American Revolution Episodes

Nov. 14, 2019

132. Quartering Troops in Early America with John McCurdy

In the Declaration of Independence , Thomas Jefferson criticized George III for "Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us" in the years before the American Revolution. To hear Jefferson tell it, quartered troops had …
Oct. 3, 2019

126. Entering a World of Paine with Harlow Giles Unger

On today’s show, veteran journalist and biographer Harlow Giles Unger talks to Jim Ambuske about revolutionary radical Thomas Paine , one of his predecessors in the newspaper business. He is the author of the new book, Thoma…
Sept. 12, 2019

123. Tracing the Rise and Fall of Light-Horse Harry Lee with Ryan Cole

You may know him as Robert E. Lee’s father, but Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee was so much more. Born into a Virginia dynasty, the man who would become one of George Washington ’s protégés came of age with the American Revolu…
Aug. 29, 2019

121. Interpreting George Washington's Constitution with Lindsay Chervinsky: Explorations in Early American Law Part 3

In the fall of 1789, George Washington ordered a printed copy of the Constitution along with the laws passed by the First Federal Congress. A book binder bound the printed sheets in leather and added the words "President of …
Aug. 8, 2019

118. Finding George Washington in Scotland with Rachel Hosker

How did a George Washington letter find a home Scotland? In this episode of Conversations at the Washington Library , Jim Ambuske talks with Rachel Hosker, deputy head of special collections and archives manager at the Unive…
July 29, 2019

116. Looking for Lafayette with Jordan Pellerito

In this episode, Jim Ambuske sits down with first year Ph.D. student Jordan Pellerito of the University of Missouri who is interning this summer at the Washington Library. Pellerito tells us about her Master’s degree work on…