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October 29, 2025 61 mins

Dr. Lynn Price Robbins and Isaac S. Loftus talk with Dr. Tyson Reeder about how foreign powers shaped America’s early politics under James Madison. As Federalists supported Britain and Democratic-Republicans championed France, the young republic wrestled with questions of loyalty, ideology, and trust.   Please support this podcast by checking out our patreon: www.patreon.com/primarysourcemedia   CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introductions 0:41 - Who was James Madison? 4:08 - The Birth of Political Parties in Early America 8:05 - The Spy and the Con Artist: A Tale of Deception 17:23 - Madison's Presidency and the War of 1812 21:22 - Foreign Meddling and Domestic Politics In Colonial US 25:19 - Madison’s Perspective on the Presidency 29:29 - Contexualizing “The People” 33:57 -  The Aftermath of the $50,000 Blunder 36:53 - Madison's Delusions and Political Corruption 42:04 - Partisanship and Its Consequences 43:28 - Madison’s Embargo and Political Fall Out 49:20 - The War of 1812: Unity or Division? 54:36 - What Was it About Madison that People Didn’t Like? 57:01 - The Serpent: The Cycle of Partisan Politics and Foreign Meddling   EPISODE LINKS: Dr. Tyson Reeder - https://socialsciences.byu.edu/directory/tyson-reeder Serpent in Eden: Foreign Meddling and Partisan Politics in James Madison's America  - https://academic.oup.com/book/57414 James Madison – https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Madison Federalist Party – https://www.britannica.com/topic/Federalist-Party Democratic-Republican Party – https://www.britannica.com/topic/Democratic-Republican-Party John Henry - https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/henry_john_8E.html Paul-Émile Soubiran - https://academics.umw.edu/jamesmonroepapers/2017/04/13/french-imposters-diplomatic-double-speak-buried-archival-treasures/ James Monroe – https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Monroe Steele Dossier - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trial-begins-for-russian-analyst-who-was-source-for-flawed-trump-dossier Articles of Confederation – https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/articles-of-confederation Edmond-Charles Genêt – https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edmond-Charles-Genet Chesapeake Affair – https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/art/exhibits/conflicts-and-operations/the-war-of-1812/uss-chesapeake--hms-leopard-affair.html Embargo of 1807 – https://www.britannica.com/event/Napoleonic-Wars/Great-Britain-France-and-the-neutrals-1800-02 Jay Treaty - https://www.britannica.com/event/Jay-Treaty Election of 1796 – https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1796 Era of Good Feelings – https://www.britannica.com/event/Era-of-Good-Feelings PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: 2c4hpod.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2-complicated-4-history/id1664183536 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3svQpZfxhVQnYJMESpp842?si=514780ada34d4aab   Full episodes playlist:    https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX2x56DEw1y7EYWxfufgfSR951RrdsXet&si=TuDcpAjaeQx-vjkH   SOCIAL: - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2c4hPodcast - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2c4h_podcast To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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