Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics

We the People

National Constitution Center

History, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 4 April 2024

⏱️ 61 minutes

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Summary

On November 7, 2023, historians Carol Berkin, author of A Sovereign People: The Crises of the 1790s and the Birth of American Nationalism, and H.W. Brands, author of Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, Adams, and the Brawling Birth of American Politics, joined Jeffrey Rosen for a conversation on political partisanship and nationalism in early America, and how, despite the founders’ fear of factionalism, deep partisan divisions emerged almost immediately after the Revolution. They discuss the election of 1800, the first hotly contested partisan election in American history, and trace the history of American partisanship to the present day. Resources: H.W. Brands, Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics (2023) Carol Berkin, A Sovereign People: The Crises of the 1790s and the Birth of American Nationalism (2017) “Genet Affair,” Mount Vernon The Alien and Sedition Acts, NCC Founders’ Library Virginia Resolutions, NCC Founders’ Library Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected]. Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #WeThePeoplePodcast. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello friends. I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National
0:06.8	Constitution Center and welcome to We The People, a weekly show of
0:10.3	constitutional debate. The National Constitution centers a nonpartisan
0:14.0	nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the
0:18.3	Constitution among the American people. In the fall historians Carol Birken and H.W. Brands joined me for a great conversation
0:26.9	about political partisanship and nationalism in early America. We looked at the election of
0:32.1	1800 and traced the history of partisanship to today.
0:36.7	Enjoy the conversation.
0:40.3	Hello friends and welcome to the National Constitution Center.
0:44.0	I'm Jeffrey Rosen, the president and CEO of this wonderful institution.
0:48.0	Let's inspire ourselves as always for the discussion ahead by reciting together the National Constitution
0:54.0	Center's mission statement. Here we go. The National Constitution Center is the
0:57.6	only institution in America chartered by Congress to increase awareness and
1:01.9	understanding of the US Constitution among the American
1:05.0	people on a nonpartisan basis. It is now such a pleasure to convene two of America's greatest historians to discuss the rise and history of
1:18.4	political parties in the U.S.
1:20.4	This is a crucial question and both of them have superb new books out that cast great
1:27.0	line on the topic and I can't wait to share the discussion with you.
1:29.3	Carol Birken is presidential professor of history Emerita of Baruch College and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York.
1:38.0	She's written so many wonderful books, including a brilliant solution, revolutionary mothers, the Bill of Rights, and her most
1:45.7	recent book, which we're here to talk about today as a sovereign people, the crisis of the 1790s
1:51.1	and the birth of American nationalism.
	...

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