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Ben Franklin's World

278 Polygamy: An Early American History

Ben Franklin's World

Liz Covart

Society & Culture, History

4.41.6K Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2020

⏱️ 55 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Polygamy is not a practice that often comes to mind when many of us think about early America. But it turns out, polygamy was a ubiquitous practice among different groups of early Americans living in 17th and 18th-century North America. Sarah Pearsall, a University Teaching Officer, Fellow, and Historian at the University of Cambridge, joins us to discuss the surprising history of polygamy in early North America, with details from her book, Polygamy: An Early American History. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/278 Join Ben Franklin's World! Subscribe and help us bring history right to your ears! Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The Ben Franklin's World Shop Complementary Episodes Episode 013: Rachel Hope Cleves, Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America Episode 027: Lisa Wilson, A History of Stepfamilies in Early America Episode 045: Spencer McBride, Joseph Smith and the Founding of Mormonism Episode 120: Marcia Zug, A History of Mail Order Brides in Early America Episode 223: Susan Sleeper-Smith, A Native American History of the Ohio River Valley & Great Lakes Region Episode 225: Elaine Forman Crane, The Poison Plot: Adultery & Murder in Colonial Newport Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links Join the Ben Franklin's World Facebook Group Ben Franklin’s World Twitter: @BFWorldPodcast Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Ben Franklin's world is a production of the

0:02.7

O'Mohandro Institute. Hello and welcome to episode 278 of Ben Franklin's world.

0:17.3

The podcast dedicated to helping you learn more about how the people and

0:21.8

events of our early American past have shaped the present day world we live in.

0:26.0

And I'm your host, Liz Kovart.

0:29.0

Polygony is not a practice that often comes to mind when many of us think about early America, but it turns

0:35.0

out that polygamy was a ubiquitous practice among many different groups of early Americans who

0:39.8

lived in the 17th and 18th centuries. Sarah Pearsall, a university teaching officer, fellow, and historian at the University of Cambridge,

0:48.0

joins us to discuss the surprising history of polygamy in North America,

0:51.0

with details from her book,

0:53.0

Polygamy, an early American history.

0:56.1

Now, during our conversation, Sarah reveals

0:59.6

how and why many Native American and West African

1:01.8

peoples practice polygamy. The ways in which polygamy offered

1:05.3

practitioners economic, social, and political power, and how and why monogamy became so powerfully

1:11.8

embedded in the early United States.

1:14.8

But first, are you a member of the Ben Franklin's world listener community on Facebook?

1:20.6

We have a lot happening in the listener community right now between interesting posts and conversations with listeners like yourself

1:27.0

and weekly live conversations on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. Eastern with our book club.

1:32.0

Plus, anyone who wants to join those live

1:35.0

weekly conversations is more than welcome. Holly and I often use the book club book

1:39.6

as just a starting point for a larger conversation about early American history.

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