Randa Abdel-Fattah

She's a history professor at Penn State University.

So how did the Supreme Court go from being the weakest branch of the government to the powerful force it is today?

Ramtin and I are bringing you that story of how an early political fight that pitted cousins and former allies against each other paved the way for the Supreme Court's supreme power.

That's coming up after a quick break.

That's it for this week's episode of America in Pursuit, a special series from ThruLine and NPR.

If you want to learn more about the Supreme Court's ascension to power, make sure to check out ThruLine's full-length episode called The Supreme Court.

Or listen to The Shadow Docket, which goes more in-depth about the ability for the court to issue quick decisions.

And make sure to join us next week for the first edit, or correction, if you will, to the Constitution.

The bottom line is free speech affects everyone.

It's obviously an incredibly important value for Americans.

The story of the First Amendment and the beginning of the Bill of Rights.

That's next time.

Don't miss it.

This episode was produced by Kiana Moghadam and edited by Christina Kim with help from the ThruLine production team.

Music, as always, by Ramtin Arablui and his band, Drop Electric.

Special thanks to Julie Kane, Irene Noguchi, Beth Donovan, Casey Miner, and Lindsay McKenna.

We're your hosts, Rand Abdel-Fattah and Ramtin Arablui.

The American Revolution was a bloody civil war that lasted for eight years.

It was a time of great division and turmoil in the country that would eventually lead to the establishment of our democracy.

In other words, we came out the other side.