Talking to historian William Hogeland about the Founders

In this latest installment of Unpopular Front’s author series, I spoke to historian William Hogeland, historian of the early American republic, proprietor of the HOGELAND'S BAD HISTORY Substack, and author of The Whiskey Rebellion: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and the frontier rebels who challenged America’s newfound sovereignty, Autumn of the Black Snake: the creation of the U.S. Army and the invasion that opened the West, and, most recently, The Hamilton Scheme: An Epic Tale of Money and Power in the American Founding.

Many commentators today contrast the authoritarianism and populism of the present moment with an idealized picture of the Founding Fathers’ intended form of government. Bill is not having it. He finds an authoritarian streak that goes back to the very beginning and fundamental cracks in the Constitutional order that imperil both democratic and republican aspirations. We talked about the Alexander Hamilton myth, class conflict and corruption in early America, early populism, the Insurrection Act, the Founders’ fights over emergency powers, and the failures of the liberal intelligentsia to comprehend the present moment. I hope you enjoy, and please check out Bill’s great books!