What is America’s place in the world, and how have Americans understood where we as a country ought to be when it comes to world affairs and in relations with other countries? Should we be an “empire of liberty,” as Jefferson called the country? Should we avoid “entangling alliances” as Washington warned? Should we eagerly send our troops, promises, and money overseas, as has been the standard since World War 2? How do interest and morality, if there is such a thing in international affairs, play a role in the actions and norms of a republic?

Cara Rogers Stevens discusses the history of American expansion and empire in this episode with Dan Monroe, Professor of History at Millikin University. Together they chart the evolution of our view of our place in the world from the Founding to current times.

Host: Cara Rogers Stevens

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

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Tariffs, seemingly a relic of the 18th and 19th centuries, are back on the front page as tools of policy, with wide-reaching impacts on America's economy and Americans as individuals. What's the history behind tariffs as tools of policy, and how have American leaders understood and used them differently over time?

Political Economist Rob Wyllie joins Jeff for this timely explanation of the background and history of tariffs, as well as a healthy dose of analysis and even some forecasts related to what's going on now in the Trump administration and what it might mean for you and America now and in the near future.

#trade #trump #tariffs #economics

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

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8 May 1945: Victory in Europe Day, the day after the armistice between the Allied powers and Nazi Germany goes into effect. Almost 5 years long, World War 2 in Europe destroyed millions of lives, burned ancient cities to cinders, displaced populations, and permanently changed the world order.

How, then, did it come to end? How did the Allies defeat the Nazis, and why did the war end when it did? What issues led the world from war to Cold War in only a few years, turning supposed allies against one another?

Jeff discusses VE Day and its legacy with historian John Moser, answering these questions and helping to set the stage for the rest of the 20th Century in Europe and the rest of the world.

Read Ian Kershaw's book. mentioned in the episode: https://a.co/d/echNXaL

Read the text of the Yalta agreement: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-yalta-conference/

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea