When politicians, lawyers, and historians discuss the Constitutional Convention of 1787, they often rely on two sources: The promotional tracts collectively known as The Federalist Papers and James Madison’s Notes of the Constitutional Convention...
Could customs collectors, the tax men of early America, be the unsung founders of the early United States? Today, we explore the creation of the United States Customs Service and its contributions to the establishment of the federal government with...
Who are you friends with? Why are you friends with your friends? In the early American republic, men and women formed and maintained friendships for many of the same reasons we make friends today: companionship, shared interests, and, in some cases...
Historians research history in archives. But how do you gain access to one? And how do you use an archive once you find that it likely contains the information you seek? In this third episode of our “Doing History: How Historians Work” series, we...
A “little short of madness.” That is how Thomas Jefferson responded when two delegates from New York approached him with the idea to build the Erie Canal in January 1809. Jefferson’s comment did not discourage New Yorkers. On January 4, 1817, New...
Do you know who authored the Declaration of Independence? If you answered “Thomas Jefferson,” you would be wrong. Jefferson merely composed the first draft of a document others created. In this episode, Danielle Allen, Foundation Professor at the...
On June 1, 1785, King George III received his first diplomat from the United States, John Adams. Do you know what happened when His Majesty came face-to-face with Adams? Sara Georgini, Assistant Editor at the Adams Papers Documentary Editing...
Do you know what the founding fathers and mothers really understood about health and wellness? Did you know that founding couples such as George and Martha Washington, John and Abigail Adams, and James and Dolley Madison endured tragic and sometimes...
Episode 004: Thomas A. Foster, Sex and the Founding Fathers: The American Quest for a Relatable Past
Did you know that most biographies about the founders of the United States reveal more about the Americans who wrote the biographies than about the true character of the founders themselves? Thomas A. Foster, Professor of History at DePaul...