Ramin Ganeshram

Ramin Ganeshram Profile Photo

Executive Director, Westport Museum for History & Culture; Author, The General's Cook

Ramin Ganeshram, is an award-winning journalist and historian and the Executive Director of the Westport Museum for History & Culture (formerly Westport Historical Society) in Westport, Connecticut. Ganeshram’s area of study is enslaved and mixed-race people in colonial and Early Federal American history. She spent ten years researching and writing The General’s Cook, about Hercules Posey, the chef enslaved by George Washington. In 2019, Ganeshram uncovered new evidence about the chef’s post-emancipation, solving a 218-year-old historical mystery. She continues that work today. Ganeshram was a 2022/23 Fellow at the Fred W. Smith Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon.

The Farewell Address
8
July 8, 2024

The Farewell Address

The publication of the Farewell Address was a momentous occasion for the young United States. In it, Washington established the most significant precedent of his presidency: the two-term limit. By giving up power, Washington ensured a peaceful transition for the next president. He sent the message that the presidency was not a lifetime appointment. And he did so willingly. In the final episode of Inventing the Presidency, we discuss Washington's final moments in office and reflect on his lead...
Guests: Tom Plott , Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky , Rick Atkinson , Patrick Spero , Ramin Ganeshram , Joseph M. Adelman , Sara Georgini , Peter Kastor , Anne Fertig, PhD , Curt Dahl
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Resistance and Freedom
7
June 24, 2024

Resistance and Freedom

Ona Maria Judge was twenty years old when the young enslaved woman walked out the doors of the Presidential mansion and never returned. Judge's courageous act of self-emancipation launched a national search and tested Washington's commitment to gradual abolition on the national stage. In this episode of Inventing the Presidency, Dr. Bruce Ragsdale and Ramin Ganeshram discuss abolition, slavery, and the remarkable stories of Ona Judge and Hercules Posey.
Guests: Tom Plott , Ramin Ganeshram , Bruce Ragsdale , Anne Fertig, PhD
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The Neutrality Crisis
5
May 20, 2024

The Neutrality Crisis

In 1793, a charismatic young Frenchman would arrive on American shores. His goal? To recruit American support for France’s War against Britain. As his popularity with Americans soared, Washington faced a new crisis that would pit him between two mighty European nations. Refuse the French, and the United States risked destroying one of their few alliances. Defy the British and the American experiment would be over.
Guests: Tom Plott , Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky , Sandra Moats , Ramin Ganeshram , Anne Fertig, PhD , Curt Dahl , Curt
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