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PODCAST

Civics In A Year

The Center for American Civics

What do you really know about American government, the Constitution, and your rights as a citizen?Civics in a Year is a fast-paced podcast series that delivers essential civic knowledge in just 10 minutes per episode. Over the course of a year, we’ll explore 250 key questions—from the founding documents and branches of government to civil liberties, elections, and public participation.Rooted in the Civic Literacy Curriculum from the Center for American Civics at Arizona State University, this series

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All Episodes

41:13

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/23

A three-minute speech at a mass grave should not be able to reframe a nation’s purpose, yet the Gettysburg Address does exactly that. We sit down with Dr. Aaron Kushner to set the scene at Gettysburg just months after the battle, when the ground is still heavy with loss and Lincoln is only a supporting act before an audience that has already listened to hours of formal oratory. Then we slow the speech down and listen to how it works. We talk through the Gettysburg Address’s three-part ...

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15:58

The Emancipation Proclamation

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/20

Freedom didn’t arrive with a single stroke of Lincoln’s pen—it arrived through a careful, constitutional strategy forged in the pressure of civil war. We walk through how the Emancipation Proclamation actually worked, why its language is so specific about geography, and how Lincoln used wartime authority without turning it into a blank check. Along the way, we revisit General Fremont’s early attempt to free enslaved people in Missouri, the fierce backlash from abolitionists, and Lincoln’s sha...

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13:28

Habeas Corpus, War Powers, And The Constitution

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/19

What happens when a nation must choose between immediate safety and the legal guardrails that define its freedom? We dive into Abraham Lincoln’s most contested constitutional move: suspending habeas corpus as the Civil War threatened to choke the capital and fracture the Union. With Dr. Sean Bienbird, we unpack what the writ actually protects, why the Constitution permits rare suspensions, and how Lincoln tried to keep that exception narrow, targeted, and accountable to Congress. We walk thr...

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12:04

Lincoln's First Inaugural

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/18

A nation is splitting, nerves are raw, and a new president steps onto the stage with a lawyer’s caution and a moral compass fixed on first principles. We take you into Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address to map the real conflict of 1861: not vague “states’ rights,” but whether slavery should expand or be contained. With the Union already cracking, Lincoln argues the Constitution ties both sides to a lawful path and that preserving the Union is not a dodge—it’s the necessary frame for an...

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19:54

Real Cabinet Wives Of The Jackson Administration: The...

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/17

A dinner party snub shouldn’t derail a presidency—unless it reveals everything about how power really works. We follow the Petticoat Affair from whispered rumors around Peggy Eaton to a capital-wide boycott that paralyzed Andrew Jackson’s cabinet, exposing the fragile line between social custom and statecraft. Along the way, we trace why Jackson took the scandal as a personal crusade, how grief over Rachel Jackson’s public shaming hardened his resolve, and where moral guardianship by cabinet ...

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25:32

Dred Scott

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/16

A single Supreme Court opinion tried to quiet a nation by declaring the Constitution pro-slavery—and instead lit a fuse. We revisit Dred Scott v. Sandford with fresh eyes, tracing how Chief Justice Roger Taney’s majority opinion denied Black citizenship and elevated slaveholding to an untouchable property right under the Fifth Amendment. We connect the legal dots from the Missouri Compromise to Kansas-Nebraska, then follow Dred Scott’s journey onto free soil to understand why his claim forced...

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23:46

Douglass, Garrison, And The Constitution

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/13

Two abolitionists, one Constitution, and a nation on the brink. We sit with the razor’s edge between moral clarity and political strategy as William Lloyd Garrison brands the Constitution a “covenant with death,” while Frederick Douglass insists the same document, read rightly, is a “glorious liberty document.” Their split isn’t a footnote—it’s the pulse of the 1850s, beating through the Missouri Compromise, the Fugitive Slave Act, Kansas-Nebraska, and the violence of “Bleeding Kansas.” We u...

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22:25

Frederick Douglass- "What To The Slave is the Fourth...

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/12

A July Fourth stage without a full share of freedom is a hard place to stand, which is exactly why Frederick Douglass chose July 5th. We dig into the strategy and soul of his 1852 address—why he scorched national hypocrisy, invoked Exodus, and still anchored his case in the “saving principles” of the Declaration of Independence. With Dr. Paul Carrese, we follow the speech from its blistering center to its surprising turn toward hope, and explore how a former slave could call the Constitution ...

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21:14

From Declaration To Declaration: How Seneca Falls...

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/11

Ever read the words “all men and women are created equal” and felt the ground shift under American history? We revisit the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 to explore how Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with Frederick Douglass at her side, adapted the Declaration of Independence into the Declaration of Sentiments—and why that subtle edit carried revolutionary force. Rather than rejecting the American experiment, the delegates challenged it to be itself, arguing that natural rights, consent of the gove...

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19:56

Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum Address And The Fight For Law

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/10

A young lawyer in 1838 stood before the Young Men’s Lyceum and asked a chilling question: what happens to a republic when people start believing the law binds everyone but themselves? We welcome Dr. Aaron Kushner to explore Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum Address, a speech that moves from vivid accounts of mob violence—lynchings, vigilantism, a printing press hurled into a river—to a timeless plan for civic renewal rooted in everyday habits. We trace Lincoln’s core claim that freedom rests on stabl...

