Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture

Uncommon Sense—the blog

Author Archive

2026 and Black Americans: A Conversation about Benjamin Quarles

· June 28th, 2023 · No Comments

At the For 2026: Revolutionary Legacies conference in October 2022, four scholars gathered to discuss the long-term impact of Benjamin Quarles’s scholarship: Adam X. McNeil (Rutgers University), Rebecca Brannon (James Madison University), Derrick Spires (Cornell University), and Michael Dickinson (Virginia Commonwealth University). They shared stories about their first encounters with The Negro in the American… Read More »

2026 and Insurance: A Conversation with Hannah Farber

· December 12th, 2022 · No Comments

In this installment of interviews with OI Book authors about the Semiquincentennial, Hannah Farber discusses marine insurance—a topic that seems below the surface but that nonetheless had a significant impact on the Revolution and American independence. Her 2021 book, Underwriters of the United States: How Insurance Shaped the American Founding, navigates a cast of financial… Read More »

BFW: Experiences of Revolution, Part 2: Disruptions in Yorktown

· July 5th, 2022 · 1 Comment

Each year, the Ben Franklin’s World team produces a special episode for the Fourth of July holiday. This year, we’re going even further, sharing two themed episodes that explore how ordinary Americans experienced the Revolutionary War. On Tuesday, July 5, the second of those episodes—“Experiences of Revolution, Part 2: Disruptions in Yorktown,” episode 333—debuts wherever… Read More »

BFW: Experiences of Revolution, Part 1: Occupied Philadelphia

· June 28th, 2022 · 1 Comment

Each year, the Ben Franklin’s World team produces a special episode for the Fourth of July holiday. This year, we’re going even further, sharing two themed episodes that explore how ordinary Americans experienced the Revolutionary War. On Tuesday, June 28, the first of those episodes—“Experiences of Revolution, Part 1: Occupied Philadelphia,” episode 332—debuts wherever you… Read More »

Public Commissions for the 250th: What You Need to Know

· April 11th, 2022 · No Comments

In 2026 the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of American independence—the Semiquincentennial. It would be the understatement of two-and-a-half centuries to suggest that it will likely be a busy year for the history profession across the nation and even internationally. Of course, history professionals are not the only people interested in how to… Read More »