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Joseph Adelman

An early American historian on Michael Douglas’s portrayal of Ben Franklin

John Fea   |  April 12, 2024

Last month we called your attention to Franklin, an Apple TV+ miniseries staring Michael Douglas as Poor Richard. Today, we call your attention to historian Joseph Adelman’s review of Franklin at Slate.Com. Here is a taste: Key to the show’s […]

Historian Linda Kerber revisits Women of the Republic

John Fea   |  April 28, 2023

Last week in my American Revolution course we debated how the revolution influenced the lives of women. In the course of our discussion I introduced the students to Linda Kerber‘s idea of “republican motherhood.” This didn’t take too much pedagogical […]

The return of Ben Franklin

John Fea   |  April 5, 2022

Historian Joseph Adelman calls our attention to a small Ben Franklin revival. Here is his piece at Slate: Benjamin Franklin is having a moment. For decades he has hovered on the periphery of popular representations of the American founding. This […]

Did Benjamin Franklin successfully thwart cancel culture?

John Fea   |  April 22, 2021

Here is “presidential historian” Jane Hampton Cook yesterday on Fox News: Cook’s appearance follows this article at Fox News. What qualifies one as a “presidential historian?” Unfortunately, Cook doesn’t really know what she is talking about here. Cook comes from […]