In this episode, John does a deep dive into the Constitutional Convention. He goes into detail about how the debate over the Virginia Resolves shaped the direction of the convention, how it was that the "nationalists" like James Madison and James Wilson seized control of the debate with the Virginia Resolves to achieve their goals of reform and the way these proposals were received by delegates to the convention who did not participate in the process of shaping the resolves. John explains how the Virginia Plan, as the resolves came to be called, represented a revolution in the government of the United States and the many ways in which it was a radically different form of government than the Articles of Confederation.John will also cover the major points of debate between those who wanted significant changes and those who did not, including the central argument that occupied the convention for the first half of its time together: proportional versus equal representation in the legislature. John also remarks upon the "indispensable men" of the convention, the arguments over the future of slavery in the United States and the specific powers that the new legislative, executive and judicial branches of the national government would have under the constitution. The Onion article mentioned in the episode: https://theonion.com/area-man-passionate-defender-of-what-he-imagines-consti-1819571149/

In this episode, John gets into the details of how the Constitutional Convention came together and what the agenda was for those most responsible for putting it together. John reviews through the weaknesses of the government under the Articles of Confederation that pushed the likes of James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and Robert Morris to call for a much stronger central government. He then explains how those men, thinking of themselves as "nationalists", recruited George Washington to their cause in order to bring legitimacy and popular support to their arguments.Finally, John discusses the days leading up to the first meeting of the full Constitutional Convention, on May 25, 1787. He goes over the men who planned an agenda to strengthen the national government: who they were, what they decided to emphasize and how they came together to execute a plan that would help to dictate the direction of the full convention.

In this episode, John gives a broad strokes rundown of both how the Constitution was created and the process by which it was ratified. John discusses the major controversies at the convention that needed to be resolved and explains very generally what the interests and motivations of the delegates at the convention were. John then breaks down the ratification process in the various states, briefly discussing how difficult or not it was from one state to the next.

In this episode, John explains how the Constitutional Convention was actually created and put into motion in 1787. John discusses the dire situation in which the young United States found itself, with threats from foreign adversaries and all sorts of domestic disputes and disorder, and how the government created by the Articles of Confederation was unable to resolve any of these major problems. John talks about the push by the "nationalists", as they came to be called, like James Madison, Robert Morris and Alexander Hamilton, to form a much stronger central government than the one that existed under the Articles of Confederation.There is, of course, opposition to these kinds of reforms and John covers who opposed the push for big, bold changes to the national government and why they felt the way they did. Finally, John talks about the Annapolis Convention, how it led directly to the Constitutional Convention and how Madison led the delegates from Virginia and Pennsylvania in meetings in the days before the full Constitutional Convention met so that the nationalists could set the agenda when the full body began its sessions.

In this episode, John discusses the many challenges the United States faced as it emerged victorious from the Revolutionary War and sought to solidify its standing as an independent republic. John talks about the infamous Newburgh Conspiracy among a number of Continental Army officers, why it emerged and how George Washington was narrowly able to stop it from happening. John lists a number of the very serious difficulties the United States encountered as it tried to gain its footing and why those challenges were made more difficult under the first form of government, the Articles of Confederation.Finally, John explains the structure of the Articles of Confederation government. He gives a detailed description of how the government operated, why it was made to operate in this fashion and what became the glaring weaknesses of it that forced many of the founding fathers to call for major reforms very shortly after the the Revolutionary War had ended.

In this episode, John goes through the events of the Revolutionary War from the signing of the alliance with France in 1778 to the conclusion of the War with the Treaty of Paris in 1783. John explains the shifts in strategy and emphasis undertaken by the British after their defeat at Saratoga and how the Continental Army, George Washington and the United States' new French allies counter the British military and government. John breaks down what led to the British defeat, who participated in the peace negotiations and the complicated diplomatic interests Americans had to navigate as they sought to get the best they could from the peace process.

In this episode, John covers the period from the Declaration of Independence to the completion of the Treaty of Alliance with France. John explains the many challenges that the United States had to face as it fought for its independence against Great Britain and how it was that the new nation was able to overcome these challenges. John also discusses some of the most important military engagements that occurred in 1776 and 1777.

In this episode, John explains what led to the Declaration of Independence in July of 1776. John starts by going through the colonial reaction to the Intolerable/Coercive Acts, including the Suffolk Resolves and the meeting of the First Continental Congress. He then details the actions taken by the Continental Congress as it attempted to bring the colonies together for collective action and tried to, at first, reconcile with the British Government.Finally, John explains how the violence began at Lexington and Concord, what the colonists did in response to it, and how everything that happened between that first battle and the summer of 1776 ultimately led to the birth of the United States of America.

In this episode, John discusses the events that led to the Tea Act and how the colonists reacted to this new British policy. John explains the connection between the Tea Act and the Boston Tea Party and how the British government freaked out at the colonists' protest.Most importantly, John breaks down the British reaction to the Boston Tea Party, the Intolerable Acts, and explains how these measures led to a "point of no return" in the American Revolution that would soon result in the outbreak of war between Britain and the colonies.

In this episode, John discusses the first measures taken by the British government in the aftermath of the French and Indian War and how they created a rift between Britain and the colonies. John goes over the Proclamation of 1763 first and explains what it was and why it upset those in the colonies. He then talks about the Sugar Act and the Currency Act and how those were perceived as over-stepping British authority.John then spends a while talking about the Stamp Act and why it created such an uproar and how it fundamentally and irreparably harmed the relationship between Britain and the colonies. Finally, John covers the Townshend Acts and how they led pretty directly to the first major violence of the American Revolution: the Boston Massacre.

