Robert J Allison
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Series
Language
English
Description
The history of colonial America is a story of extraordinary scope, with Europeans, Africans, and the native peoples of North America interacting in a drama of settlement and conflict that lasted nearly three centuries. Go back in time and relive this epic story in 36 spellbinding lectures. While concentrating on British North America, Professor Allison also covers developments in the colonial outposts of Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the all-important...
Author
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Great Courses volume 16
Language
English
Description
As with slavery, Franklin's attitudes toward the British Empire also shifted as Parliament struggled to govern far-flung colonies. Here, you will review Franklin's role as an American agent to London while tensions rose between Britain and the colonies. A steady drumbeat of war began to be heard.
Author
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Great Courses volume 1
Language
English
Description
Begin your course with a look at Franklin's unfinished autobiography, a book in which he consciously created a persona for himself as a role model others may follow. Although there is more to Franklin than he showed on the page, surveying the Autobiography offers some foundational insights into his life, his worldview, and the times in which he lived.
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Great Courses volume 18
Language
English
Description
At 70 years old, Franklin played a central role in America's declaration of independence, the formation of a new government in Pennsylvania, and in diplomatic forays to Canada and France. Find out what lessons the reluctant politician had learned that would help him navigate the entirely new world being created around him.
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Great Courses volume 13
Language
English
Description
Franklin loved science and ideas, but disliked controversy, a disposition that made him reluctant to enter politics. It is one of history's greatest ironies that this hesitant politician would become one of the most important political figures in the English-speaking world. Survey Franklin's entry into politics and consider his style as a politician.
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Great Courses volume 15
Language
English
Description
Franklin's attitudes toward race and slavery changed over the course of his long life. During his life, he owned four slaves, yet he came to despise the institution for the way it contradicted Enlightenment values. After surveying the institution of American slavery, Professor Allison walks you through Franklin's life as he wrestled with slavery.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
We all have certain images of Ben Franklin: the witty Founding Father who promoted independence; the Philadelphia printer who created Poor Richard's Almanack; the scientist who conducted experiments with kites in electrical storms; the author of what is arguably America's best-known autobiography. These images reveal an intellectually curious and successful man of the 18th century, but they don't fully capture the full spirit of one of the most extraordinary...
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Great Courses volume 11
Language
English
Description
Among Franklin's lesser known abilities are his musical talents, which made effective use of his rational mind and his quest for understanding the world. After surveying the world of 18th century music, Professor Allison reveals Franklin's musical prowess, including the invention of a new musical instrument.
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Great Courses volume 22
Language
English
Description
When he returned to America, he hoped to spend his remaining years enjoying life as a private citizen, but public duty called once again. Although America had won its independence, many challenges - from paying debts to establishing a government - remained. Delve into the debates and trials of a new nation.
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Great Courses volume 4
Language
English
Description
Shift your attention to the next stop on Franklin's life voyage, the City of Brotherly Love. Not only was 18th century Philadelphia one of the leading cities in British America, it was one of the leading cities in the British Empire. Find out what made this city so important, and discover how the city shaped Franklin - and how Franklin shaped the city.
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Great Courses volume 2
Language
English
Description
In many ways, the Franklins were a typical 18th century family - extended across space (New England, the West Indies, and Europe), and filled with comedy and tragedy, wealth and poverty. Here, you will meet his parents and siblings, learn the story of his wife and first-born son, and accompany Franklin on his travels as his family grew.
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Great Courses volume 9
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English
Description
Franklin lived during a great age of rationality and questioning, but also through one of the greatest religious revivals in world history. Franklin himself was a close friend of both George Whitefield, a famous evangelist, and David Hume, a powerful skeptic. Find out what Franklin made of these divergent intellectual movements.
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Great Courses volume 21
Language
English
Description
Although Franklin enjoyed himself in France, his primary mission was one of complicated diplomacy - first, to bring France into a military alliance with the United States; second, to negotiate with other European powers to support the American cause; and finally, to negotiate a peace treaty with Great Britain. Witness his strategy for achieving these ends.
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Great Courses volume 10
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English
Description
The 18th century was also the golden age of satire, which provided an excellent way to question authority and challenge received wisdom. As you will learn in this lecture, Franklin was among peers with Swift, Defoe, and Voltaire, and he used personas like Silence Dogood to offer blistering critiques of society.
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Great Courses volume 19
Language
English
Description
The late 18th century was an age of political revolution, and an era of philosophical revolution, as Enlightenment values spread across Europe and the Americas. As you'll learn in this lecture, Franklin was the American counterpart of his friends David Hume and Voltaire, all viewing the world with reason and skepticism.
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Great Courses volume 23
Language
English
Description
In his Autobiography, Franklin wrote a blueprint for how to win friends, but as you have discovered, he was much more complicated than the persona he created. From his beginnings as a ruthless businessman to his half-century as a political player, he developed numerous critics and even enemies.
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Great Courses volume 7
Language
English
Description
In addition to the print revolution, the 18th century saw scientific paradigms shift with the triumph of empirical knowledge. Franklin was a scientist - or, as he would have termed it, a "natural philosopher" - and his scientific contributions alone would have earned him a place in the history books. Examine some of his major inventions and ideas.
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Great Courses volume 17
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English
Description
Continue your study of the tensions between Americans and the British. In the wake of the Tea Act and Boston Tea Party, Franklin in London as an agent for the American colonies struggled to patch the relationship and salvage the empire, but by 1775, a break is imminent.
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Great Courses volume 24
Language
English
Description
Franklin lived an extraordinary life, but what's just as extraordinary is his legacy. Why has he been remembered so fondly when so many of his contemporaries have been forgotten? In this final lecture, consider why Franklin's legacy has endured, and examine the many ways he has been remembered by posterity.
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Great Courses volume 12
Language
English
Description
Franklin has been called everything from a "babe magnet" to a "high-flying ladies' man" to "the founding flirt." Although he was conventionally married and had a family, he also had a number of unconventional liaisons around the world. Here, you will consider the many women in Franklin's life, and his relationships with them.