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The Last Adieu: Lafayette and Early America
Season 7 Episode 6
The Marquis de Lafayette came to America at age 19, on his own dime, to earn glory on the battlefield. He quickly became one of the Revolution’s grea…
13 hours ago
Completing the Founding: The Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Season 7 Episode 5
Written while the Constitutional Convention was taking place in 1787, the Northwest Ordinance was adopted fully by the new government, despite being …
2 weeks ago
Fact or Fiction? Historians Discuss Young Washington
Season 7
Young Washington purports to tell the story of George Washington’s early life, and the choices, situations, and actions that defined him as a young m…
3 weeks ago
America's First Citizen: Character Lessons from George Washington
Season 7 Episode 4
First in war, first in peace, and traditionally first in the hearts of Americans - what can we learn from Washington, the man? What made him the pers…
4 weeks ago
Why Did the Founders Create a Republic?
Season 7 Episode 3
America is often called a democracy, sometimes a democratic republic, and probably less-often a republic. But to be precise, the American system of c…
1 month, 1 week ago
A Sober View of Human Nature: Federalist 10 and Factions
Season 7 Episode 2
In Federalist 10, James Madison identified what he saw as one of the greatest dangers to popular government: factions. How did he define and understa…
1 month, 3 weeks ago
More than a Document: Living the Declaration of Independence
Season 7 Episode 1
The ideals, values, and aspirations in the Declaration of Independence aren’t just the words of an old document - they’re a statement of political an…
2 months, 1 week ago
Our Right to Privacy and the 4th Amendment
Season 6 Episode 25
Our 4th Amendment rights to privacy, in various forms, has its origins before the Declaration of Independence, and is at the foundation of Americans’…
2 months, 2 weeks ago
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations at 250 Years
Season 6 Episode 24
Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” was published in 1776, shortly before America’s Declaration of Independence. Smith famously described an “invisible …
2 months, 3 weeks ago
Returning to First Principles: America's Machiavellian Moment?
Season 6 Episode 23
Niccolo Machiavelli, is usually cast as something of a villain for supposedly promoting cut-throat politics. Regarded as the father of modern politic…
2 months, 4 weeks ago