Politics Episodes

Jan. 2, 2020

139. Harnessing the Power of Washington's Genealogy with Karin Wulf

Early Americans like George Washington obsessed over genealogy. Much was at stake. One's place on the family tree could mean the difference between inheriting a plantation like Mount Vernon and its enslaved community, or wor…
Oct. 17, 2019

128. Digitizing the Constitution with Julie Silverbrook

The word “impeachment” is in the air these days. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a website to find information about what the Constitution’s framers thought about impeachment or any other Constitutional issue. Well, The Consti…
Oct. 10, 2019

127. Walking through The Field of Blood with Joanne B. Freeman

What comes to mind when you think about Congress in the nineteenth century? Perhaps you imagine great orators like Henry Clay or Daniel Webster declaiming on the important issues then facing the republic. And yes, in 1856, S…
Sept. 5, 2019

122. Making Sense of Murder in the Shenandoah with Jessica Lowe: Explorations in Early American Law Part 4

On July 4, 1791, fifteen years after Americans declared independence, two men walked into a Virginia field. Only one walked out alive. John Crane, the son of an elite Virginia family, killed a man named Abraham Vanhorn after…
Aug. 29, 2019

121. Interpreting George Washington's Constitution with Lindsay Chervinsky: Explorations in Early American Law Part 3

In the fall of 1789, George Washington ordered a printed copy of the Constitution along with the laws passed by the First Federal Congress. A book binder bound the printed sheets in leather and added the words "President of …
Aug. 15, 2019

119. The Transatlantic Reach of Thomas Erskine and Law in the Age of Revolutions with Nicola Phillips: Explorations in Early American Law Part 1

In what ways did the United States remain bound to Great Britain in the decades after American Independence? As it turns out, the law and legal ideas served as a connection between Americans and their former British brethren…
June 27, 2019

113. Republican Laws and Monarchical Education with Mark Boonshoft

Once the United States achieved its independence, how did white Americans expect to educate the new republic's youth? How did questions about education become a flash point in the battle between Federalists and Republicans o…