
169 The Religious Life of Benjamin Franklin
01/16/18 • 52 min
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We remember Benjamin Franklin as an accomplished printer, scientist, and statesman. Someone who came from humble beginnings and made his own way in the world. Rarely do we remember Franklin as a man of faith.
Benjamin Franklin spent more time grappling with questions of religion, faith, virtue, and morality in his writing than about any other topic.
Thomas S. Kidd, a Professor of History at Baylor University and author of Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father, leads us on a detailed exploration of the religious life of Benjamin Franklin.
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/169
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Complementary Episodes
- Episode 001: James Green, The Library Company of Philadelphia
- Episode 022: Vivian Bruce Conger, Deborah Read Franklin & Sally Franklin Bache
- Episode 025: Jessica Parr, Inventing George Whitefield
- Episode 031: Michael Hattem, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin
- Episode 141: Drafting the Declaration of Independence
- Episode 149: George Goodwin, Benjamin Franklin in London
Helpful Show Links
- Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page
- Join the Ben Franklin's World Community
- Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter
- Ben Franklin's World iOS App
- Ben Franklin's World Android App
*Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We remember Benjamin Franklin as an accomplished printer, scientist, and statesman. Someone who came from humble beginnings and made his own way in the world. Rarely do we remember Franklin as a man of faith.
Benjamin Franklin spent more time grappling with questions of religion, faith, virtue, and morality in his writing than about any other topic.
Thomas S. Kidd, a Professor of History at Baylor University and author of Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father, leads us on a detailed exploration of the religious life of Benjamin Franklin.
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/169
Sponsor Links
Complementary Episodes
- Episode 001: James Green, The Library Company of Philadelphia
- Episode 022: Vivian Bruce Conger, Deborah Read Franklin & Sally Franklin Bache
- Episode 025: Jessica Parr, Inventing George Whitefield
- Episode 031: Michael Hattem, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin
- Episode 141: Drafting the Declaration of Independence
- Episode 149: George Goodwin, Benjamin Franklin in London
Helpful Show Links
- Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page
- Join the Ben Franklin's World Community
- Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter
- Ben Franklin's World iOS App
- Ben Franklin's World Android App
*Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous Episode

168 Wild By Nature: Colonists and Animals in North America
When we study the history of colonial North America, we tend to focus on European colonists and their rivalries with each other and with Native Americans. But humans weren’t the only living beings occupying North America during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.
Rivalries existed between humans and animals too. And these human-animal rivalries impacted and shaped how European colonists used and settled North American lands.
Andrea Smalley, an associate professor of history at Northern Illinois University and author of Wild By Nature: North American Animals Confront Colonization, joins us to explore the many ways wild animals shaped colonists’ ideas and behavior as they settled and interacted with North American lands.
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/168
Sponsor Links
Complementary Episodes
- Episode 049: Malcolm Gaskill, How the English Became American
- Episode 067: John Ryan Fischer, An Environmental History of Early California & Hawaii
- Episode 079: James Horn, What is a Historical Source? (History of Jamestown)
- Episode 163: The American Revolution in North America
Helpful Show Links
- Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page
- Join the Ben Franklin's World Community
- Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter
- Ben Franklin's World iOS App
- Ben Franklin's World Android App
*Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Next Episode

170 New England Bound: Slavery in Early New England
New England was a place with no cash crops. It was a place where many of its earliest settlers came to live just so they could worship their Puritan faith freely. New England was also a place that became known for its strong anti-slavery sentiment during the 19th century. So how did New England also become a place that practiced slavery?
Wendy Warren, an Assistant Professor of History at Princeton University and author of the Pulitzer Prize-finalist book New England Bound: Slavery and Colonization in Early America, joins us to explore why New Englanders practiced slavery and just how far back the region’s slave past goes.
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/170
Sponsor Links
Complementary Episodes
- Episode 064: Brett Rushforth, Native American Slavery in New France
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- Episode 118: Christy Pujara-Clark, The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island
- Episode 139: Andrés Reséndez, The Other Slavery: Indian Enslavement in the Americas
- Episode 142: Manisha Sinha, A History of Abolition
- Episode 166: Freedom and the American Revolution
Helpful Show Links
- Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page
- Join the Ben Franklin's World Community
- Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter
- Ben Franklin's World iOS App
- Ben Franklin's World Android App
*Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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