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13:50

Andrew Jackson, Calhoun, And The Crisis That Nearly...

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/09

A tariff fight doesn’t usually threaten to crack a nation, but the Nullification Crisis came dangerously close. We open with a plain-English primer on nullification—what it is, where it came from, and why Calhoun turned it into a weapon for Southern power—then follow South Carolina as it moves from protest to an ordinance with real teeth. Courts, sheriffs, customs houses: nothing was off-limits once the state decided to block federal law by force. That’s the moment theory met steel. From the...

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18:59

Field Trip Friday: How Gathering On The National Mall...

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/06

The National Mall isn’t just a backdrop for photos; it’s a working stage where free speech, public memory, and civic learning come alive. We sit down with Jeremy Goldstein of the Trust for the National Mall to unpack how this stretch of grass and granite functions as a true First Amendment forum—and why organizing there still matters for a healthy democracy. We move from ideals to implementation, breaking down how permits work, what organizers must prepare, and how the National Park Service ...

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12:21

Jackson’s Bank Veto Explained

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/05

Power, personality, and constitutional guardrails collide as we unpack Andrew Jackson’s two most consequential vetoes: the Maysville Road and the Second Bank of the United States. We trace how a single-state infrastructure bill became a proving ground for what “truly national” means, and why Jackson insisted that federal spending must connect to clear enumerated powers rather than local priorities. Then we step into the bank war, where private influence over public policy, a high-wire rechart...

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32:47

How Cherokee Law Challenged Georgia And Jackson

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/04

A constitution became a shield. That’s the unlikely turning point at the heart of this story, where the Cherokee Nation adopted a written charter in 1827—not to surrender identity, but to defend communal land, translate sovereignty into American legal language, and meet Georgia’s power grab head on. We unpack how democratic expansion, gold fever, and Jacksonian politics collided to produce one of the fiercest policy battles of the early republic. We walk through the difference between long-r...

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24:43

Tocqueville On Reflective Patriotism

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/03

Patriotism without thinking is brittle. Thinking without affection is cold. We bring those forces together through Tocqueville’s lens of reflective patriotism and ask how a nation can love itself honestly while arguing for better. With Dr. Paul Carrese, we unpack why Americans have long mixed pride with a rational test of consent, policy outcomes, and local responsibility—and why that mix is under strain from polarization and apathy. We trace how enlightened self-interest led generations to ...

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22:22

Tocqueville On Parties Today

Civics In A Year ·

2026/03/02

What if the very thing that makes politics feel unbearable is also what keeps a republic free? We dive into Tocqueville’s sharp take on political parties—why they inflame passions, tempt narrow thinking, and yet remain essential to preserving liberty against the pull of majority rule and central power. With Dr. Paul Carrese, we connect Madison’s Federalist 10, Washington’s Farewell Address, and Montesquieu’s insights to a living portrait of how American institutions absorb faction without los...

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14:04

Field Trip Friday: Inside America 250 On The National...

Civics In A Year ·

2026/02/27

Step onto the nation’s front yard as we unpack how the National Mall is preparing for America’s 250th—through bold infrastructure upgrades, inclusive programming, and a reimagined visitor experience that blends history, community, and learning. We start beneath the surface, exploring the new Lincoln Memorial Undercroft: a 15,000-square-foot exhibit space that turns a hidden vault into an accessible, year-round gallery with elevators and modern amenities. We then head to Jefferson’s refreshed ...

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19:36

Jackson’s First Inaugural, Explained

Civics In A Year ·

2026/02/26

A soft-spoken inaugural, a roaring political realignment. We unpack Andrew Jackson’s first days as president to reveal how a short address helped usher in a long era of mass democracy, constitutional confrontation, and executive assertiveness. From the fallout of 1824’s House decision to the landslide of 1828, we connect the dots between electoral grievance, public mandate, and a presidency that promised restraint while preparing for high-stakes battles over federal power. We walk through Ja...

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21:20

John Quincy Adams, The Monroe Doctrine, And The...

Civics In A Year ·

2026/02/25

We trace John Quincy Adams’s 1821 address from its famous “monsters to destroy” line to its deeper call for principled strength and measured engagement. We connect it to Washington’s Farewell and the Monroe Doctrine to show how interest and justice can travel together without empire. • why the Secretary of State signaled presidential stature in 1821 • post–War of 1812 confidence and domestic calm after the Missouri Compromise • Latin American and European revolutions pressing for U.S. suppor...

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22:49

Monroe Doctrine

Civics In A Year ·

2026/02/24

We trace the Monroe Doctrine from a daring 1823 warning to a living rulebook that still shapes how America defines security, principle, and power. From John Quincy Adams to modern strategy, we test where defense ends and intervention begins. • origins of the Monroe Doctrine and its core warning • British alignment and Adams’s diplomatic gamble • post‑1812 great power context and American confidence • expansionist logic framed as defensive security • the Roosevelt corollary and intervention a...

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182 results

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