The History of the Americans

#218 La Salle, Frontenac, and the Secret Mission for France

It is the 1670s. Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, having returned from exploring south of Lake Erie, made common cause with the flamboyant and visionary new governor o

#217 Introduction to René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle

It is time to get back to New France and the exploration of the middle of this beautiful country of ours. Our vehicle will René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, known

#216 William Penn and the Selling of Pennsylvania

It is the spring of 1681. The “exclusion crisis,” an insurgency in Parliament proposing to exclude the king’s brother, James, Duke of York, from the line of succession, w

#215 The Founding of Pennsylvania and Some Other Stuff

With Sir William Penn’s passing in 1671, and his deathbed admonition that his son stay true to himself, young William Penn was both financially independent and liberated

#214 William Penn Before Pennsylvania 2: Penn on Trial

William Penn returned from Ireland in August 1670, and soon found himself arrested, along with fellow Quaker William Mead, for preaching to a crowd in public in violation

#213 Sidebar: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence and Brief Notes on the Signers

The purpose of this episode is very simple:  If you find yourself driving in your car with others this weekend (or on some future Fourth of July) and you and your passeng

#212 William Penn Before Pennsylvania 1

[Announcement: From November 4 through 6, 2026, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is hosting its inaugural Soapbox free speech conference in Phil

#211 Sidebar Conversation: Richard Bell on The American Revolution and the Fate of the World

Richard Bell, Rick to his friends and podcast hosts, is Professor of History at the University of Maryland. He is the author of the book Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped

#210 The Quakers Invade West New Jersey

This is the story of the division of the colony of New Jersey into East New Jersey and West New Jersey, and the bizarre legal and financial machinations that resulted ult

#209 What You Need to Know About English Politics in the 1680s 2: The Glorious Revolution

The "glorious revolution" of 1688-89 would change the terms of the English monarchy, and reverberate through American history.

#208 What You Need to Know About English Politics in the 1680s 1: The Exclusion Crisis

Heading as we are into the 1680s on the timeline of the History of the Americans, it will be useful for all of us to know a few basic things about English politics in the

#207 How Indians of the American West Acquired Horses

Going down a rabbit hole while learning about the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, I started reading about something I have wondered about – how and when did the Indians of the Ame

#206 The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 2: The Siege of Santa Fe and the Flight to El Paso

It is August, 1680 in New Mexico. The rebelling Pueblo Indians have sprung their ambush and quickly killed 400 Spaniards. About 2500 survivors have concentrated in two gr

#205 The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 1: The Kindling of War

In August 1680, an alliance of Puebloan peoples, led by a mysterious religious man named Po'pay (also spelled Popé), launched a surprise attack that forced the Spanish en

#204 Albemarle Arises: Culpeper’s Rebellion

In 1677, the longtime residents of the old and remote county of Albemarle in northern Carolina, a collection of cranks and dissidents who had fled from Maryland and Virgi

#203 Sidebar: Henry Knox and the Noble Train of Artillery Part 2

Twenty-five year-old bookseller Henry Knox, his 19 year-old brother Will, and teamsters led by John Becker, Sr., move a long "noble train" of 59 pieces of salvaged artill

#202 Sidebar: Henry Knox and the Noble Train of Artillery Part 1

Exactly 250 years ago, a rotund twenty-five year-old Boston bookseller named Henry Knox was riding his horse between Springfield and Worcester Massachusetts, on his way t

#201 Bacon’s Aftermath 2: Restless Virginia and the Rise of Black Slavery

In the last episode on the Timeline, “Bacon’s Aftermath 1: Diplomacy and Conspiracy 1677-1685,” we looked at the political and geopolitical aftermath of Bacon’s Rebellion

#200 Sidebar Conversation: Matthew Restall on “The Nine Lives of Christopher Columbus”

Matthew Restall is an historian and author of over forty books, focusing on the Spanish Conquest era in the Americas; on Aztec and Maya history; on the history of colonia

#199 Bacon’s Aftermath 1: Diplomacy and Conspiracy 1677-1685

This episode looks again at the causes of Bacon's Rebellion in light of what we have now learned, before turning to the region of the Chesapeake in the years after the Re