Podcast appearances and mentions of craig bruce smith

This week Justin Rawlins and Craig Bruce Smith drop in to talk about Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and their thoughts on the MI franchise. 

Happy birthday Mr. President! Today for George Washington's birthday we invited Washington scholar Craig Bruce Smith to talk about why we still don't have a biopic of the First American, plus Craig's top five presidents ever.About our guest:Craig Bruce Smith is an associate professor of history at National Defense University in the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) in Norfolk, VA. He authored American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era and co-authored George Washington's Lessons in Ethical Leadership.Smith earned his PhD in American history from Brandeis University. Previously, he was an associate professor of military history at the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), an assistant professor of history, and the director of the history program at William Woods University, and he has taught at additional colleges, including Tufts University. He specializes in American Revolutionary and early American history, specifically focusing on George Washington, honor, ethics, war, the founders, transnational ideas, and national identity. In addition, he has broader interests in colonial America, the early republic, leadership, and early American cultural, intellectual, and political history. 

This week we venture back to one of our earliest podcast episodes to talk about Die Hard with Annette Gordon-Reed and Craig Bruce Smith. We know Die Hard is a Christmas movie, but is it the quintessential 80s film? Find out when you listen in. 

This week Craig Bruce Smith and Robert Greene II drop in to debate whether The Terminator was the most important film made in the 1980s, plus ranking the biggest action stars from 1980 to 2000.About our guests: Craig Bruce Smith is an associate professor of history at National Defense University in the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) in Norfolk, VA. He authored American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era and co-authored George Washington's Lessons in Ethical Leadership.Smith earned his PhD in American history from Brandeis University. Previously, he was an associate professor of military history at the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), an assistant professor of history, and the director of the history program at William Woods University, and he has taught at additional colleges, including Tufts University. He specializes in American Revolutionary and early American history, specifically focusing on George Washington, honor, ethics, war, the founders, transnational ideas, and national identity. In addition, he has broader interests in colonial America, the early republic, leadership, and early American cultural, intellectual, and political history. Robert Greene II IS  Assistant Professor of History at Claflin University. Dr. Greene received his Bachelor of Arts in Writing and Linguistics with a concentration in Creative Writing from Georgia Southern University; his Master of Arts in History from Georgia Southern University; and earned his Ph.D. in History from the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Dr. Greene recently completed his dissertation at the University of South Carolina, about the ways in which Democratic Party leaders in the South from 1964 to 1994 vied for the African American vote via appeals to Southern identity and memory of the Civil Rights Movement. Mr. Greene has published a book chapter in the collection Navigating Souths, and has published a scholarly article in Patterns of Prejudice. He has also published at several popular magazines and websites, including The Nation, Jacobin, Dissent, Scalawag, Current Affairs, and Jacobin.His research interests include African American history, American intellectual history since 1945, and Southern history since 1945. Dr. Greene is also a blogger and book review editor for the Society of U.S. Intellectual Historians, and has just begun a six-post stint for the Teaching American History blog. 

The trailer for Gladiator II is out and we are here for it. Craig Bruce Smith joins in to talk about what we are expecting, the first film's legacy, and Denzel Washington. Let's go.

This week begins our first episode covering the new series on Apple TV, FRANKLIN, starring Michael Douglas. Each week we'll recap the episode, fill in with historical backstory, and offer plenty of snark. We have a permanent cohost for the series in Kelsa Pelletiere, one of the foremost Franklin scholars in the world. And we'll rotate in new guests each week to provide fresh thoughts and perspective on what we are seeing onscreen. This is gonna be fun.About our guests:Kelsa Pelletiere is the guest host for the duration of the Franklin podcast miniseries. I sought out someone who is an absolute expert on the man and his life and seemingly everyone came back with Kelsa. She is a doctoral candidate in history at the University of Mississippi. Her research focuses on early diplomatic history in the United States, specifically Benjamin Franklin and the American Revolution. Her teaching interests include eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth-century American history; Revolutionary America; U.S. diplomacy; and the Atlantic world.Craig Bruce Smith is an associate professor of history at National Defense University in the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) in Norfolk, VA. He authored American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era and co-authored George Washington's Lessons in Ethical Leadership. He specializes in American Revolutionary and early American history, specifically focusing on George Washington, honor, ethics, war, the founders, transnational ideas, and national identity. In addition, he has broader interests in colonial America, the early republic, leadership, and early American cultural, intellectual, and political history.

As Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, George Washington was a central feature of the American Revolutionary War. He was also the first President of the nascent United States, and his ethics permeated the nation's constitution.Dan is joined by Craig Bruce Smith, Associate Professor of History at the National Defense University specialising in the American Revolutionary era. Craig tells us all about the life, leadership and ethics of George Washington.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/We'd love to hear from you- what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.

Jon discusses the evolution of the podcast and introduces the new elite co-host, Dr. Craig Bruce Smith. After wiping the tears from John Manza's departure, Jon and Craig discuss how the lack of understanding history in the United States is leading to a national security crisis.Best of luck Manza!!!Comments, concerns, questions, please email Jon at jon.b.mikolashek.civ@ndu.edu

If you're like me, Carl Weathers was everywhere in your life from the late 70s until today, when we learned of his passing. I asked two friends, Craig Bruce Smith and Robert Greene II, to join in and talk about what he meant to Generation X and the Millenials, his role as THE Black action star of the 1980s, and how he changed his performances over time to new audiences. We refuse to be sad today because Carl Weathers was amazing. We hope you enjoy.About our guests: Craig Bruce Smith is an associate professor of history at National Defense University in the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) in Norfolk, VA. He authored American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era and co-authored George Washington's Lessons in Ethical Leadership.Robert Greene II Robert Greene II is an assistant professor of history at Claflin University and publications chair for the Society of US Intellectual Historians and lead associate editor for Black Perspectives.

Dr. Craig Bruce Smith joins the podcast to talk about the eliteness of George Washington and the continuing relevancy of the American Revolution.

What made George Washington the "greatest man in the world"? What is his legacy outside the United States? What did "honor" mean to America's Founding Fathers, and why was it so important to them? Craig Bruce Smith, author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals During the Revolutionary Era, joins the show to answer these questions and others.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

What made George Washington the "greatest man in the world"? What is his legacy outside the United States? What did "honor" mean to America's Founding Fathers, and why was it so important to them? Craig Bruce Smith, author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals During the Revolutionary Era, joins the show to answer these questions and others.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

What made George Washington the "greatest man in the world"? What is his legacy outside the United States? What did "honor" mean to America's Founding Fathers, and why was it so important to them? Craig Bruce Smith, author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals During the Revolutionary Era, joins the show to answer these questions and others.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What made George Washington the "greatest man in the world"? What is his legacy outside the United States? What did "honor" mean to America's Founding Fathers, and why was it so important to them? Craig Bruce Smith, author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals During the Revolutionary Era, joins the show to answer these questions and others.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

What made George Washington the "greatest man in the world"? What is his legacy outside the United States? What did "honor" mean to America's Founding Fathers, and why was it so important to them? Craig Bruce Smith, author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals During the Revolutionary Era, joins the show to answer these questions and others.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did Rocky Balboa end the Cold War? More importantly, who won the war for 1980s hearts and minds between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone? We get into all of that with HATM Podcast veterans Craig Bruce Smith and Robert Greene II.About our guests:Craig Bruce Smith is an associate professor of history at National Defense University in the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) in Norfolk, VA. He authored American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era and co-authored George Washington's Lessons in Ethical Leadership.Robert Greene II Robert Greene II is an assistant professor of history at Claflin University and publications chair for the Society of US Intellectual Historians and lead associate editor for Black Perspectives.

Here it is folks, the one that started them all: 1987's Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Sonny Landham, Jesse Ventura, and more catchphrases than any other film in history. This is actually the very first podcast we ever taped and it's still my favorite. In it, Craig, Rob, and I dig into this movie, talking about what Predator has to say about masculinity, geopolitics, and ultimately, which version of Arnold is the most powerful of them all. About our guests:Craig Bruce Smith  is an associate professor of history at National Defense University in the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) in Norfolk, VA. He authored American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era and co-authored George Washington's Lessons in Ethical Leadership.Robert Greene II is an assistant professor of history at Claflin University and publications chair for the Society of US Intellectual Historians and lead associate editor for Black Perspectives.

