To understand the establishment of the city of Washington, DC by our nation’s founders is to understand the promise of the American experience and the challenges that remain to achieve that more perfect union.

In the Founding Father Legacy Series, Sharon Pratt, former Mayor of Washington D.C, explores the history of the founding of our nation’s capital, the role of the founders in the city’s creation, and the enduring idea of Washington as a symbol of democracy around the world.

This Series will look at the three men who were key to the creation of the nation and the city that is its capital, Washington, DC. Episode I explores the least well-known of the three, James Madison, and the role he played in founding our nation's capital. Mayor Pratt speaks with Fergus Bordewich, author of "Washington: The Making of the American Capital," about the characters, the compromises, and the politics of the new American capital.