Liz Covart

Boston

Host and Producer at Ben Franklin's World (Podcast)

Historian. Researcher of Articles of Confederation. Creator, Host, Producer @BFWorldPodcast. Digital Projects Editor @OIEAHC. Mother of Schnauzers. Red Sox Fan.

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Articles

Episode 410: Mary Beth Norton, The World's First Personal Advice Column

1 week ago | benfranklinsworld.com | Liz Covart

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/410_Norton.mp3When did people begin seeking anonymous advice for their most profound personal dilemmas? What can the answers to their early questions tell us about the emotional lives of people in the past? We’re traveling back in time to 1690s England to explore the world’s first personal advice column, The Athenian Mercury.
Episode 409: The Battles of Lexington & Concord, 1775

3 weeks ago | benfranklinsworld.com | Liz Covart

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/409_Concord.mp3April 19, 2025 marked the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord—the moment the American Revolution turned from protest to war. What do we really know about that fateful day? How did the people of Concord prepare for what they faced in April 1775?
Episode 408: Michael Hattem, The Memory of 1776

1 month ago | benfranklinsworld.com | Liz Covart

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/408_Hattem.mp3The American Revolution was more than just a series of events that unfolded between 1763 and 1783, the American Revolution is our national origin story– one we’ve passed down, shaped, and reshaped for the last 250 years. But what do we really mean when we talk about “the Revolution?” Whose Revolution are we remembering? And how has the meaning of 1776 shifted from generation to generation?
Episode 407: John A. Ragosta, Patrick Henry: From the American Revolution to Saving the Union

1 month ago | benfranklinsworld.com | Liz Covart

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/407_Ragosta.mp3Patrick Henry is one of the most famous voices of the American Revolution. He was known in his own time for his powerful speeches and his unwavering commitment to liberty. But did you know that later in life, Patrick Henry opposed the United States Constitution? Did you know that during the political crisis of 1798/99, George Washington wrote to Patrick Henry and asked him to save the nation?
Episode 406: Threads of Power: How Haudenosaunee Women & Fashion Shaped History

2 months ago | benfranklinsworld.com | Liz Covart

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/406_Kane.mp3Historians use a lot of different sources when they research the past. Many rely on primary source documents, documents that were written by official government bodies or those written by the people who witnessed the events or changes historians are studying. But how do you uncover the voices and stories of people who didn’t know how to write or whose families didn’t preserve much of their writing?
Episode 405: African Americans in Early New York City

2 months ago | benfranklinsworld.com | Liz Covart

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/405_Harris.mp3When we think of slavery in Early America, we often think about the plantations and economies of the South. But did you know that slavery was also deeply entrenched in New York City? Did you know that Africans and African Americans helped New York City confront slavery, freedom, and racism in the Early American Republic and Antebellum periods? Leslie M.
Episode 404: Diane M. Spivey, How Black Chefs Shaped Early America

Feb 11, 2025 | benfranklinsworld.com | Liz Covart

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/404_Spivey.mp3Did you know that many of the food traditions that define cuisine in the United States today have roots in African American culinary history? Diane M. Spivey, a culinary historian and author of three culinary history books, joins us to uncover the rich and complex legacy of African and African American foodways and how those foodways helped establish the United States.
Episode 403: Lindsay M. Chervinsky, From Crisis to Peace: Re-Evaluating the Presidency of John Adams

Jan 28, 2025 | benfranklinsworld.com | Liz Covart

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/403_Chervinsky_CW.mp3Did you know that John Adams, not George Washington, solidified the precedents of the executive branch and the presidency? Lindsay Chervinsky, an award-winning presidential historian and the Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library, has written a book Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic.
Episode 402: Bob Frishman, Clocks, Watches, and Life in Early America

Jan 3, 2025 | benfranklinsworld.com | Liz Covart

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/402_Frishman.mp3Do 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 sundials. So, how did they keep track of the hours? In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of early American timekeeping.
Episode 401: James Fichter, Tea, Boycotts, and Revolution

Dec 31, 2024 | benfranklinsworld.com | Liz Covart

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/401_Fichter.mp3During the early days of the American Revolution, British Americans attempted to sway their fellow Britons with consumer politics. In 1768 and 1769, they organized a non-consumption movement of British goods to protest the Townshend Duties. In 1774, they arranged a non-importation and non-exportation movement to protest the Tea Act and Coercive Acts. Why did the colonists protest the Tea Act and Coercive Acts?