Historian Podcasts

David Hackett Fischer -- Washington Crossing of Delaware

Recording on January 10, 2005, at the The New-York Historical Society -- part of the Gilder Lehrman Institute Historians' Forums: Most Americans know George Washington’s December 1776 crossing of the Delaware from the famous painting by Emmanuel Gottlieb Leutze, which depicts Washington standing bravely in a rowboat on stormy waters. David Hackett Fischer, author of Washington’s Crossing, looks beyond the famous painting to the events of that tumultuous month. One of Washington's great strengths was his ability to lead men from different regions and walks of life. He was also known for his humane treatment of British prisoners -- treatment that the British did not reciprocate with American prisoners.

Joyce Appleby -- "Inheriting the Revolution: The First Generation of Americans

The first generation of Americans — those born after 1776 — were different from the colonists that came before them. Shaped not only by the nation’s founding principles, they were also affected by increasingly global commerce, culture, and the growing diversity of the American people. Historian Joyce Appleby explores the lives of four early Americans and the profound differences between their world and that of their parents’ generation.