Revolution 250 Podcast

How does a Boston-born, Philadelphia printer, scientist and entrepreneur, journey from the position of a proud member of the British Empire with many friends at Court, to a leader in the movement for American Independence.  Join Professor Robert Allison (Suffolk University) as we delve into the life and experiences of Benjamin Franklin. Tell us what you think! Send us a text message!

John Trumbull's paintings have done more to etch the key events of the American Revolution into America's memory than perhaps anyone else. The son of the Governor of Connecticut and the brother of a Governor of Connecticut, Trumbull served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He knew many of the key figures of these events, and when he painted them, he painted them as...

Taverns in the 18th century were more than watering holes: they were centers of cultural, political and social influence, gathering places for communities and  conduits through which news was conveyed by traders and travelers from far away.  We talk with Professor Malcolm Purinton, author of Globalization in a Glass: The Rise of Pilsner Beer through Technology, Taste, and Empire ,  about the role...

Since parting ways 250 years ago, the United States and the United Kingdom have spent the intervening centuries building one of the most enduring and supportive international relationships.  On today's Revolution 250 Podcast, Professor Robert Allison (Suffolk University) is in conversation with the UK Consul-General for New England, David Clay, MBE. Join us as we discuss two and a half centur...

Join us as we uncover the remarkable, complex life of John Laurens—soldier, diplomat, abolitionist, and one of the most passionate idealists of the American Revolution.  Gregory D. Massey speaks with us about  his acclaimed biography John Laurens and the American Revolution . Together we'll explore the fiery convictions and bold actions of a young South Carolinian who fought not only against...

 We just celebrated the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill in which the men of Connecticut under Colonel Thomas Knowlton played a pivatol part.  Today we investigate the life of another Connecticut patriot, Colonel John Durkee of Norwich, Connecticut.  To help us learn more about Col. Durkee and his friends and neighbors in eastern Connecticut Professor Robert Allison (Suffolk Universi...

If Joseph Warren had lived, Peter Oliver said, no one would have heard of Washington.  This might be an exaggeration, but few patriot leaders were as important to the cause as Joseph Warren—Roxbury physician, chair of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, chair of the Committee of Safety, Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge—he did not seek office, but his compatriots recognized his talents and put...

For our 250th Episode, Pulitzer-prize winning author Rick Atkinson joins us to talk about his best-selling new book, The Fate of the Day:  From Ticonderoga to Charleston, which focuses on the War between the British capture of Ticonderoga in 1777 to the fall of Charleston in 1780.  HIs book, and our conversation,  plumb the depths of the American Revolution and the characters who shaped the war. ...

Captain John Parker is famously supposed to have said on Lexington Green, "If they mean to have a war, let it begin here." Even if the attribution is true, did the British or the Provincials mean to have a war in April of 1775?  Join Professor Robert Allison (Suffolk University) as he explores the aftermath of the events of April 19, 1775 through the end of the year. Tell us what you thi...

Jane McCrea’s death in 1777 became a powerful tool of Revolutionary propaganda, fueling anti-British sentiment across the colonies. Her murder by British-allied Native warriors was portrayed as savage and unjust, rallying support for the Patriot cause and highlighting the perceived brutality of British alliances. We talk with Blake Grindon about her book on the life, death, and legacy of Jane McCr...

2027 will be the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Saratoga and the surrender of General John Burgoyne's forces to those of General Horatio Gates.  Often called the "Turning Point of the Revolution" the victory over Burgoyne was instrumental in earning America its first European ally, France. Long a subject of legend and story, Burgoyne's expedition is now the subject of a new...

The monuments of Washington D.C. are among the most visited sites in our nation's capital. The legacies of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt are carried through the generations by their stone memorials in D.C.  Today, there is a national commission to investigate and plan for a new addition to those memorials, one dedicated to John Adams and the many notable members of hi...

What is a "turning point"?  We talk with John Mass, whose new book  From Trenton to Yorktown:  Turning Points in the Revolutionary War looks at five episodes that changed the course of the war and lead toward the American victory.  Which were the decisive moments?  Listen to find out!  Tell us what you think! Send us a text message!

