Liz Covart
Inventing the Union: How the American Colonies Created a Union after 150 Years of Failure
For more than 150 years, British colonists in North America tried—and failed—to unite. Proposals for intercolonial councils, mutual defense, and shared diplomacy seemed like common sense, yet every attempt at forging a union collapsed under the weight of local interests, regional rivalries, and political distrust. So what changed? How did thirteen wildly different colonies—each with its own government, economy, and identity—succeed in forming a “perpetual union” under the Articles of Confederation between 1777 and 1781? Join award-winning historian and “Ben Franklin’s World” host Liz Covart for a revealing look at the long, messy road to American union. Drawing on her current book project, Covart will uncover the forgotten history of early efforts to cooperate across colonial boundaries and explore how revolution, necessity, and imagination finally made union possible. This session will change how you think about the Articles of Confederation—and the origins of the United States itself.
[Broadcast on October 16, 2025; recorded earlier.]
Liz Covart, PhD, is a historian of the American Revolution and the creator of the award-winning podcast Ben Franklin’s World. A passionate advocate for making history accessible and engaging, Covart blends scholarly research with the power of storytelling to connect the past to the present. Her current book project explores the Articles of Confederation and the origins of the American Union. She has also led groundbreaking work at the intersection of public history and digital humanities as the Founding Director of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios and as Digital Projects Editor at the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. Today, Liz is the Founder of Scholar.DIY, a public benefit company that helps scholars turn their expertise into compelling digital stories that build trust, foster media literacy, and strengthen democracy.