This week Historians At The Movies revisits what is obviously the most historically accurate film ever made: Mel Gibson's The Patriot (2000). Ok, so maybe the movie plays fast and loose with history, but does that mean we can't have fun with it? Craig Bruce Smith and Robert Greene II jump in to jump on The Patriot. About our guests:Craig Bruce Smith is an associate professor of history at National Defense University in the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) in Norfolk, VA. He authored American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era and co-authored George Washington's Lessons in Ethical Leadership.Robert Greene II  is an assistant professor of history at Claflin University and publications chair for the Society of US Intellectual Historians and lead associate editor for Black Perspectives.

We all know Die Hard is a Christmas movie, but is it a history movie? This week we're talking to two of the most prominent historians of the Early American Republic to get to the bottom of the debates. You're gonna love where this goes. Annette Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard. Gordon-Reed won sixteen book prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize in History in 2009 and the National Book Award in 2008, for The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (W.W. Norton, 2008). In addition to articles and reviews, her other works include Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy (UVA Press, 1997), Vernon Can Read! A Memoir, a collaboration with Vernon Jordan (PublicAffairs, 2001), Race on Trial: Law and Justice in American History (Oxford University Press, 2002), a volume of essays that she edited, Andrew Johnson (Times Books/Henry Holt, 2010) and, with Peter S. Onuf, “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs”: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination (Liveright Publishing, 2016). Her most recent book is On Juneteenth (Liveright Publishing, 2021). Gordon-Reed was the Vyvyan Harmsworth Visiting Professor of American History at the University of Oxford (Queens College) 2014-2015. Between 2010 and 2015, she was the Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.  She was the 2018-2019 President of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic. She is the current President of the Ames Foundation.  A selected list of her honors includes a fellowship from the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, a Guggenheim Fellowship in the humanities, a MacArthur Fellowship, the National Humanities Medal, the National Book Award, the Frederick Douglass Book Prize, the George Washington Book Prize, and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. Gordon-Reed served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College from 2010 to 2018.  She was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011 and was a member of the Academy's Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. In 2019, she was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society.Craig Bruce Smith is an associate professor of history at National Defense University in the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) in Norfolk, VA. He authored American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era and co-authored George Washington's Lessons in Ethical Leadership. Smith earned his PhD in American history from Brandeis University. Previously, he was an associate professor of military history at the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), an assistant professor of history and the director of the history program at William Woods University, and he has taught at additional colleges, including Tufts University. He specializes in American Revolutionary and early American history, with a specific focus on George Washington, honor, ethics, war, the founders, transnational ideas, and national identity. In addition, he has broader interests in colonial America, the early republic, leadership, and early American cultural, intellectual, and political history.

What made George Washington the "greatest man in the world"? What is his legacy outside the United States? What did "honor" mean to America's Founding Fathers, and why was it so important to them? Craig Bruce Smith, author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals During the Revolutionary Era, joins the show to answer these questions and others.  American Honor: https://www.amazon.com/American-Honor-Creation-Nations-Revolutionary/dp/1469638835  Craig's piece for The Hill: https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/506980-a-monument-for-the-world 

Picking up on some of the themes of last week’s episode, historians Lindsay Chervinsky and Craig Bruce Smith discuss how George Washington conceived of civic virtue, honor, and public service both as a general and as president. They explain why, during the Revolution, “without Washington there was no army” and, how, later, President Washington was considered by many to be “the embodiment of the nation.” Smith and Chervinsky offer a holistic portrayal of Washington — the good and the bad — and contemplate his constitutional legacy as the creator of a powerful executive branch and the first president to peacefully transfer power. Washington’s birthday is this Saturday, February 22. Correction: In this episode, Jeff mistakenly said that Alexis Coe’s book You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington includes a claim that Washington “likely engaged in premarital sex - nonconsensual sex - with an enslaved woman.” Instead, Coe actually quotes a letter written about Washington that describes his possible premarital sex with a “Cirprian Dame,” and explains what that term might have meant. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Picking up on some of the themes of last week’s episode, historians Lindsay Chervinsky and Craig Bruce Smith discuss how George Washington conceived of civic virtue, honor, and public service both as a general and as president. They explain why, during the Revolution, “without Washington there was no army” and, how, later, President Washington was considered by many to be “the embodiment of the nation.” Smith and Chervinsky offer a holistic portrayal of Washington — the good and the bad — and contemplate his constitutional legacy as the creator of a powerful executive branch and the first president to peacefully transfer power. Washington’s birthday is this Saturday, February 22. Correction: In this episode, Jeff mistakenly said that Alexis Coe’s book You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington includes a claim that Washington “likely engaged in premarital sex - nonconsensual sex - with an enslaved woman.” Instead, Coe actually quotes a letter written about Washington that describes his possible premarital sex with a “Cirprian Dame,” and explains what that term might have meant. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

