Founding Fathers | The invention of the United States | 1

How did a collection of desperate survivors, religious outcasts, and petty criminals become the architects of the world's most powerful nation? What does it mean to build a society on the language of liberty when that society is entirely dependent on enslaved labour? And are Americans still reckoning with a founding story that was never quite what it seemed?

Peter and Afua go back to the very beginning — from the disaster of Roanoke and the brutal early years at Jamestown, to the transatlantic slave economy that quietly powered the rise of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.

00:00 Introduction — what America actually means
03:00 Roanoke and Jamestown — England's catastrophic first attempts
08:00 The colonial economy — slavery, sugar, and the triangle trade
14:00 New York's hidden history — one in five New Yorkers were enslaved
19:00 The contradiction at America's heart — liberty built on unfreedom
25:00 Who were the Founding Fathers — and who was left out?
32:00 Preview — Franklin and Madison up next

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Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas:
Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com
Join Legacy+ for bonus episodes, early access, Q&A's, fewer adverts and more.
legacy.supportingcast.fm

Stay connected with Legacy:
Instagram: @originallegacypodcast
TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com
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