American History Hit

What Made America? The Constitution & The Franklins

American History Hit

Show Notes

We've asked some of our favorite historians for their number one moment from these 250 years of the United States' History. For this episode, we're honored to welcome Jill Lepore back to the show.

How do the life and letters of Jane Franklin, beloved sister of THE Benjamin Franklin, reflect the nature and constitution of America?

You can read more about this in Jill's book THESE TRUTHS: A History of the United States, the Jubilee Edition of which is out now.

Jill is a Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from American History Hit

Oct 22, 2026

In November 1969 a group of Native American activists, protesting against centuries of forced relocation, broken treaties and the erosion of tribal sovereignty, launched a daring operation to take over the old prison on the Island of Alcatraz. Over the following nineteen month, it would become one of the most remarkable acts of protest in American history... but who were the figures that led this movement? And what did it achieve?

Oct 19, 2026

We're rerunning a classic episodes today from a mini-series we did all about Alexander Hamilton. Who really was he, and what do we actually know about his life?

Oct 15, 2026

On April 22, 1976 a bomb went off at Suffolk County Courthouse in Boston. 22 people were injured in the blast, but no one was ever tried for the crime.

Oct 12, 2026

In 1848, James Marshall's discovery of gold in California's American River kicked off one of the biggest Gold Rushes in U.S. history. But what was life really like in California's Gold Fields? Who was actually making money? And how did gold fever shape a nation?

Oct 8, 2026

Did you know that almost 40% of the land that is now Canada was once owned by a single commercial company?

See all episodes →