Ill Literacy, Episode 140: Founding Partisans (Guest: H.W. Brands)

Published May 1, 2024

Heartland’s Tim Benson is once again joined by friend of the podcast H.W. Brands, the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss his new book, Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics. They chat about how, while the Framers viewed political parties a fatal threat to republican virtues, parties emerged even before the ink on the Constitution was dry. They then discuss all things Federalist vs. Antifederalist/Republican, how contentious the political battles between them were, but yet how, despite all this, peaceful transfers of power continued.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/713058/founding-partisans-by-h-w-brands/

Show Notes:
Wall Street Journal: Adam Rowe – “‘Founding Partisans’ and ‘A Republic of Scoundrels’: Opportunists and Patriots”

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/founding-partisans-and-a-republic-of-scoundrels-opportunists-and-patriots-b61dbf2f

Washington Post: C.W. Goodyear – “American political discord is as old as America itself”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/12/06/founding-partisans-political-book-review/