The British Army is at your door. They need a room. What do you do? For thousands of civilians living in cities occupied during the American War for Independence — Boston, New York, Newport, Philadelphia, Charleston, and Savannah — that question...
Episode 414: John McCurdy: Robert Newburgh’s Trials: Queerness & Reputation in Revolutionary America
How do we uncover queer lives from the distant past, especially in an era when language and records often erased or obscured them? What did queerness look like in early America, and how might it have intersected with power, religion, and empire on...
Do you know what time it is? In early America, this question wasn’t as simple to answer as it is today. Urban dwellers in cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston often wondered about the time—but few owned their own watches or clocks. So...
“Monday, September 5, 1774. A number of the Delegates chosen and appointed by the Several Colonies and Provinces in North America to meet and hold a Congress at Philadelphia assembled at the Carpenters’ Hall.” That statement begins the Journals of...
Women make up eight out of every ten healthcare workers in the United States. Yet they lag behind men when it comes to working in the roles of medical doctors and surgeons. Why has healthcare become a professional field dominated by women and yet...
People of African descent have made great contributions to the United States and its history. Think about all of the food, music, dance, medicine, farming and religious practices that people of African descent have contributed to American culture...
What was everyday life like during the American War for Independence? In honor of the Fourth of July, we’ll investigate answers to this question by exploring the histories of occupied Philadelphia and Yorktown, and how civilians, those left on the...
The British North American colonies formed some of the most democratic governments in the world. But that doesn't mean that all early Americans were treated equally or allowed to participate in representative government. Who could vote in Early...
Who gets to be a founding father? “Founding Father” status goes to men who helped found the United States. That means the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, those who led the Continental Army, and the 36 delegates who signed the...
What was it like to live as a woman of faith in early republic America? What was it like to live as a Catholic in the early United States? Catherine O’Donnell, an Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University and author of Elizabeth...