"He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures."

In this episode we explore Grievance #4 of the Declaration of Independence and the importance of Colonial infrastructure--the roads, ports, cities, and other communication structures and information systems that helped the Colonies thrive. Topics include the following:

-the importance of the 7 Years' War in accelerating the development of infrastructure throughout the Colonies and into the interior

-the Braddock Expedition against the French in 1755

-the expansion of the Colonial/Imperial post office, led by Benjamin Franklin

-the inauguration of the monthly packet boat from Falmouth to London in 1755, with the purpose of strengthening information sharing around the British Empire

-the presence of Native American infrastructure throughout North America

-the "pathways of paperwork" and the centralization of British Imperial bureaucracy in New York, which set the foundation for more effective infrastructure projects

-how Patriots captured and instrumentalized British Imperial infrastructure for their own political and military ends

-the expansion of knowledge or information infrastructure throughout the Colonies between the end of the 7 Years' War and the start of the War for Independence

-the symmetries forming between newspapers and an ever more efficient postal service

-tensions between supporters of the free press and ministers who preferred censorship and who used the Stamp Act and its tax on newspapers to curtail the free spread of ideas throughout the Colonies

-the development of infrastructure that was independent from the British Empire, such as the Committees of Correspondence and the Post Office, which was authorized by the Second Continental Congress in July 1775

-the rebel takeover of the Imperial postal networks

-the importance of infrastructure in the expansion of the United States after independence

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

In this episode, we focus on the Netherlands, the second country (after France) to acknowledge the claim made in the the Declaration of Independence, that the United States is an independent "Power of the Earth."

Topics include:

-the long history of Dutch settlers and traders in North America and the Caribbean

-the integration of Dutch people and systems into the new British Colony of New York (for example, the Patroon system)

-the importance of American traders in the Netherlands in the 1700s

-a history of the Dutch weapons trade

-the importance of Dutch newspapers, such as the Leiden Gazette, in spreading pro-Patriot ideas throughout Europe

-the presence of both Dutch-American Patriots and Dutch-American Loyalists in the Colonies

-the role of the Island of St. Eustatius in the revolutionary struggle and the FIRST SALUTE Controversy

-the general attitude among the Dutch, both in the Dutch Republic and the Dutch colonies, that Britain was attempting to stifle trade in a tyrannical way, a view that led them to support the rebellious Americans

-similarities and differences between the Dutch Act of Abjuration against the King of Spain in 1581 and the Declaration of Independence--of particular note is the introduction which includes a long list of grievances against King Philip. Full text is here. [Dutch Act of Abjuration](https://www.age-of-the-sage.org/history/dutch_independence_1581.html)

Prof. Tieleman's most recent article can be found here. [To Shake Off the British Shackle Forever: The Political Economy of the Dutch Republic during the American Revolution](https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/article/927905)

The cover image is a depiction of the USS Andrew Doria, flying the Patriot flag, receiving the First Salute from the Dutch Fort Orange on the Island of Saint Eustatius on 16 November 1776.

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America...solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States...and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do."

In this episode, we explore the complex relationship between the new United States and its major patron, France.

Topics include the following:

-the bloody historical competition between the French and British Empires

-the differing aims of powerful interest groups in France who drove French economic and imperial policies, such as the Physiocrats who saw French power expanding through liberal trade with their colonies and a potentially independent United States

-reasons why France and Spain were conflicted in their support for a victorious United States, namely the dangerous precedent it would set for other colonies who might also fight for their own independence

-the traditional hatred of France in the British Colonies, which was based on anti-Catholic prejudice, fear of authoritarianism, and centuries of war

-the slow process from 1763-1776 that led the 13 Colonies to regard the old enemy France as a potential friend and ally

-The Quebec Act of 1774 and the evolution of French Canada which had become British after the Seven Years' War

-An exploration of France's decision to support the rebellion

-The reaction to the Declaration of Independence in France

-Ramifications of the French-American alliance for Native Americans

-The types of support, both overt and covert, that France supplied to the Patriots

-The Treaty of Friendship (Amity) and Commerce between France and the USA in 1778

-Effects of the American Revolution on the French Revolution in 1789

"Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If perticuliar care and attention is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation." Abigail Adams to John Adams, 31 March 1776

For our Women's History Month episode, we explore the amazing life of Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, the second president, and mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president.

Topics include the following:

-Abigail Adams' childhood and upbringing and her relationship with John

-Her eye-witness accounts of battles, like the Battle of Bunker Hill (17 June 1775)

-Her correspondence with John about the Declaration of Independence and its future celebrations

-Her own experience with enslaved people, her views on the institution of slavery, and her advocacy for Black education

-Her views on women's education, political rights, and property rights

-Her friendship and correspondence with Thomas Jefferson

-Her interest in science and the natural world

The phrase, ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, is complicated when viewed from the perspective of an enslaved person. So for our Black History Month episode, we are exploring the wide variety of Black perspectives about the Declaration of Independence.

Topics include the following:

-a history of Juneteenth, the alternative Independence Day for Black Americans

-the different life situations of Black Americans in 1776 and their different responses to the Declaration of Independence

-the story of James Forten, free Black, Patriot volunteer, and early abolitionist, and Jeffrey Brace, an enslaved soldier in the Continental Army, who was re-enslaved after the war

-factors that might impel a free or enslaved Black person to support the Patriot cause or the Loyalist cause

-different strategies of resistance to enslavement

-the experiences of Black Loyalists and Black Patriots

-an analysis of the famous deleted passage in the Declaration which criticized slavery

-the Atlantic slave trade

-the subtle distinctions people made between the TRADING of slaves and the POSSESSION of slaves

Book mentioned in this episode:

Benjamin Arthur Quarles, The Negro in the American Revolution (1961)

"He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people."

