The full story of this country, told through the people who lived it. From the soldier in the mud to the statesman at the table. Chronological, self-contained seasons, built on the primary sources. New episodes Tuesdays and Thursday.
The Grand Convention - The Supreme Law of the Land
The branch that today holds the power to strike down acts of Congress was born without a fight — “that a national Judiciary be established,” agreed unanimously, in a morning. Then the Constitutional Convention spent a summer on the two questions hiding inside the easy answer. This is the story of the courts: Franklin’s Scottish lawyers, who always nominated the ablest man to the bench in order to divide his practice; the “may, not shall” finesse that mailed the fight over lower courts to the ...
15 Oct 2026
The Grand Convention - Sixty Ballots
No question defeated the Constitutional Convention like the question of how to choose a president. Across the summer of 1787 the delegates balloted on it some 60 times — popular election crushed 9 states to 1 after George Mason compared it to referring “a trial of colours to a blind man”; election by Congress condemned by Gouverneur Morris as “the election of a pope by a conclave of cardinals”; electors adopted in July and unwound 5 days later; a motion for a president serving for life that d...
13 Oct 2026
The Grand Convention - An Elective King
On June 1st, 1787, the Constitutional Convention reached the resolution nobody had wanted to write: a national executive. James Wilson moved that it consist of a single person — and the room went silent, long enough that 81-year-old Franklin had to coax the delegates into speaking. The reason for the silence sat on the dais: every man present was measuring an office for General Washington, in his presence, weighing out loud how much power one man could be trusted with while the man himself sa...
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
13 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 38 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
41
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
85
Contact American Political History
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of American Political History?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