Don Troiani's magnificently detailed battle paintings and meticulously-researched uniforms bring to life early-American military history.  He has collaborated with historian John Rees on a visual and artistic look at Black soldiers from the Seven Years War to the Civil War, in this richly-illustrated    Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America's Wars 1754-1865.    Historian John Rees...

After World War II, book publishers and film makers worked to identify American heroes that they could promote to the world.  Frequently these heroes were self-made men who used specialized knowledge or skills to defeat an overwhelming enemy.  One such character was Francis Marion, a South Carolina plantation owner who utlized his knowledge of the countryside to prey upon British garrisons and for...

 As we get close to Patriots Day, let us remember that the fighting along "Battle Road" and the entire siege of Boston involved thousands of men from hundreds of communities.  On April 19, 1775 as the "Lexington Alarm" spread throughout the region, towns mustered their militia and they marched towards the fight.  Needham sent 185 men to fight the Redcoats that day, losing five...

On the afternoon of April 19, as the people of Plymouth and Barnstable counties heard of the battles at Lexington and Concord, they mustered their militia and sent them. .. to Marshfield.  We talk with Patrick Browne of the Plymouth Antiquarian Society about the "almost battle of Marshfield," the only town outside of Boston that had a detachment of Redcoats.  We hear about why the Britis...

For 50 years the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library in Lexington has been telling the story of America and the Masonic traditions that are interwoven with that narrative. The museum has a collection of more than 17,000 objects and manages another 11,000 objects belonging to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. Objects from that collection and pieces from their world-class library are being used...

 Loyalty and Patriotism in the American Revolution:  Which side are you one?   Are "loyalist" and "patriot" useful terms in deciphering the sides to the American Revolution?  A conversation with Robert A. Gross, author of The Minutemen and their World, about the changing meanings of loyalty and patriotism in the era of the American Revolution.  Tell us what you think! Send us a...

Christina Carrick, an editor at the Papers of Thomas Jefferson , formerly an editor at the Robert Treat Paine Papers , joins us to talk about Jefferson and Paine.  She also talks about the loyalist family networks she has studied--New England merchants sent into exile who maintained connections with home.  She also discusses editorial projects, and how to become part of these important projects th...

Some of the bloodiest fighting on April 19, 1775 happened in the village of Menotomy, the community lay along the main road from Cambridge to Concord.  It had numerous mills, taverns and a meetinghouse and burial ground along this road, some of which still show scars from that day.  We talk with Matthew Beres, Executive Director of the Arlington Historical Society, based in the Jason Russell House...

There is a lot of focus on the events of April 19, 1775, events that set in motion America's call for Independence from Great Britain.  Securing our independence took 8 long years of war.  What is the impact of the war for American independence on a community?   Beth van Duzer of the Concord 250 Subcommittee on History and Education tell us about the community of Concord's project  to ga...

"Place is of very little consequence," Mary Sewall of Marblehead wrote to her sister in Nova Scotia in 1799," except as it brings you near to those whom by nature you are most nearly allied."  The Sewall sisters had been separated by war, yet family ties endured and complicated their relationships in the post-Revolutionary world.   Patrick O'Brien of the University of Tamp...

As word spread of the British march to Lexington and Concord,  communities from all over Massachusetts and greater New England responded.  Historian Alan Foulds tells us about the Lynn End (now Lynnfield) militia, who were warned by medical student Martin Herrick, and their march to Menotomy, where they fought the British at the Jason Russell House.  The Lynnfield Historical Society has told these...

Acting on intelligence that the Provincial militia had cannon in a Salem blacksmith shop, Beneral Thomas Gage sent Lt. Colonel Alexander Leslie and the 64th Regiment of Foot to Marblehead and then to Salem to find the weapons. We talk with Charlie Newhall and Jonathan Streff about this expedition, known as " Leslie's Retreat ," which is re-enacted in Salem every February.  Leslie di...