In this episode:

• The Sons of Liberty formed to fight the abuses of The Stamp Act.
• The original groups formed in places like Boston and New York City.
• The growth, acts and networks of The Sons of Liberty.
• The response of various authorities to The Sons of Liberty.
• The lasting effects of The Sons of Liberty and their influence on The Revolutionary War.

In this episode:

• The first legislative response to the Stamp Act proposed by Patrick Henry and called the Virginia Resolves.
• The Virginia Resolves assert that the colonists have the same rights as Englishmen.
• Henry argues voraciously for its passage and it later passes the Virginia House of Burgesses 20-19.
• The Virginia Resolves influence other colonists and help place revolution in the minds of the colonists.

In this episode:

• The high price tag of defending western frontiers and public debt leads British’s Parliament to pass The Stamp Act of 1765.
• The act begins the first unified resistance from the colonies against the crown.
• The act is enforced through Admiralty Courts.
• Samuel Adams leads resistance in Massachusetts.
• Committees of Correspondence help the colonies produce a uniform response.
• The resistance has only begun, culminating in a war and a new nation.

In this Episode:

• The task of passing a Bill of Rights is undertaken.
• Alexander Hamilton writes in favor in Federalist 84.
• Federalists use the Bill of Rights to gain support from Anti-Federalists.
• Bill of Rights inspired by John Locke, Virginia Declaration of Rights, English Declaration of Rights, among others.
• The five Great Freedoms of the First Amendment.
• The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

In this Episode:

• The Ratification Debates continue.
• Massachusetts ratifies based on the leading of Samuel Adams and John Hancock and support for a Bill of Rights.
• Maryland ratifies despite Luther Martin’s opposition.
• South Carolina ratifies, while North Carolina remains an Anti-Federalist stronghold.
• New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify, fulfilling the obligations required by the Philadelphia Convention.
• Titans clash in Virginia, but the Constitution is ratified with an agreement to later support a Bill of Rights.
• New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island eventually ratify.
• A new government is formed and a Bill of Rights is passed.

In this Episode:

• The Ratification Debates begin.
• Giants like George Mason, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams and Richard Henry Lee oppose the Constitution.
• The Constitution is sent to the Continental Congress for approval to send to the state legislatures.
• An analysis of the task ahead of the Federalists.
• The Anti-Federalists suffer major losses in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Georgia and New Jersey.

In this Episode:

• The  final debates at the Constitutional Convention center on signing questions.
• Elbridge Gerry, George Mason and Edmund Randolph all voice displeasure with the document and refuse to sign.
• A committee on style is formed to write the Constitution.
• A Bill of Rights is proposed and debated, but soundly defeated, only for the issue to be resurrected again during the ratification debates.
• Washington supports a measure to increase representation in the House to win over dissenters, but the dissenters refuse to sign.
• The Constitution is signed and the debate for its ratification begins.

In this Episode:

• Alexander Hamilton proposes a radical centralized government based on Great Britain’s system.
• Even his close friend James Madison is amazed by Hamilton’s outlandish proposal.
• The debate over representation continues to prevent substantive progress.
• A profile of Luther Martin, a man who spoke a great lengths but rarely contributed anything of substance.

In this Episode:

• A short look at the 55 delegates, part 2.
• Delegates from New York, New Hampshire, Maryland, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina.
• Notable convention absences.

In this Episode:

• The city of Philadelphia during the Constitutional Convention.
• An overview of the Constitutional Convention delegates.
• Notable Constitutional Convention absences.
• A short look at the 55 delegates, part 1.
• Delegates from Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Delaware.

In this Episode:

• James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, Part II.
• Madison in the House of Representatives.
• Madison, Patrick Henry and the Bill of Rights.
• Madison, Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans.
• Madison as Secretary of State.
• The Madison Presidency and post-presidential life.

In this Episode:

• James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, Part I.
• Madison’s formative years.
• Madison’s study of republics and his criticism of the Articles of Confederation.
• Madison’s notes on the Constitution.
• Madison’s role in the Federalist Papers.
• Madison, his home state of Virginia and his dealings with rival Patrick Henry.

In this Episode:

• Discussions of trade and commerce between Virginia and Maryland regarding the Potomac River at the Mount Vernon Conference.
• The formation of the Potomac Company.
• Interstate Commerce meeting at the Annapolis Convention.
• Question of the adequacy of the Articles of Convention.
• The proposal of a new convention in Philadelphia and the approval by the Confederation Congress .