The American Founding with Jay Cost

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.