The Constitution is a document of “We the People.” The ways Americans have supported, debated, and interpreted the Constitution since 1787 have played a vital role in the rise of politics and political parties within the United States.
What kind of political culture did the United States Constitution and its interpretations help establish? What were the expectations, practices, and cultural norms early Americans had to follow when debating the Constitution or its interpretation in the early American republic?
In honor of Constitution Day on September 17, the day the United States commemorates the signing of the United States Constitution, we speak with two historians– Jonathan Gienapp, an Associate Professor of History and Associate Professor of Law at Stanford University and Rachel Shelden, Director of the Richard Civil War Era Center and an Associate Professor of History at Penn State University– about early American political culture and political civility in the early American republic.
About the Show
Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.
It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.
Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.
Ben Franklin’s World is a production of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios.
Episode Summary
Our guests are Jonathan Gienapp, an Associate Professor of History and Associate Professor of Law, and Rachel Shelden, an Associate Professor of History and Director of the Richards Civil War Era Center. They are the authors of The Second Creation: Fixing the American Constitution in the Founding Era and Washington Brotherhood: Politics, Social Life, & the Coming of the Civil War, respectively.
As we untangle the many rules of political culture and civility, Gienapp and Shelden help us understand why these rules existed, why they were and weren’t followed, and how they structured even everyday interactions between Americans. Furthermore, we explore how these rules influenced political participation and politics itself in the nation.
What You’ll Discover
• How civility and political culture were closely connected in Early America
• Why it was important for some Americans to uphold the rules of civility and political culture
• Why some early Americans were not willing to uphold the rules of civility and conventions of early American political culture
• How the American Revolution affected political culture in the new United States
• Why codes of conduct for civility were written or unwritten
• The ways Americans defined political participation
• The role of political violence in early American democracy
Links to People, Places, and Publications
• Jonathan Gienapp
• Jonathan Gienapp, The Second Creation: Fixing the American Constitution in the Founding Era
• Rachel Shelden
• Rachel Shelden, Washington Brotherhood: Politics, Social Life, & the Coming of the Civil War
• Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation
• Congressional Pugilists
• Joanne Freeman, Affairs of Honor
• Joanne Freeman, Field of Blood
• Transcript
Sponsor Links
• Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
• The Power of Place: The Centennial Campaign for Colonial Williamsburg
• Constitution Day Resource
Complementary Episodes
• Episode 078: Washington Brotherhood: Politics, Social Life, and the Coming of the Civil War
• Episode 160: The Politics of Tea
• Episode 202: The Early History of the United States Congress
• Episode 210: Considering John Marshall, Part 1
• Episode 211: Considering John Marshall, Part 2
• Episode 285: Election & Voting in the Early Republic
Time Warp Question
What do you think would have happened to Early American political culture if the United States Constitution had expressed a more inclusive idea of citizenship and who could participate in politics? What would early American political culture have looked like if the Constitution had allowed women and people of color to participate more broadly in acts like voting?
Questions, Comments, Suggestions
Do you have a question, comment, or suggestion?
Get in Touch! Send me an e-mail or leave a comment.
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