Death was a constant presence in early America, but grief extended far beyond the loss of loved ones. Everyday hardships—such as chronic illness, property dispossession, reproductive trauma, and bodily injury—made loss a near-constant companion. Together, these experiences of suffering produced a dense and often overlooked emotional landscape, one that shaped individual lives and the social worlds they inhabited.

In this episode, Dr. Lynn Price Robbins talks with historian Mary Eyring, Ph.D., about people's experiences with grief in Early America and her new book Saltwater: Grief in Early America.

Hosted by Dr. Lynn Price Robbins. Executive producers are Dr. Jim Ambuske, Jeanette Patrick, and Patrick Long. Audio and video editing by Patrick Long. Revolutions in Retrospect is a joint production of Primary Source Media and Revolutionary Histories.

On January 1, 1804, Jean Jacque Dessalines and his followers announced to their countrymen and to the rest of the world that their home was no longer the French colony of San Domingue. It was now the nation of Haiti. After years of revolutionary civil war, the abolition of slavery and fears of slavery's return, Dessalines asked the citizens of Haiti "to let us swear to fight to our last breath and for the independence of our country." That nation was the world's first black republic.

In this episode, Dr. Jim Ambuske talks with historian Julia Gaffield, Ph.D., about what we can learn from Jean-Jacques Dessalines. A man born enslaved on a San Domingo coffee plantation, who died emperor of Haiti, a man who boasted, "I have avenged America."

Hosted by Dr. Jim Ambuske. Executive producers are Dr. Lynn Price Robbins, Jeanette Patrick, and Patrick Long. Audio and video editing by Patrick Long. Revolutions in Retrospect is a joint production of Primary Source Media and Revolutionary Histories.

The American Revolution ushered in a bold new system of government—one that depended on an informed and educated citizenry. Once the privilege of the elite, literacy and learning suddenly became essential for ordinary Americans. But who would build the institutions to educate the public, and what should they teach? Who had the authority to produce new knowledge, and how could its accuracy be trusted?

From the creation of the Library of Congress to proposals for a national university and the founding of the Smithsonian Institution, early Americans wrestled with who should control the creation and dissemination of knowledge. These debates shaped the nation's intellectual foundations—and they echo powerfully today, as modern society once again struggles to assess credibility, expertise, and trust amid an overwhelming chorus of voices.

Dr. Lynn Price Robbins is joined by Dr. George Oberle to discuss his new book Creating an Informed Citizenry: Contested Knowledge in the Early American Republic.

Hosted by Dr. Lynn Price Robbins. Executive producers are Dr. Jim Ambuske, Jeanette Patrick, and Patrick Long. Audio and video editing by Patrick Long. Revolutions in Retrospect is a joint production of Primary Source Media and Revolutionary Histories.