On June 29, violent riots between alt-right groups and antifa broke out in Portland, Oregon, leaving several people with severe injuries. Portland is becoming a hotbed for violent, left-wing groups. Who is antifa and what are they protesting? Rev. Ben Johnson, senior editor at Acton, joins the podcast to explain the events of the protest and antifa's objective. After that, Craig Bruce Smith, professor of history at William Woods University, joins the show to bring attention to an increasing dismissal of America's founders and how some are trying to erase the founders' legacies from history. America's founders were slaveholders and not without faults. How should we approach this history of slavery in the context of America's founding? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

William Woods University professor Craig Bruce Smith teaches a class about the American Revolution and the Continental Army. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Craig Bruce Smith talks about his new book,”American Honor: The Creation of the Nations Ideals during the Revolutionary Era”

Craig Bruce Smith talks about his new book,”American Honor: The Creation of the Nations Ideals during the Revolutionary Era”

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I speak with historian Craig Bruce Smith talks about his new book, American Honor: The Creation of the Nation’s Ideals during the Revolutionary Era. Throughout the era of the American Revolution, Americans spoke of honor all the time, most famously in the Declaration of Independence, the last sentence of which reads, “we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” But what did the Founders mean by “honor”? Craig Bruce Smith explains that honor was a crucial concept that shaped the way Americans came to understand their struggle for independence and to establish an enduring republic.  In the course of our discussion, Craig Bruce Smith: What honor meant in 18th century American political culture – and why it was such an important concept in the era of the American Revolution.   How GW and the patriots framed the Am Rev as a struggle to defend the honor of the Americans against a dishonorable attempt by the British to oppress them. And how GW likewise depicted the treason of Benedict Arnold as evidence of the dishonorable nature of the British cause. How women and the enslaved, and not just elites, appealed to honor to gain greater respect and rights. How at the end of the war, Washington defused a potential mutiny of Continental Army officers by invoking their sense of “sacred honor.” How honor in the young republic was gradually transformed from something tied to high birth and status, into something one could earn by honorable conduct. Why honor, in the era of the Revolution, denounced dueling as a thoroughly dishonorable practice – and then how that changed as a very different definition of honor emerged in the early 1800s. Recommended reading:  Craig Bruce Smith, American Honor: The Creation of the Nation’s Ideals during the Revolutionary Era (University of North Carolina Press, 2018) More info about Craig Bruce Smith - website   Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter  @InThePastLane Instagram  @InThePastLane Facebook: InThePastLanePodcast YouTube: InThePastLane   Related ITPL podcast episodes: 014 The Declaration of Independence 023 Stephen Knott on Alexander Hamilton and George W 028 Carol Berkin on the fractious politics of the 1790s and how they led to the formation of an American nationalism 041 Saratoga – tipping point of the Am Rev 065 Andrew O’Shaughnessy on why the British Lost the Revolution 079 Mitch Kachun on the life and legend of Crispus Attucks   Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, “Impact Moderato” (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, “Trophy Endorphins” (Free Music Archive) Philipp Weigl, “Even When We Fall” (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, “Winter Trek” (Free Music Archive) The Bell, “I Am History” (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Podcast Editing: Wildstyle Media Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2018 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin’s World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today’s headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history  The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod  Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today’s news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris  The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald    

On September 6, 2018, Craig Bruce Smith delivered the banner lecture, “Virginian Honor: The Ethics of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.” Despite being born into different generations and regions, fellow Virginians George Washington and Thomas Jefferson believed honor was central to the American Revolution, the new nation, and daily life. While both writing to their nephews, Washington insisted “let honor & probity be your polar star,” and Jefferson instructed, “Never suppose that in any possible situation or under any circumstances that it is best for you to do a dishonourable thing.” They each felt this ideal was so essential that it needed to be imparted to the next generation. But what did they mean by honor? Drawn from his new book "American Honor: The Creation of the Nation’s Ideals during the Revolutionary Era," Craig Bruce Smith explores the ethical roots of Washington and Jefferson’s thinking. He shows two distinct paths to prominence in early America and presents how honor was formed from the battlefields to academia to the presidency. Dr. Craig Bruce Smith is an Assistant Professor of History and the Director of the History Program at William Woods University. He specializes is in early American cultural and intellectual history during the long eighteenth century and the Age of Revolution and has broader interests in colonial America, the early republic, leadership, the Atlantic world, military history, and the American Founders.

