Season 3, Episode 8 (Show 112):Treason, Reason, History, and OurStory – Special Guest Kermit Roosevelt III

February 15, 2023

Professor Roosevelt returns to discuss 4 moments of American revolution, and to characterize them – secession? Treason? Moral?  Fireworks ensue.

We continue our discussion with Professor Roosevelt of his new book, The Nation That Never Was. We revisit our debate on the Declaration of Independence and specifically, the meaning of “all men are created equal.” This has profound implications, it turns out, for evaluating the 1788 transition from Articles of Confederation to U.S. Constitution, the 1861 secession, and the great Reconstruction moment of the later 1860’s.  Were these all secessions of a sort?  Were they extra-legal?  Were they treasonous?  And finally, what sort of national narrative can we coherently draw from all this?  Profound implications, especially when one considers the arguments and claims of the recent 1619 project, emerge.

Show Notes:

Amazon.com link to “The Nation That Never Was”

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Excerpt from America's Constitution a Biography on the 14th Amendment

Professor Amar’s classic discussion of Professor Ackerman’s comments on the ratification of the 14th Amendment and the so-called destruction of the Southern state governments.

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The Strange History of All Men Are Created Equal - Pauline Maier

From Washington and Lee Review, Volume 56, Issue 3, Article 8, the great historian Pauline Maier discusses the key phrase in the Declaration of Independence, “all men are created equal,” and its implications for a society that contemplates slavery in at least part of the land.

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