In this episode, John explains the numerous ways in which the French and Indian War (or Seven Years War) contributed to a growing divide between Great Britain and the 13 colonies of British North America. John talks about how the experience of the war, which ended the period of Salutary Neglect, brought the British and the colonists into much greater contact with one another and how that did a lot to damage their views of each other. John also discusses the massive amount of debt the British government took on to fight the war, how that pushed the British government to pursue policies that alienated the colonists, and how conflict with Native Americans exacerbated already existing tensions between the two sides.

In this episode, John explains the factors that began to drive a wedge between the 13 British North American Colonies that would eventually become the United States and Great Britain. John details the economic, political and geographic elements of the relationship between Britain and the colonies that made it increasingly difficult for the two to coexist as they had up through the mid-18th century. Land disputes, arguments over trade and mercantilism and strained relations with Native Americans are all contributing factors to the deteriorating relationship that culminates in the French and Indian War, which John also discusses.

In this episode, John explains the various ways in which the colonists in the 13 British North American colonies were connected to Britain during the period of Salutary Neglect. John goes over the factors that made remaining a part of the British empire attractive to the colonists in order to help the listeners understand why revolution seemed unlikely for most of the 1700s. There were economic, political and military advantages to being under the British umbrella that John unpacks as he seeks to make sense of how, though many colonists had little patriotic attachment to Great Britain, they nonetheless saw themselves as proper British subjects who benefited from the imperial economy and government.

In this episode, host John Miller breaks down the origins and ramifications of Bacon's Rebellion in colonial Virginia in the late 17th century. John explains how Bacon's Rebellion impacted slavery in the colonies from the late 1600s into the mid 1700s and how the expansion of slavery impacted the colonies. Additionally, John talks about Salutary Neglect, what brought it about and how it affected the colonies as they developed a unique American identity.

In this episode, John discusses the importance of the English Civil War, Mercantilism and the Dominion of New England to the continuing story of what will be the United States. John explains what caused the English Civil War, who was on which side, who won and why it mattered for the British North American colonies. John also defines mercantilism and gives a rundown of how it worked in the British North American colonies. He tells the audience how mercantilism affected the relationship between England and the colonies and what the Navigation Acts have to do with all of this.Finally, John goes through the history of the Dominion of New England and explains why it is often referred to as "the first American Revolution".

In this episode, John gives a breakdown of the origins and character of each of the original thirteen colonies that will compose the United States. John will cover who it was that created the colonies, the motivations of those who did so and how they evolved over the first few decades of their respective existences. The colonies will be grouped into regions and John will explain what makes each region different and how the colonies within that region had common-or different--characteristics. In addition, John gives each colony its very own colonial motto! Are you from one of these thirteen states now? Let's see if you agree or disagree with the motto that John thinks might give those less familiar with Pennsylvania or Virginia or Massachusetts, a picture of what those states were like as colonies. Beware: some of these are definitely not for kids!

In this episode, John explains how the English colonized Ireland in the 1500s and 1600s and how the English transferred there experiences in Ireland to North America. John will cover the English decisions and processes for how they tried to assert their authority over Ireland, how the Irish resisted and what all this meant for the relationship between England and Ireland.John will also explain the demographic crisis that unfolded among Native American communities east of the Mississippi and north of the Gulf of Mexico. He will explore why the period 1580 to 1650 was so catastrophic for Native Americans in this region, how they reacted to this catastrophe and what it meant for their interactions with Europeans who were increasingly populating Native American territories.

In this episode, John goes through the various groups of people who colonized North America and explains how and why they did it. Specifically, John will discuss the Spanish presence in what is now the Southwestern United States, the French colonization of Canada and the Mississippi River Valley and the first two English colonies in what would be the United States at Jamestown and Plymouth. The episode will go into detail about the motivations for each group of colonizers, how they interacted with Native Americans and what ultimately became of their efforts at colonization in the 1500s and 1600s.

In this episode of How the Hell Did We Get Here?, John explains both the "discovery" of the New World and the way it was colonized by various European peoples in the 16th century. Beginning with how Europeans started to explore more of the Atlantic world in the 1400s and concluding with some brief consideration of English and French involvement in the New world toward the end of the 1500s, John will go through the most impactful events, the primary motivations and the most important circumstances of how colonization unfolded.By the end of the episode, listeners should have a firm grasp on why the Portuguese took the early lead in exploration, why the Spanish came to dominate colonization of the Western Hemisphere in the 16th century and how European presence in the Americas permanently altered Native American civilization. This is all vital context for anyone who wants to understand how the 13 original American colonies became what they were, and consequently, how the United States was launched along its historical trajectory.

In this episode, John examines the regions of the world that will intertwine with one another to create what will be the United States, well before those regions were even aware of one another. What was North America like before Europeans arrived? How did North and West African civilization function before Europeans began to trade with those areas regularly? And what was going on in Western Europe before Europeans began to look outward and imagine themselves as part of a much larger world?This series is all about context and this show will explore the backgrounds of the most important places to have an influence on what will eventually be the United States. John will explain what they all looked like before they regularly interacted with one another and how their existing conditions would affect the ways in which they would behave when they finally did meet and start to coexist.