Hello, Reader!
The Epstein files are back in the news--and so is the question that haunts every democracy:
π What happens when power hides behind closed doors?
New reports say President Trump's name appears repeatedly in sealed Justice Department records related to Jeffrey Epstein. The DOJ has declined to release the full contents, sparking concern over elite protection and selective justice.
But this isn't new.
From the founding era to today, Americans have long feared shadowy influence, secret plots, and unchecked power. This story is as old as the Constitution.
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πΌοΈ The Big Picture
What's Happening: Newly surfaced DOJ records reportedly name President Trump multiple times in court-sealed documents tied to the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case. The DOJ says they're sealed for legal reasons.[1]
β οΈ Why It Matters: Public anger isn't just about the crimes in the case. It's about the sense that justice is being withheld to shield the powerful.
What History Reveals: The United States was born amid fears of hidden power--foreign agents, private cabals, unchecked elites. That fear still echoes in American society and headlines.
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π Historical Deep Dive
ποΈ The Constitutional Convention (1787)
In 1787, delegates from the thirteen American states gathered in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. Instead, they drafted a new Constitution behind closed doors.
Not all of the delegates were pleased with this work or its secrecy. New York delegates John Lansing, Jr., and Robert Yates left the convention in protest, claiming that elites were plotting to replace the Articles with a more imperial government. [2]
β‘οΈ Outcome: Their objections helped give rise to the Anti-Federalists movement, which pushed for more transparency and demanded a Bill of Rights.
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π The Illuminati Panic (1798)
In the late 1790s, tensions over France and the XYZ Affair collided with partisan politics.
The political battles of the First Party System (Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans or Jeffersonians) divided the early Republic. Within the world of religion, members of evangelical denominations (Baptists and Methodists) tended to favor the views and arguments of the Democratic-Republican Party. In contrast, members of more orthodox religions (Congregational, Presbyterian, Episcopalian) tended to favor Federalist views and arguments.
Amidst the crisis with France, Congregationalist minister Jedidiah Morse (1761-1826) claimed the French Revolution was part of an international Illuminati plot to destroy Christianity and civil government. Morse believed Illuminati members had infiltrated Masonic lodges and were using Democratic-Republicans like Thomas Jefferson to subvert the United States from within.
A large number of university-trained and distinguished clergy, including Yale President Timothy Dwight and Harvard Professor of Divinity David Tappan, believed Morse.[3]
β‘οΈ Outcome: The panic faded, but it demonstrated how fears of hidden power could sweep even educated Americans into conspiracy thinking.
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βοΈ The Burr Conspiracy (1806-1807)
After killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, Vice President Aaron Burr headed west into the North American interior. He gathered land, allies, and weapons.
Allegations were made that Burr intended to create a new American empire by invading parts of the Louisiana Territory and Spanish America.
In 1807, after his capture and arrest, the United States tried Burr for treason. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the government failed to prove that Burr had acted in an "overt act" of war and acquitted Burr.
β‘οΈ Legacy: Cleared of wrongdoing, Burr could not recover his reputation. He fled to England for four years before returning to live a quiet and unassuming life in New York, where he remained until he died in 1836. [4]
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π΅οΈ The Anti-Masonic Movement (1820s-1830s)
In 1826, a former Freemason from upstate New York named William Morgan disappeared after publishing a book that exposed Freemason secrets.
Morgan's disappearance caused many Americans to speculate that the Freemasons had killed him. The failure of local officials (many of whom were Masons) to conduct an extensive investigation turned this speculation into a national panic.
β‘οΈ Political fallout: Outrage led to the creation of the Anti-Masonic Party (1828-1838), the first third party in U.S. history. The party promoted government transparency, opposed elite secret societies, and helped reshape American political culture. [5]
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π¬ Final Thought
If secrecy protects power...who protects the people?
From 1787 to today, the American instinct has been clear: transparency in government isn't just a luxury for a democratic society, it's a safeguard. A safeguard that many generations of Americans have fought to preserve.
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π§ Go Deeper
Curious about the history behind some of the events in this newsletter? Check out:
π Making the United States Constitutionβ
βEpisode 143β
Discover how elite interests, compromise, and fear of popular rule shaped the United States Constitution.
βοΈ Madison's Hand: Revising the Constitutional Conventionβ
βEpisode 107β
Learn how James Madison edited his notes on the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and what that reveals about how history gets made.
ποΈ The Presidency of John Adamsβ
βEpisode 403β
Unpack the political storms that battered John Adams' presidency, including scandal, foreign threats, and bitter partisanship.
ποΈ The Alien & Sedition Acts of 1798β
βEpisode 198β
Explore how fears of French subversion led to laws that cracked down on immigrants and political dissenters.
ποΈ The Burr Conspiracyβ
βEpisode 204β
Dive into Aaron Burr's mysterious plans in the West, and how his trial tested the limits of treason and presidential power.
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π¬ What Do You Think?
Do you think early Americans were more afraid of secrecy, or of the people in power keeping secrets?
π© Hit Reply to share your thoughts.β
π¬ Join the conversation in our Listener Community.
Have a great weekend,
βLiz Covartβ
Host, Ben Franklinβs Worldβ
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P.S.
It's been a quiet week--but something new is coming!
π§ͺ I've been building a new project I think you will enjoy. The beta launches the week of August 4, exclusively through this email list. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Last weekend, I attended the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic conference. It was nice to reconnect with friends and colleagues. It was also an excellent opportunity to scout out work that might make great future episodes.
π₯ My favorite panel? One about the power and work of local governments before, during, and after the American Revolution.
I also met another scholar working on the Critical Period (1781-1789), which was exciting!
How was your week?
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π End Notes
[1] Jonathan Allen, Matt Dixon, Henry J. Gomez, Allan Smith, and Natasha Korecki,, "White House tightens its grip on Jeffrey Epstein messaging," NBC News, July 24, 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/white-house-tightens-grip-jeffrey-epstein-messaging-rcna220615, accessed July 24, 2025; Joe Walsh, "House Speaker Johnson says Jeffrey Epstein case is "not a hoax," CBS Mornings, July 24, 2025; https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-johnson-jeffrey-epstein-not-a-hoax/, accessed July 24, 2025; Andrew Prokop, "How the Jeffrey Epstein scandal became the mother of all conspiracy theories," Vox, July 23, 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-johnson-jeffrey-epstein-not-a-hoax/, accessed July 24, 2025.
[2] John P. Kaminski, Gaspare J. Saladino, Richard Leffler, Charles H. Schoehleber, Margaret A. Hogan, and Sarah K. Danforth ed., The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution, Volume XIX, Ratification of the States: New York, vol. 1:5, (Madison, WI: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2003), pgs xlvii-l.
[3] Gordon Wood, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), pgs 243-245. (I used the Kindle version).
[4] James E. Lewis, The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2017).
[5] Michael F. Holt, The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999); Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007).
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π Further Reading
Robert Alan Goldberg, Enemies Within: The Culture of Conspiracy in Modern America, (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001).
Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007).
James E. Lewis, The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2017).
Gordon Wood, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009).
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