In this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down with Assistant Professor of History at the William Woods University and former Washington Library research fellow Dr. Craig Bruce Smith to discuss his new book, American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast.

In this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down with Assistant Professor of History at the William Woods University and former Washington Library research fellow Dr. Craig Bruce Smith to discuss his new book, American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era. For more information check out our website at www.mountvernon.org/podcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mountvernon/message

The American Revolution was not only a revolution for liberty and freedom, it was also a revolution of ethics, reshaping what colonial Americans understood as "honor" and "virtue." As Craig Bruce Smith demonstrates, these concepts were crucial aspects of Revolutionary Americans' ideological break from Europe and shared by all ranks of society. Focusing his study primarily on prominent Americans who came of age before and during the Revolution—notably John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington—Smith shows how a colonial ethical transformation caused and became inseparable from the American Revolution, creating an ethical ideology that still remains.By also interweaving individuals and groups that have historically been excluded from the discussion of honor—such as female thinkers, women patriots, slaves, and free African Americans—Smith makes a broad and significant argument about how the Revolutionary era witnessed a fundamental shift in ethical ideas. This thoughtful work sheds new light on a forgotten cause of the Revolution and on the ideological foundation of the United States.Craig Bruce Smith is an Assistant Professor of History and the Director of the History Program at William Woods University. He earned his Ph.D. in American History from Brandeis University. His specialization is in early American cultural and intellectual history during the long eighteenth century and the Age of Revolution, specifically looking at ethics, national identity, and transnational ideas. In addition, he has broader interests in colonial America, the early republic, leadership, the Atlantic world, military history, and the American Founders. He is the author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary.

A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award, hailed in The Washington Post as "a work of enormous imagination and enterprise" and in The New York Times as "an important, original book," Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South revolutionized our understanding of the antebellum South, revealing how Southern men adopted an ancient honor code that shaped their society from top to bottom. Using legal documents, letters, diaries, and newspaper columns, Wyatt-Brown offers fascinating examples to illuminate the dynamics of Southern life throughout the antebellum period. Bertram Wyatt-Brown (March 19, 1932-November 5, 2012) was the Richard J. Milbauer Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida and a Visiting Scholar at Johns Hopkins University. The author of House of Percy: Honor, Melancholy, and Imagination in a Southern Family and The Shaping of Southern Culture: Honor, Grace, and War, he was a past president of the Southern Historical Association, the Society for Historians of Early American History, and the St. George Tucker Society. Craig Bruce Smith is an Assistant Professor of History and the Director of the History Program at William Woods University. He earned his Ph.D. in American History from Brandeis University. His specialization is in early American cultural and intellectual history during the long eighteenth century and the Age of Revolution, specifically looking at ethics, national identity, and transnational ideas. In addition, he has broader interests in colonial America, the early republic, leadership, the Atlantic world, military history, and the American Founders. He is the author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era.

What started the American Revolution?  The typical answers are "taxation without representation" and the economic and political consequences that came with that.  My guest today argues that while economic and political principles all played roles in the American Revolution, there’s one big thing underlying all the causes of the Revolutionary War that often gets overlooked: honor. His name is Craig Bruce Smith, he’s a historian and the author of the new book American Honor: The Creation of the Nation’s Ideals During the Revolutionary Era. Today on the show we talk about what honor looked like in America during the colonial period, how that concept changed, and how this shift precipitated the War of Independence. We then explore how personal affronts to honor experienced by several of the Founding Fathers at the hands of the British transferred into a feeling of being slighted as a people, galvanizing a collective sense of honor in the colonies and inspiring the fight for independence. We then discuss the role honor played in Benedict Arnold’s treason and how his treachery spurred colonial Americans to go on to win the war. We end our conversation discussing why the sons of the Revolutionary Era returned to a more traditional ethos of honor in the form of dueling. This show will give you fresh insights on the founding of America. Get the show notes at aom.is/americanhonor.