The American Founding with Jay Cost

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The American Founding is a new series by Jay Cost, PhD of the Institute for Faith & Freedom at Grove City College. Every Thursday at 7 p.m. EST, Dr. Cost will examine interesting and often unexplored parts of the story of how the United States laid the foundations for the freest country in the history of the world. The big ideas, the legendary personalities, the classic debates, the petty rivalries, and more! Look for episodes to appear later on your favorite podcast source!

  1. NOV 23

    Episode 21: Why the Anti-Federalists Hated the Constitution

    Federalists carried the day at the Pennsylvania ratifying convention in October 1787, but Antifederal arguments were spreading rapidly. Newspapers all across the country were publishing works by Antifederalists like Brutus, Centinel, and Federal Farmer. The battle between the two sides was going to be lengthy and closely fought. We all know that the Antifederalists were against the Constitution, but why did they hate it so much? What were they actually for? Tune in to find out!

    38 min

  2. NOV 7

    Episode 20: Federalists Triumph in Pennsylvania

    In this week's episode of The American Founding, Dr. Jay Cost examines the fight to ratify the Constitution in Pennsylvania. Federalist supporters of the Constitution pushed for an early convention to keep opposition from rising. Their gambit succeeded, as Pennsylvania became just the second state to ratify. But their bare-knuckled tactics provoked outrage from Anti-Federalist opponents, demonstrating that the fight over the Constitution would be long and brutal.

    43 min

  3. OCT 25

    Episode 19: George Mason, the First Anti-Federalist

    The Constitution received overwhelming support at the Constitutional Convention, but it was not unanimous. The most prominent opponent was George Mason of Virginia. A widely respected Revolutionary leader, Mason played a constructive role at the Convention, but ultimately could not bring himself to sign. Join us as we discover how Mason's opposition inspired the Anti-Federalist movement that would nearly defeat the Constitution on its way to ratification.

    52 min

  4. OCT 15

    Episode 18: Novus Ordo Seclorum

    On the back of the great seal is the Latin phrase, Novus Ordo Seclorum, or "new order of the ages." How exactly did the Constitution usher in this new order? What precisely was new about it? What was it supposed to look like? In this week's episode of the American Founding, we look at the Constitution in its entirety, trying to understand what kind of new order for the ages the Framers sought to inaugurate.

    51 min

  5. OCT 7

    Episode 17: The Misunderstood John Adams

    This week's episode of The American Founding will look at John Adams. A brilliant but unconventional political thinker, his legacy is perhaps the most misunderstood of all the Founders. Condemned in his day as a turncoat against the republicanism of the American Revolution, Adams was in fact deeply worried about the potential rise of oligarchy, or the rule of the rich. Many of his warnings were prescient, and so Adams is as relevant for us today as any of the American founders.

    42 min

  6. SEP 22

    Episode 16: Jefferson, the American Sphinx

    In this episode of The American Founding, Cost examines the political thought of Thomas Jefferson. A brilliant and complex individual, Jefferson leaves a legacy of inconsistency. The advocate for individual liberty, he owned hundreds of slaves. A politician devoted to government frugality, he died deeply in depth. What can the sphinx-like Jefferson tell us about America and its traditions?

    52 min

  7. SEP 12

    Episode 15: Why Free Speech Is Essential to the Republic

    The gruesome assassination of conservative Charlie Kirk yesterday is without precedent. Kirk was murdered in broad daylight merely for speaking his mind. Scores of his political opponents took to social media to cheer his untimely death, another sign of a culture that rejects the basic principles of the First Amendment.   Free speech is not an incidental right to the republic. The United States of America cannot survive as a free nation without the First Amendment right to free speech, which carries an obligation to tolerate language we disagree with. Speech is not violence. People whose views we disagree with are not fascists.

    1h 4m

  8. JUL 4

    Episode 14: Washington – The First Man of the Republic

    This episode will look at the political theory and social status of George Washington. Remembered by Henry Lee as, "First in War, First in Peace, First in the Hearts of His Countrymen," Washington occupied an ambiguous place in the nation. For here was a country premised on social and political equality, yet with an individual who clearly was its first person. Washington was keenly aware of his role in the nation, and sought to be a unifying figure who stood above faction, while promoting economic development that would bring the disparate parts of the nation together.

    42 min
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About

The American Founding is a new series by Jay Cost, PhD of the Institute for Faith & Freedom at Grove City College. Every Thursday at 7 p.m. EST, Dr. Cost will examine interesting and often unexplored parts of the story of how the United States laid the foundations for the freest country in the history of the world. The big ideas, the legendary personalities, the classic debates, the petty rivalries, and more! Look for episodes to appear later on your favorite podcast source!

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