Grateful American® Foundation

Writing the History of Early American History with David Bruce Smith

Historians spend a lot of time thinking about audience. Whether speaking at academic meetings, talking with the general public, or teaching students, we consider how we can best communicate our ideas to different groups.

So how do we write the history of Early America for a much younger crowd? In a world full of hungry caterpillars and pigeons eager to drive city buses, how do we communicate the complexity of the past to children?

Author David Bruce Smith sits down with Jim Ambuske, host of Conversations at the Washington Library, to discuss Smith’s new book, Abigail & John, a portrait of the famous Adams couple from Massachusetts. The inaugural volume in “The Grateful American Book Series,” Abigail and John features illustrations by Clarice Smith, David’s mother, to tell the story of one of the most important partnerships in American history.

Conversations at the Washington Library is the premier podcast about George Washington and his Early American world.

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