America at 250: Due Diligence

Spring forward. Fall back. Twice a year, Americans change their clocks, and twice a year, we ask the same question: Why are we still doing this? But the debate over who decides what time it is goes back much further. In early America, towns kept their own time based on the sun. Then came the railroads, the telegraph, and the need for a nation to operate on the same clock. Bill Bernardoni and Steve Herman explore how America went from local time to standardized time zones with historian Michael O'Malley of George Mason University, author of Keeping Watch: A History of American Time, including the origins of daylight saving time and why the debate continues more than a century later. Then, physicist Chad Orzel of Union College, author of A Brief History of Timekeeping: The Science of Marking Time, from Stonehenge to Atomic Clocks, explains how atomic clocks keep our modern world running, from GPS satellites and smartphones to the technology we depend on every day. We've never been better at measuring time. So why can't we agree on what to do with it?

Before there was a United States, there was an American postal system. Benjamin Franklin helped build it, the founders used it to conduct a revolution, and for 250 years, the mail helped connect a growing nation. But with fewer letters being sent, rising costs, and mounting financial challenges, can the Postal Service continue to deliver? Bill Bernardoni and Steve Herman are joined by U.S. Postal Service historian Stephen Kochersperger to explore the fascinating history of American mail, from the Revolution and westward expansion to the Pony Express, rural free delivery, ZIP codes, and even some unusual attempts to deliver letters. Then, Mike Plunkett, president and CEO of the Association for Postal Commerce, examines the challenges facing today's Postal Service. Is its current business model sustainable? Could Americans eventually see fewer delivery days, higher postage rates, or major changes to the system? From the institution that helped build America to the difficult decisions that could shape its future, this episode explores how the Postal Service has survived 250 years of change—and whether it can do so again.

The Little Red Schoolhouse The Constitution never explicitly gives the federal government responsibility for education. So how did America's public schools become such an essential part of our democracy? In this episode of America at 250: Due Diligence, Bill Bernardoni and Steve Herman trace the evolution of American public education, from the one-room schoolhouses of the early republic to the modern debate over the federal government's role in the classroom. Historian Johann Neem, author of Democracy's Schools: The Rise of Public Education in America, explores why the founders believed an educated citizenry was essential to self-government, how Horace Mann helped transform public education, and the role religion, immigration, and local communities played in shaping American schools. Then, constitutional law scholar Derek W. Black, author of Dangerous Learning: The South's Long War on Black Literacy, examines the darker side of America's educational history. From laws that criminalized Black literacy to the fight for schools during Reconstruction, Brown v. Board of Education, and the expansion of federal oversight, Black explains how education became inseparable from the struggle for freedom and equal citizenship. It's a story about far more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. It's about the relationship between education and democracy, and a question Americans have wrestled with for generations: Who is responsible for educating the citizens who ultimately govern the nation?

From George Washington buying beer, rum, wine and brandy for voters to the famous 1928 "A Chicken for Every Pot" advertisement supporting Herbert Hoover, American campaigns have long wrestled with the line between persuading voters and improperly influencing them. Historian Andrew Robertson joins Bill Bernardoni and Steve Herman to trace how American elections evolved from public voting, treating and political spectacle to secret ballots, political parties and modern election safeguards. Then UCLA election law expert Richard Hasen examines where the law draws the line today between vote buying and campaign promises — including what happens when a candidate promises voters a direct financial benefit. It's a look at how Americans have tried to win votes across nearly 250 years, and why the distinction between a political promise and an illegal inducement still matters.

When we think of America's founding, the same names tend to dominate the conversation: Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and Madison. They signed the documents, commanded the armies, debated the Constitution, and held the nation's highest offices. But the American Revolution and the creation of the United States were far from exclusively male endeavors. In this episode of America at 250: Due Diligence, Bill Bernardoni and Steve Herman continue their Forgotten Founders series by turning their attention to the women whose contributions helped shape the revolution and the early republic, even as they were largely excluded from formal political power. First, Karen Kedrowski, professor of political science at Iowa State University and director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, joins us to explore the remarkable roles women played in securing American independence. From Mercy Otis Warren's influential political writings and Phillis Wheatley's groundbreaking poetry to the women who raised money for the Continental Army, gathered intelligence, and endured the hardships of military campaigns, their contributions extended well beyond traditional expectations. We also examine the legal restrictions women faced, the surprising history of women's voting rights in early New Jersey, and Abigail Adams's famous appeal to her husband to "remember the ladies." Then, historian Cassandra Good, associate professor of history at Marymount University and author of Founding Friendships and First Family, takes us inside the personal relationships that helped shape the new nation. How did women exercise political influence without holding office or casting a ballot? What role did Abigail Adams play in her husband's political career? And could Elizabeth Willing Powel's friendship with George Washington have helped persuade him to seek a second presidential term? We also explore the private world of the founding generation, from the friendships between prominent men and women to George and Martha Washington's family life and the social customs of the early republic. Along the way, we revisit Benjamin Franklin's famous declaration, "A republic, if you can keep it," and the historical uncertainty surrounding the woman who may have prompted it. The story of America's founding is often told through its great documents, celebrated battles, and famous statesmen. But behind those familiar events were women who wrote, organized, financed, petitioned, advised, and challenged the men making the decisions. Their stories offer a different perspective on the founding and raise a larger question: What does political participation really mean when most of the population is excluded from formal power? As America marks its 250th anniversary, we look beyond the familiar names to uncover the women whose contributions belong in the story of the nation's founding.