Journalists and commentators have invoked historic precedents to contextualize the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. While unprecedented in many ways, those events are also part of a long history of bitter partisanship and political violence in the United States. Thomas Jefferson’s election in 1800 offers an example: the peaceful transfer of power was anything but a foregone conclusion.

Watch the conversation with early America historian Lindsay M. Chervinsky. Dr. Chervinsky discussed historic examples of sedition, violence, and mob action in the early decades of American history.

This livestream was made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.