Upcoming Episodes!

Episode 305 "The Awakening" (coming July 22!) The Second Great Awakening took place in North America from the 1790s through the 1830s as the early American republic evolved. It was a religious movement that rejected the skepticism, deism, Unitarianism, and rationalism of the American Enlightenment — which had provided much of the basis for the Founding Fathers' views of religion and its proper role in America — and fostered a more emotional approach to religion than that of the Founders. The Awakening also played a role in democratizing religion and spurred the rise of the Progressive movement.  The Third Great Awakening followed from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century and continued these trends. Blake leads Marshall and Mike in a discussion of how the evolution of Christianity in the early United States led to the development of modern evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity in America — and even the concept of "The Rapture" — with a lasting effect on American politics and society. 

Episode 306 "Facts and Fiction" (coming August 5!) Blake, Marshall, and Mike review the lessons they have drawn from their discussion of the proposition that America was founded as a Christian nation and explore both the facts of the Founding they have uncovered and the fictions about it that have stayed with Americans even in the 21st century. We conclude with a wrap-up of what we have learned about how "Christian" America really is — and was meant to be.

New Series: "The American System" -- Episode 401 "Internal Improvements" (coming August 19): In the 1820s, Henry Clay proposed an activist role for the United States Government in envisioning, funding, and overseeing improvements in America's infrastructure and in taking action to ensure economic stability in the United States. He called it the "American System." But opposition to such activism arose — based on the observation that the Constitution does not explicitly permit it — and continues in some form to this day. This series explores America's choices in giving government a role in building things and in addressing economic challenges. In Episode 401 ("Internal Improvements"), Marshall explains how John Quincy Adams proposed a program of "Internal Improvements" to American infrastructure but was stymied by populist Democrats —  exemplified by Andrew Jackson — who feared that a government empowered to do such things also would gain the power to abolish slavery. It would take a civil war to tip the balance in favor of government activism.

Episode 402 "Enter Lincoln" (coming September 2!) -- For obvious reasons, Abraham Lincoln's presidency is best remembered for his emancipation of America's slaves, determination to preserve the Union in the face of Southern secession, and leadership in the American Civil War. But an often-overlooked aspect of his administration was its promotion of the United States Government as an active, positive actor in such matters as infrastructure improvement and economic affairs. In this conclusion to the series, Marshall leads our discussion of how the first four years of Lincoln’s presidency in the 1860s were among the most consequential in U.S. history for civic infrastructure and economic reform, rivaling the achievements of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal of the 1930s and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society of the 1960s.