Consider the Constitution

Author: The Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution

Consider the Constitution is a podcast from the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier. The show provides insight into constitutional issues that directly affect every American. Hosted by Dr. Katie Crawford-Lackey the podcast features interviews with constitutional scholars, policy and subject matter experts, heritage professionals, and legal practitioners.
Be a guest on this podcast

Language: en-us

Genres: Government, History

Contact email: Get it

Feed URL: Get it

iTunes ID: Get it

Get all podcast data

Listen Now...

Forging the Revolution: Montpelier's Blacksmith Shop and the Hidden Network of the American War
Episode 2
Wednesday, 28 January, 2026

What can 500 pounds of slag reveal about the American Revolution? In this episode, Dr. Katie Crawford-Lackey talks with Dr. Matt Reeves, Montpelier's Director of Archaeology, about the blacksmith shop that powered James Madison Sr.'s plantation during the Revolutionary War. Through archaeological evidence and surviving ledger books, they uncover a regional network of production, the expertise of enslaved artisans like Moses, and how this industrial operation supplied the Continental Army—while transforming the economic and social landscape of Revolutionary Virginia.