Feuding Founders: How the Founding Fathers Built a Nation by Quarreling
Leaders of the early American Republic were a contentious lot. They argued endlessly about
philosophy, religion, slavery, and politics. Gleefully they attacked one another with vitriolic
rhetoric which rivals our current political invective. It is fortunate our young nation survived its
first two decades. Surprisingly, though, out of this bubbling cauldron of bitter animosity an
unexpected understanding emerged: we can live together, even if we often don't see eye to
eye or even like our fellow countrymen. This was a radical breakthrough in people's thinking
about politics. We agreed to disagree, a principle that has served us well until the rise of
today's culture of extremism. In this course we will trace the development of this surprising
conclusion.