The close of the 18th century saw the young American republic grappling with its identity. Would it be a nation of powerful federal authority, or one rooted in agrarian principles and states' rights?

The era we’re exploring today answers that question decisively. It begins with a contentious transfer of power, leads to a landmark legal precedent that defines the Supreme Court’s role to this day, and culminates in a territorial acquisition that instantly doubled the size of the United States.

It's a period where the philosophical vision of one man—Thomas Jefferson—reshaped the physical and legal landscape of the nation for centuries to come.

Growing Pains: The Fragile Republic (1792–1800)

We often look at the founding of America like a statue—marble, white, and motionless. But the 1790s? They were anything but still. They were messy, loud, and violent. Between 1792 and 1800, we weren't just deciding how to govern; we were fighting over who got to be an American.

We’ve got a government testing its muscles, Native Confederacies fighting for their borders, epidemics clearing out cities, and enslaved men and women stealing their own bodies back from the Founding Fathers.

In this episode, we dissect the absolute foundations of the American government, focusing on the crucial years 1790 and 1791.