1.04 – The Dream Team

Year(s) Discussed: 1789

After a debate over how much authority Washington would exert over its officers, the executive branch begins to take shape. I examine both the original Cabinet members and the departments as they were at the beginning of the constitutional government. Then, as Washington leaves town to take a tour of the New England states, a personal scandal becomes the talk of the town in New York City. Romantic liaisons, conflicts of interest, and strong opinions over postal routes are all to be found in this episode.

Show Notes

Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton. New York: Penguin Press, 2004.
Chernow, Ron. Washington: A Life. New York: Penguin Press, 2010.
Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988 [1987].
Ferling, John. John Adams: A Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010 [1992].
Flexner, James Thomas. Washington: The Indispensable Man. New York, Boston, and London: Little, Brown and Co, 1976 [1969].
Malone, Dumas. Jefferson and the Rights of Man: Jefferson and His Time Volume Two. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co, 1951.
Parmet, Herbert S. Richard Nixon and His America. New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1990.
Randall, Willard Sterne. Alexander Hamilton: A Life. New York: HarperCollins, 2003.
Rappleye, Charles. Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010.
Remini, Robert V. Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union. New York: W W Norton & Co, 1991.
Thane, Elswyth. The Fighting Quaker: Nathanael Greene. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1972.
Tucker, Eric; and Sadie Gurman. “Yates firing sends a message about Trump’s dissent tolerance.” Washington Post. 31 January 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/yates-firing-raises-questions-about-tolerance-of-dissent/2017/01/31/919c8636-e7fe-11e6-903d-9b11ed7d8d2a_story.html?utm_term=.99e02cb546cb. Last Accessed: 2 Feb 2017.
Unger, Harlow Giles. “Mr. President”: George Washington and the Making of the Nation’s Highest Office. Boston, MA: Da Capo Press, 2013.
Urofsky, Melvin I. A March of Liberty: A Constitutional History of the United States, Volume I: To 1877. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988.
White, Leonard D. The Federalists: A Study in Administrative History. New York: Macmillan Co, 1948.
Winston, Robert W. Andrew Johnson: Plebeian and Patriot. New York: Henry Holt and Co, 1928.

1.04 – The Dream Team

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