In this episode, John discusses the John Adams administration and the most significant events and developments of the period in which he presided as the second President of the United States. John begins by going over the factors that led to further political polarization, as the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans grew further and further apart on the issues. John explains the importance of the growing political press in the United States during the 1790s and the increasing demand for a more participatory democracy from Americans all over the country.

John goes on to discuss the very serious conflict that emerged between France and the United States just as the Washington administration was ending and John Adams was taking office. John breaks down the reasons that the French and the U.S. became embroiled in the "Qasi-War", what that looked like compared to a more traditional sort of war and how it affected various parts of American society. John closes out the episode with an explanation of the Alien and Sedition Acts, the response to that legislation as represented in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions and how the fighting between the U.S. and France came to an end in 1800.

In this episode, John discusses the circumstances surrounding the presidential election of 1796. John explains how the Democratic Republican Party and the Federalist Party had become more or less fully formed partisan organizations by the time the election was to take place and what the issues were that divided the two of them. John goes into detail about how each party viewed itself, its place in American Politics and each party’s vision for the future of the United States as the election approached.

John then goes on to discuss what actually happened in the presidential election of 1796 and how it was that John Adams ended up as the winner. John reviews the mechanism of the electoral college and how it functioned quite differently from today; he closes with a brief discussion of the rift between John Adams and Alexander Hamilton within the Federalist Party.

In this episode, John discusses the origins of the United States’ first political parties: the Federalist Party and the Democratic Republican Party. John goes over the various factors that created enough political division to account for political parties coming into existence, despite the fact that this was not anticipated at the Constitutional Convention or during the ratification process. John breaks down the issues that created opposing constituencies for two political parties, including the interpretation of the constitution, Alexander Hamilton’s financial program and whether the United States should more closely align itself with Britain or with France in the early years of the new Republic.

John also covers the fundamentals of the Whiskey Rebellion and how it contributed to the political divisions that resulted in the two party system of late 18th century America. John explains what drove the rebels to take the actions they did and how the Washington Administration’s response to the Whiskey Rebellion instilled hope or fear about the new federal government depending on the perspective of those who observed events as they unfolded. Finally, John talks about the French Revolution and how it served to solidify the already-existing political divisions and make it easy for opposing forces to organize into Federalist and Democratic Republican camps.