The American Founding in One Evening (1763-1803)
What really happened in the American Founding?
Many people talk about it in superficial terms, but the American founding was an era that stretched out for decades.
And maybe you know about 1776, maybe 1789. But what happened before, after, and in between those dates? Why is knowing any of this relevant for the modern day? Is it relevant to modern New York City?
Come and spend two hours with Daniel and Maximum New York to get a condensed version of The Founding Forty: 1763-1803.
This event will end with an exam to see what you retain. You don't have to take it—you can just come and watch/listen—but you can also treat this as an opportunity to learn more about the American Founding than most people know!
Some general topics to explore before coming if you want:
I. Introduction and “The Pamphlet Era,” 1763-1776
What happened in the run-up to the war? What caused it? Could it have been prevented?
The French and Indian War or the Seven Years’ War? perspectives from the U.S. and Europe.
We have always blogged: what the Americans and British said to each other, and how they said it (pamphlets).
II) The Revolutionary War and Confederal Era, 1776-1789
A summary overview of the war.
The Treaty of Paris, 1783.
The French Revolution, compared with the American.
What is a revolution? What ramifications does this question have for today?
The dysfunction of the Articles of Confederation and the chaos of the 1780s.
The Constitutional Convention of 1787, and the failed revision attempts before it.
The adoption of the Constitution.
III) Birth of the Modern System, 1789-1803, part 1
The Bill of Rights.
The doctrine of incorporation, Barron ex rel. Tiernan v. Mayor of Baltimore (1833).
The Judiciary Act of 1789.
The founding of Washington, D.C., 1790.
Chisholm v. Georgia (1793); the jurisdiction of SCOTUS, federalism, and the 11th amendment
The Naval Act of 1794 and the Barbary Pirates.
Marbury v. Madison (1803).
IV) Birth of the Modern System, 1789-1803, part 2
A comparison of the Constitution of 1789 with that of 2023
A brief overview of the modern system