeople and their trades
Experience of free black craftspeople in early America
Why artisans & craftspeople always seem to be at the forefront of social movements
Impact of the Industrial Revolution on American craft
What we can see by viewing American history through craft

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Time Warp Question

In your opinion, what might have happened if the Industrial Revolution had never happened? How would the history of craft and craftsmen have been different?