In which John Green teaches you where American politicians come from. At first, shortly after the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, politics was almost nonexistent. George Washington was elected president unopposed, everything was new and exciting, and everyone got along well. For several months. This began the contentious debate over the nature of the United States, and it continues to this day. Washington and his lackey/handler Alexander Hamilton pursued an elitist agenda of federalism. They attempted to strengthen the central government, create a strong nation-state, and leave less governance to the states. They wanted to create debt, encourage manufacturing, and truly modernize the new nation. The opposition, known creatively as the anti-Federalists wanted to build a sort of pseudo-agrarian paradise where every (white) man could have his own farm and live a free and autonomous life. The founding father who embodied this view was Thomas Jefferson. By the time Adams became president, Anti-Federalists had understood how alienating a name like Anti-Federalist could be. It's so much more appealing to voters if your party is for something rather than being defined by what you're against, you know? Regardless, Jefferson and his acolytes changed their name to the Democratic-Republican Party, which covered many bases, and began protesting almost everything Adams did. Lest you think this week is boring politics, you'll be pleased to know that this episode contains a Whiskey Rebellion, a quasi-war, anti-French sentiment, controversial treaties, and something called the Affair XYZ, which looks very exciting. Learn all about it this week with John Green.
Hello Teachers and Students – Check out CommonLit's free collection of reading passages and teaching resources to learn more about the events in this episode. Much of American politics emerged from debates between Democratic Republican Thomas Jefferson and Federalist Alexander Hamilton: https://www.commonlit.org/texts/alexander-hamilton
While Jefferson would become president, Hamilton greatly influenced President George Washington who defined many American political ideals in his farewell address which Hamilton helped write: https://www.commonlit.org/texts/washington-s -farewell-address
Chapters:
Presentation 00:00
Alexander Hamilton's vision for America 0:26
Thomas Jefferson's Vision for America 2:10
Democratic Republicans versus Federalists 3:32
George Washington and the first American presidential election 4:33
Hamilton's five-point plan 5:04
Republican opposition to Hamilton's economic plan 6:20
The Whiskey Rebellion 7:02
Start of US Foreign Affairs 7:31
The end of Washington's presidency 8:36
Mystery Document 9:21
Presidency of John Adams 10:48
The Alien and the Sedition Acts 11:56
Credits 13:24
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