Inside the First Presidency: Power, Fear, and the Bill of Rights | The American Story | Ep 9

The Glenn Beck Program

Mercury Radio Arts

News Commentary, Politics, News

4.6 • 25.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 June 2026

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode we enter the pressure-filled launch of America’s government and get to know the major figures who shaped its destiny. Relive George Washington's reluctant ascent to the presidency, from his Mount Vernon solitude to a triumphant inauguration amid national fears of monarchy. Discover how James Madison championed the Bill of Rights against skeptics, ensuring fundamental American freedoms. And inside Washington’s Cabinet, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson ignite a political rivalry so fierce it will define American government for centuries. It’s the story of the human drama behind the Constitution’s first real tests, and how close the American experiment came to collapsing before it ever began. GLENN'S SPONSORS: PreBorn: Together, we can end the tragedy of abortion, one mother and baby at a time. To donate securely, dial #250 and say the keyword “baby,” or visit ⁠https://preborn.com/glenn⁠. Relief Factor: If you’re living with aches and pains, see how Relief Factor, a daily drug-free supplement, could help you feel better and live better. Try the three-week QuickStart for just $19.95 by visiting https://ReliefFactor.com. Jase Medical: Get your personalized emergency medical kit today. Visit https://jase.com/ and enter code “BECK” at checkout for a discount on your order. American Financing: American Financing can show you how to put your hard-earned equity to work and get you out of debt. Dial ⁠800-906-2440⁠, or visit ⁠https://www.americanfinancing.net⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	George Washington sits alone in Mount Vernon.
0:09.0	He's staring into a misty morning, relishing the quiet.
0:13.0	Outside, the Potomac River rolls quietly past, indifferent to the weight settling on Washington's
0:19.0	shoulders.
0:20.0	It's 1788, and he is, at least for the moment, a private man once again, a soldier in retirement,
0:27.6	a farmer, a man who's already given everything he had to a country that just keeps asking for more.
0:34.6	And today, it's asking again.
0:38.3	Letters pile up on his desk like insistent Knox, friends, colleagues, respected officers
0:43.9	from war, statesmen from every corner of the young republic, and all of them are saying the
0:49.3	same thing.
0:50.4	This fragile new experiment in self-government requires the best leadership.
0:55.0	You must be the president.
0:58.0	A heartfelt appeal arrives from France,
1:02.0	written in the unmistakable hand of the Marquis de Lafayette,
1:05.0	one of Washington's officers and good friends during the revolution.
1:09.0	Washington reads it more than once,
1:11.6	maybe because it says what no one else dares to say.
1:15.6	I beg you, my dear genera, do not refuse the responsibility of the presidency
1:20.6	during the first few years.
1:23.6	You alone can make this political machine operate successfully.
1:28.3	Washington exhales slowly.
1:31.3	Responsibility.
	...

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