"The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of THE CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE. The streams of national power ought to flow immediately from that pure, original fountain of all legitimate authority."

On Federalist Papers 21-22. 

Music is from the second movement (Largo) from Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No.9 (a.k.a. the "New World Symphony"), performed by the Orchestre national de France in 1959.

Readings are from this edition of The Federalist Papers: https://tinyurl.com/32bpyaz9

Aaron Slutkin is an Upper School history teacher at Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland, his alma mater, where he also coaches football and squash. Slutkin is currently enrolled in the MLA program at St. John's College Annapolis and graduated in 2021 from Duke University, having studied political science, American history, and Russian literature. 

Michael Hoffpauir is Assistant Professor of Political Theory at the University of Austin (UATX). A student of political philosophy and American Politics, Hoffpauir earned a PhD from Claremont Graduate University, an MA from Boston College, and a BA from Louisiana State University.

The two met at Hudson Institute Political Studies, a summer fellowship in political theory based in Washington, D.C., where Hoffpauir has taught since 2018 and Slutkin has TA'd since 2022.