The American Founding with Jay Cost

By popular request ... the first episode of the original Constitutionally Speaking! In this inaugural episode, Jay and his co-host Luke Thompson discuss "Why the Constitution Matters."

Look for more of these old episodes in coming weeks and months!

In this episode of the American Founding, Dr. Cost breaks down the Electoral College. A subject of a great deal of contemporary criticism, the Electoral College is perhaps the most misunderstood part of the Constitution. The Framers created it as an institution to place the president above the political fray, but it never really worked and was abandoned after the Election of 1800. Still, understanding the Electoral College provides a sense of how the Framers expected the president to function in the political system. 

In this episode of the American Founding, Dr. Cost examines the compromise of slavery forged at the Constitutional Convention. While most delegates understood on an intellectual level that slavery was incompatible with a free republic, all were willing to compromise on the issue. Thus, the Constitution reflected an oligarchy, where political power was related to ownership of human beings. At the same time, the subtext of the Constitution quietly suggested the immorality of slavery, paving the way for its ultimate destruction. 

In this episode of the American Founding, Dr. Cost discusses the "Great Compromise" at the Constitutional Convention that led to the United States Senate. The delegates at the Convention decided on a House apportioned by population while each state would have an equal share in the Senate. This compromise was necessary in 1787 and remains essential today, Dr. Cost argues, because a republic as large as the United States must account for geography. 

In this episode of the American Founding, Dr. Cost gives an overview of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, starting with a look at the Virginia Plan. Drafted mainly by James Madison, this plan envisioned a bold national government — but would the other delegates agree? Dr. Cost goes on to discuss some of the big personalities at the Convention, including James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris, and Alexander Hamilton. He then looks at the major factions that would have to somehow agree on a new system of government. 

In this episode of the American Founding, Dr. Cost introduces the "Man with the Plan" — James Madison. This unassuming son of a Virginia planter would emerge in 1787 as the most brilliant political philosopher the Founding generation would have. His plan? Go big. The way to save the United States was to build a truly national republic. 

On this episode of the American Founding, Jay examines how the Articles of Confederation failed to hold the country together in the 1780s. By the middle of the decade, it was clear to many nationalists that the Articles were a bad system of government. And when Daniel Shays and his Regulators began seizing Massachusetts courthouses in 1786, it was finally time to act. 

This episode will look at "America's Mulligan," the Articles of Confederation. The first system of government in the United States, the Articles lasted from 1777 until 1789. They are largely remembered as a failure. Yet in creating this system of government, the Americans were drawing upon the lessons of history and theory. 

This episode explores the English tradition of political liberty in colonial America. Drawing on hundreds of years of English experiences, the Americans expected a government of limits, which respected the civil rights and property rights of its subjects. When George III and the English Parliament began violating those rights, colonial Americans began their revolution.