429 Coffee in Early America: Why Americans Really Drink Coffee
Release Date: 12/16/2025
433 Entangled Revolutions: Haiti, France, and the American War for Independence
Ben Franklin's World
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...
info_outline
BFW Revisited: The Marquis de Lafayette
Ben Franklin's World
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...
info_outline
432 How France and Spain Helped Win the American Revolution
Ben Franklin's World
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 | | Show Notes:...
info_outline
BFW Revisited: The Common Cause
Ben Franklin's World
Before Common Sense could ignite a revolution, colonists had to be convinced they shared a cause worth fighting for. So how did Revolutionary leaders turn thirteen very different colonies into “Americans”—and what stories did they tell to make that unity feel real? In this Ben Franklin’s World Revisited episode, historian Robert Parkinson returns to explore how newspapers and wartime messaging helped forge the Revolution’s “common cause”—and how that campaign leaned on fear, race, and exclusion to build a new national identity. Rob’s | | Show Notes: ...
info_outline
431 Common Sense at 250: The Pamphlet That Sparked a Revolution
Ben Franklin's World
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense turned a colonial rebellion into a full-blown revolution. But how did one pamphlet move so many minds in 1776—and why does it still matter 250 years later? To commemorate the 250th anniversary of Common Sense, historian and Director of the at Iona University, , joins us to explore Paine’s life, the pamphlet’s explosive impact, and what this revolutionary text still teaches us about democracy, communication, and civic life. ITPS Show Notes: EPISODE OUTLINE 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:06 Thomas Pain's Early Life and Influences 00:05:53...
info_outline
BFW Revisited: The Power of the Press in the American Revolution
Ben Franklin's World
Common Sense didn’t just make an argument for independence—it moved through a world of newspapers, pamphlets, and personal networks that carried revolutionary ideas from one doorstep to the next. So how did political news travel in 1776, and what made print such a powerful engine of persuasion? As we approach the 250th anniversary of Common Sense, Ben Franklin’s World Revisited returns to Episode 156 to explore how early Americans shared, debated, and embraced revolutionary ideas. You’ll discover how print and networks spread the Revolution, what made Common Sense a publishing...
info_outline
The Founding Father of American Medicine: Benjamin Rush
Ben Franklin's World
Benjamin Rush was one of early America’s most fascinating figures. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a leading Philadelphia physician, and a thinker who believed that a healthy body was the foundation of a healthy republic. In this episode, historian , author of introduces us to Rush as both doctor and political philosopher. We’ll explore: How Rush developed an “American system” of medicine His groundbreaking ideas on mental health and addiction And why he believed the human body modeled the ideal form of government. Rush may be what Sarah calls a “B-list...
info_outline
BFW Revisited: Smuggling and the American Revolution
Ben Franklin's World
British officials had a problem: Their American colonists wouldn't stop smuggling. Even after Parliament slashed tea prices and passed laws to make legal imports cheaper, colonists kept buying Dutch and French goods on the black market. So what was really going on? If it wasn't just about saving money, what drove thousands of merchants and consumers to risk fines, seizure, and worse? In this revisited episode, we follow the illicit trade networks that connected colonial port cities to the "Golden Rock,” Sint Eustatius, a tiny Dutch island that became the Atlantic World's busiest smuggling...
info_outline
429 Coffee in Early America: Why Americans Really Drink Coffee
Ben Franklin's World
Think the Boston Tea Party made America a coffee-drinking nation? Historian Michelle McDonald reveals the truth: colonists were already choosing coffee over tea because it was cheaper. , the Librarian/Director of the Library & Museum at the American Philosophical Society and author of , explains how coffee shaped American identity long before the Revolution. You'll hear about Revolutionary-era women storming a Boston warehouse to seize hoarded coffee and sell it at regulated prices. You'll discover why Parliament protected coffee while taxing tea. And you'll learn how enslaved Caribbean...
info_outline
428: America's Forgotten Quest to Link Two Oceans
Ben Franklin's World
In the 1820s, American entrepreneurs, engineers, and politicians dared to dream big. They believed they could cut a canal, not through Panama, but through the wild, rain-soaked terrain of Nicaragua. Their goal: To link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and transform global trade forever. But what inspired these ambitious "canal dreamers?” And why did they believe Nicaragua held the key to controlling the future of commerce? Jessica Lepler, Associate Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire and author of Canal Dreamers: The Epic Quest to Connect the Atlantic and Pacific in...
info_outlineThink the Boston Tea Party made America a coffee-drinking nation? Historian Michelle McDonald reveals the truth: colonists were already choosing coffee over tea because it was cheaper.
Michelle Craig McDonald, the Librarian/Director of the Library & Museum at the American Philosophical Society and author of Coffee Nation: How One Commodity Transformed the Early United States, explains how coffee shaped American identity long before the Revolution.
You'll hear about Revolutionary-era women storming a Boston warehouse to seize hoarded coffee and sell it at regulated prices. You'll discover why Parliament protected coffee while taxing tea. And you'll learn how enslaved Caribbean laborers made America's favorite beverage possible.
From colonial coffee houses to debates about caffeine addiction in the early republic, discover how one imported commodity became distinctly American.
- Michelle's Website | Book |
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/429
EPISODE OUTLINE - 00:00:00 Introduction
- 00:03:20 Meet our Guest
- 00:04:35 Coffee vs. Tea in Early America
- 00:06:50 Coffeehouses and How Coffee Was Served
- 00:08:04 Medical Concerns About Coffee
- 00:09:12 Coffee Production
- 00:12:35 Attempts to Grow Coffee in North America
- 00:14:04 The Use of Enslaved Labor in Coffee Cultivation
- 00:19:50 The Early American Market for Coffee
- 00:22:21 Early American Coffee Connoisseurs
- 00:29:57 Early American Coffeehouses
- 00:34:48 Coffee and the American Revolution
- 00:36:40 The Boston Coffee Riot, 1777
- 00:42:48 Coffee in the Early Republic
- 00:45:00 Coffee and the Haitian Revolution
- 00:47:53 Early Republic Attempts to Grow Coffee
- 00:50:55 Early Republic Coffee Culture
- 00:53:56 Time Warp
- 00:58:31 Conclusion
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 160: The Politics of Tea
🎧 Episode 161: Smuggling and the American Revolution
🎧 Episode 288: Smugglers & Patriots in the 18th-Century Atlantic World
🎧 Episode 294: 1774, The Long Year of American Revolution
🎧 Episode 319: Cuba: An Early American History
🎧 Episode 401: Tea, Boycotts, & Revolution
SUPPORT OUR WORK
🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s World
REQUEST A TOPIC
📨 Topic Request Form
📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com
WHEN YOU'RE READY
🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter
👩💻 Join the BFW Listener Community
🌍 Join the History Explorers Club
LISTEN 🎧
🍎 Apple Podcasts
💚 Spotify
🎶 Amazon Music
🛜 Pandora
CONNECT
🦋 Liz on Bluesky
👩💻 Liz on LinkedIn
🛜 Liz’s Website
SAY THANKS
💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
💚 Leave a rating on Spotify
*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.