Description

Hilarious, quick speaking John Green discusses the early history of US politics and political parties.  He starts with a discussion of the Federalists and President Hamilton.  He then moves on the Thomas Jefferson and the beginning of the Republican Party.  Green then spends several minutes on the Whiskey tax.  Although this may sounds a bit boring, the tax had a lot to do with shaping early ideas about freedom, taxes, debt, the role of government, small business economics, and nearly caused the first American civil war.  The video ends with President Adams, early feminism, and our early relationships with France.

Discussions Questions

• What stood out the most or did you learn from the video?
• How have discussions about freedoms, state’s rights, taxes, and the role of government changed over the years?  How have they stayed the same?

Keywords: politics, American, government, democracy, Democrat, Federalist, Hamilton, Jefferson, political parties, Republican, taxes