Ben Franklin's World

What would you fight for if you were free but still not equal? In 1777, brothers William and Benjamin Frank answered that question by enlisting in the Second Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental Army. Freeborn men of color, they gambled that military service would earn them what freedom alone had not: equality, land, and a better future.

Historian Shirley Green, author of Revolutionary Blacks: Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence, joins us to tell their story. Drawing on genealogical research rooted in her own family history, Green reveals what daily life looked like for free Black families in Revolutionary Rhode Island, how the Frank Brothers fought at the Battles of Red Bank, Monmouth, and Rhode Island, and how the Revolution ultimately divided them—one brother serving through Yorktown, the other crossing to the British side and resettling in Nova Scotia as a Black Loyalist.

Their story is a window into the full range of Black experiences during the Revolution, and a reminder that for men like William and Benjamin Frank, choosing a side was never simple. It was a calculated gamble, shaped by promises made—and promises broken.

Shirley’s Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/434 EPISODE OUTLINE00:00:00  Introduction00:01:19 The Frank Brothers' Revolutionary Choices00:05:14 Discovering the Frank Brothers Through Family Oral History00:09:01 Blending Genalogy and Microhistory00:15:22 Life for Free Black Families in Early Rhode Island00:20:50 Why Free Black Men Joined the Continental Army00:24:00 Motivations: Land, Pay, and Equality00:29:15 The Gamble of Military Service Amid Policy Shifts00:41:13 Daily Life and Combat in the Integrated Regiments00:44:46 Ben Frank's Desertion00:52:51 The Book of Negroes01:00:02 Postwar Outcomes: Did Promises of Land, Pay, and Equality Hold?01:02:47 Lessons from Black Soldiers' Experiences01:07:26 ConclusionRECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 118: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island🎧 Episode 157: African American Soldiers in the Continental Army🎧 Episode 301: From Inoculation to Vaccination, Part 1🎧 Episode 333: Disruptions in Yorktown🎧 Episode 348: Valley Forge🎧 Episode 413: Dr. Joseph Warren & the Battle of Bunker Hill🎧 Episode 424: Dunmore's Proclamation & the American Revolution in Virginia🎧 Episode 427: How States Are Planning the 250th of the American RevolutionSUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community🌍 Join the History Explorers ClubTAKE THE QUIZ🧭 Discover How You Explore History (under 2 minutes)👉 https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/quizLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.
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More than 6,000 Black men—free and enslaved—served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Yet their stories remain some of the least told of the war. In this revisited episode, we rejoin Judith Van Buskirk, Professor Emerita of History at SUNY Cortland and author of Standing in Their Own Light: African American Patriots in the American Revolution, to explore what motivated African American men to fight for the Revolutionary cause, how the Continental Army's policies toward Black enlistment shifted over the course of the war, and what life and service looked like in units like the First Rhode Island Regiment.Judy's Book Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/403RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 016: The Internal Enemy🎧 Episode 118: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island🎧 Episode 123: Revolutionary Allegiances🎧 Episode 433: Haiti, France, and the American War for Independence

SUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community🌍 Join the History Explorers ClubTAKE THE QUIZ🧭 Discover How You Explore History (under 2 minutes)👉 https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/quizLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.
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What if the American Revolution was never just an American story?

Historian Ronald Angelo Johnson helps us uncover the deep connections between the American and Haitian Revolutions to reveal how both revolutions emerged from the same Atlantic imperial struggle for empire, racialized power, and war.

Using details from his book Entangled Alliances, Ron will guide us from the Treaty of Paris in 1763 to the Siege of Savannah in 1779, where hundreds of Black soldiers from French Saint Domingue landed on Georgia’s shores—not as enslaved laborers, but as uniformed volunteers ready to fight for American Independence.

Ron's Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/433 EPISODE OUTLINE00:00:00  Introduction00:01:08  Episode Overview00:04:50 The Treaty of Paris 1763 and its Impact00:09:09 Consequences of the Seven Years' War for Saint Domingue00:18:39 Saint Domingue Society Post-Seven Years' War00:24:32 French Imperial Reaction vs. Local Resentment00:28:36 Circulation of News Between British North America & Saint Domingue00:39:22 France's Strategy to Assist American Revolutionaries00:50:42 Reception of the Chasseurs Volontaires Regiment in Georgia00:54:42 Re-evaluating the American Revolution00:57:32 Time Warp01:05:38 ConclusionRECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 052: Diplomacy in Black and White🎧 Episode 151: Defining the American Revolution🎧 Episode 228: The Boston Massacre (King Street Riot)🎧 Episode 325: The Everyday People of the American Revolution🎧 Episode 361: The Fourth of July in 2026🎧 Episode 421: Loyalism & Revolution in Georgia🎧 Episode 432: How France & Spain Helped Win the American RevolutionSUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community🌍 Join the History Explorers ClubTAKE THE QUIZ🧭 Discover How You Explore History (under 2 minutes)👉 https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/quizLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.
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What does it take to become a revolutionary in more than one revolution? In this revisited conversation with Mike Duncan, we explore the life of the Marquis de Lafayette—an ambitious young Frenchman who crossed the Atlantic to fight for the American cause and later carried those lessons into the political storms of France. From early idealism to a complicated role in two upheavals, Lafayette’s story reveals how ideas, alliances, and personal relationships shaped the Age of Revolutions.

You’ll hear how Lafayette became close to George Washington, what he learned in America, and why his legacy makes the most sense when you follow him across borders.

Mike’s Instagram | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/313RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Bonus: The Marquis de Lafayette & the Hermione🎧 Episode 071: Saratoga & Hubbardton, 1777🎧 Episode 203: Alexander Hamilton🎧 Episode 363: Ste. Genévieve National Historical Park🎧 Episode 365: 300 Years of French Settlment at Île Sait-Jean🎧 Episode 432: How France & Spain Helped Win the American RevolutionSUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community🌍 Join the History Explorers ClubTAKE THE QUIZ🧭 Discover How You Explore History (under 2 minutes)👉 https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/quizLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.
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The American Revolution wasn’t just a colonial rebellion; it was a global conflict shaped by European rivalries and high-stakes diplomacy. Without the help of foreign allies like France and Spain, the United States might never have won its independence.

Historian John Ferling joins us to explore the international dimensions of the Revolutionary War. Drawing from his new book Shots Heard Round the World, Ferling reveals how secret aid, political gambles, and naval power from Europe (especially France) influenced the outcome of the war, and nearly derailed it.

John’s Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/432 EPISODE OUTLINE00:01:06  Introduction00:01:52 Why European Powers Intervened00:08:02 International Interest in the American Revolution00:14:20 French Reaction to the Outbreak of War00:19:28 Initiation of Foreign Aid00:23:46 British Expectations of a Quick Victory00:25:35 Saratoga as a Turning Point00:31:46 French Naval and Military Support00:37:36 Spain's Ambitions and Entry into the War00:42:55 Britain's War Fatigue and Missed Opportunities00:51:31 Outcomes for France and Spain00:54:53 Time Warp00:59:20 ConclusionRECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 046: The American Revolution and the War that Won It🎧 Episode 112: The Tea Crisis of 1773🎧 Episode 122: The Men Who Lost America🎧 Episode 208: Turning Points of the American Revolution🎧 Episode 313: The Marquis de Lafayette🎧 Episode 421: Loyalism & Revolution in GeorgiaSUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community🌍 Join the History Explorers ClubTAKE THE QUIZ🧭 Discover How You Explore History (under 2 minutes)👉 https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/quizLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.
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