420: Creating the U.S. Federal Government

Ben Franklin's World

Liz Covart

Earlyrepublic, History, Benfranklin, Society & Culture, Warforindependence, Earlyamericanrepublic, Earlyamericanhistory, Education, Colonialamerica, Americanrevolution, Ushistory, Benjaminfranklin

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 9 September 2025

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When we think about the founding of the United States, we often focus on the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, and those first landmark elections. But how did the United States actually build its federal government, the entire apparatus of state that could collect revenue, manage international diplomacy, provide law and order, and extend its reach across a rapidly expanding nation? Who were the people who made that government work? And how did their service to the nation shape what it meant to be an American citizen? Peter Kastor, a Professor of History and American Cultural Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, and the Founder of the Creating a Federal Government, 1789-1829 digital project, joins us to explore the remarkable and often overlooked story of how the United States built its federal government between 1789 and 1829. Peter’s Website | Digital Project |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/420 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 098: Birth of the American Tax Man🎧 Episode 202: The Early History of the United States Senate🎧 Episode 279: The Cabinet: Creation of an American Institution🎧 Episode 259: American Legal History🎧 Episode 315: History and American Democracy🎧 Episode 338: The Early History of the United States Senate 🎧 Episode 393: Politics and Political Culture in the Early American Republic SUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener CommunityLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center.
0:04.8	A few years ago, learning about the forgotten meaning of the pursuit of happiness changed my life.
0:11.0	When the founders wrote that famous phrase in the Declaration of Independence,
0:14.5	they meant an ongoing commitment to self-improvement and lifelong learning.
0:19.4	This discovery inspired me to write a book, and in my new
0:22.3	podcast, I explore the founder's lives with the historians who know them best. Plus, filmmaker Ken
0:28.2	Byrne shares his daily practice of self-reflection. Join me for Pursuit, the Founders Guide to Happiness.
0:35.7	Hey, folks, get ready for a new season of blowback coming Monday, September 22nd.
0:41.1	This time around, we're covering the Cold War Showdown in Africa.
0:45.1	When apartheid South Africa invades the newly independent nation of Angola,
0:50.3	revolutionary Cuba sends its own army to defend its African ally, while the United States backs a warlord whose only goal is power.
0:59.3	Subscribe now at blowback.com and get the entire season when it drops.
1:03.7	Add free.
1:05.1	Blowback.
1:06.6	You're listening to an airwave media podcast.
1:10.5	As close as I can estimate, there are about 1,000 federal employees, civil and military
1:15.6	by, let's say, January 1, 1790.
1:19.0	And George Washington was convinced that that number was insufficient to the needs of the
1:24.0	country because the number of personnel grew throughout his administration
1:28.5	didn't double, but it probably grew by around 30 to 40 percent before he left office in 1797.
1:37.8	The principal areas of growth, there's a substantive growth in the Army, there's a big percentage
1:44.1	growth in the number of postmasters.
	...

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