The United States is not a nation like other nations, and it never has been. In July 1776, thirteen separate states, home to three million people with no common ancestry or identity, stretching along a narrow coastal strip between the Atlantic and the Appalachians, declared their independence as the United States. Could they form a common identity and survive? Today, with more than 350 million people drawn from all over the world, spanning the North American continent, we ask even more what holds us together? Gordon Wood, the premier historian of the American founding, author of The Creation of the American Republic, The Idea of America, Power and Liberty, Revolutionary Characters, and The Purpose of the Past, joins us to talk about this question, which he also addressed in his 2025 talk in accepting the Irving Kristol Award at the American Enterprise Insttitute. Gordon Wood was the guest on our first podcast in 2020; he came back for our 100 th episode in 2022; he returned in 2024 for our 200 th episode. Now he joins us on our 300 th episode, as we prepare to mark the 250 th anniversary of American Independence, and to help us answer the eternal questions, What is an American? What holds us together?

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Animals were critical to the War for Independence, both as livestock to feed the armies and navies, and as draft animals to pull cannon and provisions. Dogs and other animals served as mascots and companions, and insects spread diseases that upset the most careful military plans. While historians have looked at problems of supply and transportation for the armies at war, none has looked at the impact of animals on the War, or the War on animals. David Hsuing, an environmental historian and Charles and Shirley Knox Professor of History at Juniata College, tells us about the many roles of animals in shaping the War and its outcome, focusing on the siege of Boston.

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Mary Dalley's boarding house in Philadelphia is where history happened! In the early days of the Revoluiton it was called "Liberty Hall," and after 1787 it was "Constitution House." Gouverneur Morris lived here, had his law office here, and probably wrote the Constitution at Miss Dalley's Boarding House. Gathered around Miss Dalley's table at different times were fifteen signers of the Declaration of Independence, 12 signers of the Constitution, future governors, legislators, the Baron von Steuben, the Marquis de Lafayette, and George Washington, John Adams, and James Madison.

Adam Levinson, creator of the legal history blog Statutes and Stories, and public historian Tim Schantz have led a campaign to mark the site of Miss Dalley's boarding house, once known as Constitution House. Telling its history “from the boarding house out,” they show how the house reveals the relationships, and political culture that helped sustain the cause of independence in the streets of Philadelphia.

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Linda Thorsen and Tom Coots take us to Malden, whose Town Meeting on May 27, 1776 unanimously supported independence. The Malden Instructions boldly announced the town's support for independence from Great Britain—weeks before the Continental Congress would adopt the Declaration of Independence.

Thorsen and Coots examine the political climate, local leadership, and community resolve that produced one of the earliest formal calls for independence. The Malden Resolves reflect the broader transformation taking place across Massachusetts in 1776, as towns moved from protest to outright revolution.

This pivotal yet often overlooked moment reminds us that the drive for independence was not born in a single hall, but in towns and communities where people made the courageous decision to chart a new course for the future.

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The Declaration of Independence created a new nation, and has guided the United States ever since. Historian Steven Sarson argues in his new book, The Course of Human Events: The Declaration of Independence and the Historical Origins of the United States that the Declaration looks backward, to British history and Biblical and Classical history, as much as forward.

Sarson looks at the structure of the Declaration’s arguments, about “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,” and the story of the colonists’ “Immigration and Settlement” in the New World to show how the Declaration’s authors rooted its argument in their understanding of the world drawn from their knowledge of history. The indictment of the British government’s attempts to constrain them is also rooted in historical understanding of governance, and from this Americans would frame new governments, organizing them to preserve their lives, liberties, and pursuits of happiness.

Steve Sarson, a Professor of American Civilization at Jean Mouline University in Lyon, France, looks at the Declaration with fresh eyes, as he has been teaching it to French students curious about its meaning both to our world, and the world of its writers. The ideas of the 18th-century, drawn from history, continue to inform our world, and Sarson shows how rooted they were in history as its authors understood it.

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Janie Nitze and Justice Neil Gorsuch have written a book for young readers, Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration of Independence, bringing to life the individuals—famous and overlooked—who shaped one of the most consequential documents in world history.

The book delves into the personalities, debates, and risks that defined the summer of 1776, revealing the Declaration not simply as a statement of ideals, but as a bold act of defiance undertaken by real people facing uncertain futures. From the familiar names like Jefferson and Adams to lesser-known figures like Elizabeth Lewis or Emily Geiger whose contributions have often been overshadowed, this conversation uncovers the rich human tapestry behind America’s “birth certificate.”

This episode invites listeners to reconsider the Declaration as both a political document and a profoundly personal commitment—one that continues to echo through the ongoing story of the American experiment.

ORDER THE BOOK HERE

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In this episode of the Revolution 250 Podcast, host Robert Allison welcomes historian and author Michael Gabriel to explore the life and legacy of one of the American Revolution’s earliest fallen heroes. Drawing on his new book, Major General Richard Montgomery: The Making of an American Hero, Gabriel traces Montgomery’s remarkable journey from Irish-born officer in the British Army to a committed leader in the Continental cause.

Together, Allison and Gabriel examine Montgomery’s transformation in the crucible of imperial conflict, his growing identification with the American colonies, and his leadership in the ill-fated campaign to capture Quebec in 1775. They also consider how Montgomery’s death in battle helped shape early Revolutionary memory—turning him into a martyr for the cause of independence at a moment when the outcome of the conflict was far from certain.

This episode offers a compelling look at identity, allegiance, and sacrifice in the Revolutionary era, highlighting how one man’s story reflects the broader currents of a world turned upside down.

Link to Mike's Book below:

https://a.co/d/0gKtsyqi

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Jeff Denman talks about his book Philadelphia Quakers and the American Revolution.

How did a community rooted in pacifism navigate a moment defined by war, rebellion, and political upheaval? Philadelphia’s Quakers— committed to principles of nonviolence, religious conviction, and civic order—found themselves caught in the crosscurrents of revolution, where neutrality itself could be seen as disloyalty.

Denman unpacks the difficult choices Quakers faced as the imperial crisis deepened into open conflict. Some sought to maintain their religious testimonies at all costs, while others were drawn, reluctantly or otherwise, into the orbit of revolutionary politics. The result was a story not of simple allegiance, but of internal division, moral struggle, and the challenge of remaining true to one’s beliefs in extraordinary times.

Denman's examination of the experience of Philadelphia’s Quakers complicates familiar narratives of the Revolution. Their story reminds us that the era was not only shaped by soldiers and statesmen, but also by those who wrestled with conscience, community, and conviction in the face of a transforming world.

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