In this episode, we explore Grievance #24 in the Declaration of Independence, which condemns the British practice of privateering amongst other things.

Topics include the following:

-the destruction of Norfolk and Falmouth--the towns alluded to in Grievance #24

-the legal differences between official action by navies and semi-official actions by privateers

-the massacre of enslaved people on the Zong (aka the Zorg)

-the diversity of seafarers in the 18th century

-the Continental Association of 1774, signed by all of the original 13 Colonies except for Georgia, which boycotted goods from Britain and British colonies that did not join

-the politics and practicalities of boycotts on products and shipping, including the repackaging of goods to falsify their origins

-the origins of the first American privateers and the Continental Navy as well as the individual State navies

-privateering, slavery, and the slave trade

"He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands."

Today we explore Grievance #26 in the Declaration of Independence, which protested against the Royal Navy practice of impressment, the forced conscription of sailors into naval service.

Topics include the following:

-a description of the life of seafarers in the 18th century

-a detailed overview of the British practice of impressment

-strategies for avoiding impressment both on land and at sea

-reasons men chose to be sailors in the first place

-the intermingling of formal naval service, piracy, privateering, and impressment

-desertion rates and reasons for desertion

-the strange legal status of captured American sailors who were liable to be impressed because they were still regarded as rebellious subjects rather than enemy prisoners of war, who could not be impressed

-the use of impressment by the Continental Navy as well as individual State navies

-impressment in the context of African American history

-the generosity and empathy that sailors of all sides treated other members of the brotherhood of the sea

-the British decision in 1782 to change the legal status of American sailors in 1782, treating them as foreign prisoners of war rather than British subjects who could be impressed

-the ramifications of independence for American ships, merchants, and seafarers

"He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures."

In today's episode, we explore Grievance #11 in the Declaration of Independence, which condemns the deployment of British regular troops in American towns and cities during peacetime.

Topics include:

-the long British tradition disapproving of standing armies on British soil

-the long British tradition of allowing for political protest and dissent without fear of punishment by a standing army

-the cooperation between the British Army and Colonial militias during the 7 Years' War

-the reasons why King George deemed it necessary to station 10,000 British troops in the North American colonies after the end of the 7 Years' War, namely to manage the conflicts between eager colonists who wanted to expand westward and native peoples who wanted to hold the line

-the1768 riots in Boston after the seizure of John Hancock's ship, The Liberty, an event which then prompted the deployment of British troops

-the Boston Tea Party of 1773 and the British response to it: the declaration of martial law in 1774 followed by the Coercive Acts aka the Intolerable Acts, which were enforced by General Thomas Gage

-an explanation of the phrase "without the consent of our legislatures," which highlights both the role of colonial militias for self-defence and also the importance of the norma of legislative approval for any deployment of troops in the Colonies

Prof. Johnson's book can be found here:

[Occupied America: British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution](https://www.pennpress.org/9780812252545/occupied-america/)

The cover image is a portrait of Gen. Thomas Gage, commander of British troops in North America until 1775.

"Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren...They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, ENEMIES IN WAR, IN PEACE FRIENDS."

In this episode we explore Loyalist vs. Patriot Civil War during the Revolutionary War. Topics include:

-the outbreak of violence in Lexington and Concord in 1775 and the mustering of local militias, which forced Colonial men to decide whether they supported the revolution or the King

-the Sons of Liberty and the Committees of Correspondence, which urged fellow colonists both to support independence and also to engage in acts of protest against the British Empire

-an exploration of Loyalists and Loyalism

-British misjudgements about the extent to which Colonists--even mostly loyal Colonists--were in fact loyal to the King and satisfied with British military occupation

-the use and effectiveness of loyalty oaths, which were administered an the population by both sides in the conflict

-intrafamily division like that between Benjamin Franklin and his son, William, who was Governor of New Jersey and a fervent Loyalist, and that between the Patriot Officer Henry Knox and his wife's family, who were also fervent Loyalists

-the post-war reconciliation, reintegration, and intentional forgetting of Loyalists

***This episode was recorded live on 19 November 2025.***

This special episode explores the life and work of Mark Twain, one of the most iconic figures in American literature.

We discuss Twain’s career, his main interests, and his enduring impact on U.S. cultural history. A particular focus is his travels through Europe and Germany, which profoundly influenced both his writing and his worldview. Finally, we look at the modern reception and contemporary reinterpretations of Twain’s texts – and consider why his humor, satire, and social critique continue to resonate today.

The episode is introduced by Laura Langford, Chair of the Amerikazentrum.

Gottfried Haufe is a radio presenter, cultural manager and author. As a trained historian, English scholar and educationalist, many of his interests lie in the field of educational and mediation projects of all kinds. However, topics relating to art and culture, social co-operation, innovation and future prospects also play an important role for him.

Holger Kersten is Professor in the Department of Anglistik and Amerikanistik at the University of Halle. His work focuses on selected core issues in American literature and culture. In the context of literary studies, particular attention is paid to topics from the 19th century, including research on Mark Twain and naturalist authors of the turn of the century.