Season 1
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 ...
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 episo…
June 3, 2024
The Price of Peace
In 1794, the United States was on the brink of war. But the British weren't the only ones on the offensive. An incendiary printer with a famous grandfather would soon accuse Washington of treason, tyranny, even murder. In this episode, Joseph Adelman and Lindsay Chervinsky discuss the backlash surr…
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 U…
April 22, 2024
The Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion was an uprising in Western Pennsylvania protesting an unpopular tax. For George Washington, the rebellion held echoes of the revolution of days past. Except this time, the rebellion was against the new A...
April 8, 2024
Chief of Thirteen Fires
St. Clair’s Defeat in 1791 was—and remains—the worst defeat of the US army by Native American forces in American history, but it was just one incident in the complex relationship between the United States and the independent ...
March 25, 2024
The First Year
After the first presidential inauguration in 1789, George Washington faced the daunting prospect of starting a presidency from scratch. Every action he took would set a precedent. Ramin Ganeshram, Dr. Sara Georgini, Dr. Sandra Moats, and Dr. Patrick Spero explain the challenges of Washington’s firs…
March 11, 2024
The Making of a President
In the early days of June, 1787, in the thick of the Constitutional Convention, a debate unfolded that would test the fate of the young American nation. Four years after the end of the American Revolution, the United States still had no functioning Executive branch. The Convention sought a solution…