The American Idea

Jeff is joined by constitutional law scholar Dr. Joshua Dunn to discuss the recently ended 2025 US Supreme Court term and some of the more interesting and potentially important decisions, as well as what seem like some friction between some of the justices.

Get a free copy of Josh’s primary documents reader about the Judiciary: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/product/the-judiciary/

Get a free copy of Jeff’s primary documents reader about the Supreme Court: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/product/the-supreme-court/

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

In celebration of the 249th anniversary of America's independence, we look back not so much on the history of the Declaration of Independence, but on its meaning. And not just its meaning then, but its enduring meaning and what we can and should take from it now.

This special episode contains the content of the first of three classes within our free, self-paced online course, "The American Idea." If you enroll, you can listen to thoughtful discussions of the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King jr's "I Have a Dream" speech. You'll also be able to download a free PDF course reader so you can read these documents, and others, and discover their meaning yourself.

Register here: https://courses.ashbrook.org/register/

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Presidents are people, too, and fallible, short-sighted, disciplined, daring - and all the other traits we humans share. How have our presidents handled, or mishandled, their own money? What can we learn from them now?

Cara Rogers Stevens welcomes author and wealth management expert Megan Gorman to this show this week to discuss some of the highs and lows of presidential personal finance.

Read Megan's book on the topic: https://a.co/d/faRlCmT

Host: Cara Rogers Stevens

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Who was William Blackstone? What did he contribute to English law, and how did his contributions directly impact the ideas in the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution? How is it that a British noble who opposed the American Revolution ended up serving as a major source of inspiration to the American Founders? Learn the details from this episode of The American Idea.

#blackstone #williamblackstone #commonlaw #americanfounding

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Americans have faced, unfortunately, a number of movements and moments in our history where free speech - especially of a political nature - has been challenged and even quashed. Power-wielding opponents of free expression and debate have often sought to prevent debates and discussions from happening, in order to protect their interests. In this week's episode we explore a lesser-known example of this, in how slaveholders before the Civil War deliberately worked to deny free speech to both whites and African-Americans, enslaved and free.

Dr. Cara Rogers Stevens, our host this week, is joined by Dr. Jonathan W. White to discuss his recent article on the topic. You can reach Jonathan and find his books at the links below.

#slavery #freespeech #freepress #abolition

Article: https://tinyurl.com/5n6s22b7

Jon's website: http://www.jonathanwhite.org/

Jon's Amazon page: https://tinyurl.com/4zn7kpej

Host: Cara Rogers Stevens

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Paul Nitze served under eight different U.S. presidents, from during World War 2 through the end of the Cold War, and it was his thinking, laid down in NSC-68, that provided some of the most foundational ideas for how America dealt with the Soviet Union, eventually bringing about its collapse.

This week Jeff welcomes State Department historian and author James Graham Wilson to discuss Nitze, and his book about the man.

Read the book: https://a.co/d/eV0zC2O

Read NSC-68: https://tinyurl.com/bdz8zmsm

#cold war #ussr #containment

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Technology, especially social media and the near ubiquity of mobile devices, has changed our world, our personal lives, and interpersonal relations. A great many people are waking up to the mountain of evidence suggesting that this change has not been all, or even mostly, for the better.

American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow and author Christine Rosen joins Jeff this week to discuss the impact of technology and our supposedly "connected" world this week. If you're concerned about human relations between individuals and at the social level - and our political discourse - don't miss this thoughtful discussion.

You can get Christine's book here: https://a.co/d/6TtOsBj

Read her profile: https://www.aei.org/profile/christine-rosen/

#socialmedia #mobiledevices #internet #interpersonaldynamics

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

What is America’s place in the world, and how have Americans understood where we as a country ought to be when it comes to world affairs and in relations with other countries? Should we be an “empire of liberty,” as Jefferson called the country? Should we avoid “entangling alliances” as Washington warned? Should we eagerly send our troops, promises, and money overseas, as has been the standard since World War 2? How do interest and morality, if there is such a thing in international affairs, play a role in the actions and norms of a republic?

Cara Rogers Stevens discusses the history of American expansion and empire in this episode with Dan Monroe, Professor of History at Millikin University. Together they chart the evolution of our view of our place in the world from the Founding to current times.

Host: Cara Rogers Stevens

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Tariffs, seemingly a relic of the 18th and 19th centuries, are back on the front page as tools of policy, with wide-reaching impacts on America's economy and Americans as individuals. What's the history behind tariffs as tools of policy, and how have American leaders understood and used them differently over time?

Political Economist Rob Wyllie joins Jeff for this timely explanation of the background and history of tariffs, as well as a healthy dose of analysis and even some forecasts related to what's going on now in the Trump administration and what it might mean for you and America now and in the near future.

#trade #trump #tariffs #economics

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

8 May 1945: Victory in Europe Day, the day after the armistice between the Allied powers and Nazi Germany goes into effect. Almost 5 years long, World War 2 in Europe destroyed millions of lives, burned ancient cities to cinders, displaced populations, and permanently changed the world order.

How, then, did it come to end? How did the Allies defeat the Nazis, and why did the war end when it did? What issues led the world from war to Cold War in only a few years, turning supposed allies against one another?

Jeff discusses VE Day and its legacy with historian John Moser, answering these questions and helping to set the stage for the rest of the 20th Century in Europe and the rest of the world.

Read Ian Kershaw's book. mentioned in the episode: https://a.co/d/echNXaL

Read the text of the Yalta agreement: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-yalta-conference/

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea