[Abridged] Presidential Histories

Martin Van Buren is known as the "little magician." If he was a magician, he cast a powerful spell. The two party system he championed and helped establish has ruled the United States for two centuries and Democratic party he co-founded is the oldest American political party alive today.Historian and Journalist James Bradley, author of the new book Martin Van Buren: America's First Politician discusses how Martin Van Buren took over New York politics, and then American politics, to transform the American political system forever.Support the show

What's it like to be on the inside of a dark horse presidential campaign? Chelsea Waliser knows.Waliser was an Obama campaign regional field director during the lead up to first-in-the-nation 2008 Iowa Caucus. For nearly a year, she hired, trained, and organized volunteers for a candidate who was viewed by many as a long shot. What drove her to Obama? What's it like to spend a year of your life in Iowa? And how did Obama's campaign beat the odds?Tune in to find out.Support the show

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." - Barack Obama, on the campaign trail, Feb. 5, 2008Nothing was ever going to come easy to Barack Obama, and many thought he was crazy for trying, but belief himself was something Obama had in spades, and it lifted him to the presidency of the United States. Follow along as Barack Obama rises from a humble start as a community organizer in Chicago to crack into Illinois Democratic politics, transform his career with a 2004 national convention speech, and shock the political establishment by becoming the first African American President in U.S. history in 2009. His reward? Two foreign wars, an economy in free fall, and an opposition party committed to saying 'no!' at every turn. It was one of the most challenging hands any president has been given, and yet he overcame it to save the American economy and settle its foreign policy on stable ground.Bibliography1. Obama: The Call of History - Peter Baker2. Bush - Jean Edward SmithSupport the show

Sahba Azami was born an Afghan refugee.Today, she's an Afghan refugee once more.But, for nearly 20 years, she was not a refugee. She was simply an Afghan. And the future was bright.Brought back to the country of her parents' birth after the United States toppled the Taliban, Sahba joined a vanguard of young women who were going to make the most of the precious opportunity that had been denied every generation of Afghan women before them -- She pursued an education.Sahba graduated college. She graduated law school. She joined the Afghan president's administration. She was building a new country.But then the Taliban returned.It's an odd thing to realize: Sahba's life has almost certainly been more dramatically changed and changed again by the decisions of American presidents than my own, but it's a realization I can't shake. The decision of American presidents made it possible for Sahba to return to Afghanistan and pursue an education. The decisions of American presidents contributed to Afghanistan's collapse, separating her from her family, and making her a refugee in a faraway land.But still, she dreams.Today, she shares her story.Support the show

Donald Trump does not talk like a politician. But where some hear truth telling, and others hear something unhinged, professor Jennifer Mercieca hears a consistent rhetorical strategy designed to bind audiences to Trump and sever them from everyone else.A strategy good enough to win the presidency not just once, but twice.Communication professor Jennifer Mercieca, author of Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump, discusses the six techniques Trump uses to cast a spell on his audiences.Support the show

"I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." - George W Bush, World Trade Center Site, September 14, 2001George W. Bush did not get the presidency he thought he would. He expected to be the tax, entitlement, and education reform guy. Not the war on terror guy.But the deadliest attack in World History will do that to you.Follow along as Bush rides a privileged upbringing to the Texas Governorship, wins the White House after the most controversial election of the past 150 years, then struggles with how to keep Americans safe in the years after 9/11 and how to stave off economic armageddon when the 2008 financial crisis sends the global economy into a free fall.Bibliography1. Bush - Jean Edward Smith2. Obama: The Call of History - Peter Baker3. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush – Jon MeachamSupport the show

"It's the economy, stupid" - Clinton advisor James Carville, 1992.Bill Clinton left office with a 66% approval rating. This was in large part because 81% of Americans approved his handling of the economy - 71% said the 1999 was the best economy of their lifetimes (according to Gallup). But how much credit does a president really deserve for an economy? And how does Clinton's record on free trade, welfare reform, and deregulation hold up today? Labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein, author of A Fabulous Failure: The Clinton Presidency and the Transformation of American Capitalism, joins me to discuss the economic legacy of Bill Clinton.Support the show

“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.'” — Bill Clinton's inaugural address, Jan. 20, 1993.Bill Clinton has the highest end-of-term approval rating of any president in modern history - 66%. But that doesn't mean things came easy. It doesn't even mean he succeeded in what he set out to do! Follow along as Clinton rises from Arkansas poverty to become the youngest governor in the country and a dark horse presidential candidate on his way to the White House. Once there, he will contend with a revolution in opposition politics, a government shutdown, and the first presidential impeachment trial since 1868. And then, after all that, he'll try to resolve one of the world's most tragic intractable struggles - the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He won't succeed at that either, but damnit, he'll try.Bibliography1. The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House - John Harris2. Bill Clinton - Michael Tomasky3. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush – Jon Meacham4. Bush - Jean Edward Smith5. His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life – Jonathan AlterSupport the show

For the third consecutive year, four podcasters got together to record their annual Friendsgiving History Podcast Spectacular. Tune in as I'm joined by three fellow history podcasters and friends for a roundtable discussion on U.S. and presidential history. The other podcasters are:Howard Dorre, Plodding through the PresidentsJerry Landry, Presidencies of the United StatesAlycia, Civics & Coffee Happy Thanksgiving!Support the show

George H.W. Bush presided over 4 of the most consequential years in world history. Before he entered office, a Cold War divided East and West: Democratic Capitalism vs Dictatorial Communism. After he left office, Democratic Capitalism had won. How did Bush usher in an age of American hegemony? And what role did he play in dramas ranging from the reunification of Germany to the independence of former soviet states like Russia and Ukraine? Jeffrey Engel, Director of SMU's Center for Presidential History and author of numerous books on George H.W. Bush, including When the World Seemed New: George H.W. Bush and the End of the Cold War, discusses how Bush kept the peace without sacrificing American idealism at a time of dangerous global change.Support the show

“The Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I'll say no, and they'll push, and I'll say no, and they'll push again. And I'll say to them: ‘Read my lips, no new taxes.'” — George Bush's GOP Nomination Acceptance speech, Aug. 18, 1988."Poor George [Bush], he can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth." - Texas Governor Ann Richards at the 1988 Democratic National Convention.George H.W. Bush may have lived one of the most personally moving stories in all of presidential history. There's war. There's loss. There are great heights and great defeats. Through it all, Bush often appeared somewhat wooden. Unreachable. Unavailable. But beneath that was a man of deep emotions. Follow along as Bush fights in World War II, builds an oil empire in Texas, and rises through the ranks of GOP politics to the White House, where he contended with the end of the Cold War, the aggression of an Iraqi dictator, and an economic reckoning that threatened to be the undoing of his career.Bibliography1. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush – Jon Meacham2. When the World Seemed New: George H. W. Bush and the End of the Cold War - Jeffrey Engel3. The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House - John Harris4. Ronald Reagan: The life – H.W. Brands5. Bush - Jean Edward Smith6.  Richard Nixon, the life – John A. Farrell7. His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life – Jonathan Alter8. Gerald Ford – Douglas BrinkleySupport the show

Americans have long had a complicated relationship with taxes. We don't like paying them, but we love the things they pay for. In the decades after World War II, both political parties agreed - taxes are worth it.Then came Ronald Reagan and the anti-tax movement.Michael Graetz, a Professor Emeritus of Law at Yale University and Columbia University and author of The Power to Destroy: How the Antitax Movement Hijacked America, discusses how an American consensus was shattered and a new era of low taxation and deficit spending was begun, and the impact that era will have on Americans today and tomorrow.Support the show

On September 8, 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned recently-resigned president Richard Nixon of any crimes he may have committed in the presidency, and the pardon has never been the same since. Law Professor Kimberly Wehle, author of the new book Pardon Power: How the Pardon System Works - and Why, discusses the origin and history of the presidential pardon and the danger its potential abuse poses to the future of democracy.If you'd like to read more from Kim, check out her Substack at https://kimwehle.substack.com/Support the Show.

Pandemics, political violence, partisans recognizable by the color of their hat - it may sound novel, but it's been with us practically since the beginning of the republic. Historian Lindsay Chervinsky, author of the new book Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic, discusses the wildly volatile John Adams administration (1797-1801) and the lessons it offers as we face our own modern political moment.Support the Show.

"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem," - Ronald Reagan's inaugural address, January 20, 1981.For the first 50 years after the onset of the Great Depression and the election of Franklin Roosevelt, the United States had been led by politicians who believed government held the power to make life better for the American people. Then came Ronald Reagan, one of the most talented political orators in American history. Follow along as Reagan rises from the great depression to realize his dreams in Hollywood, then takes his talents into politics, where he upends a half-century of big-government consensus and pivots the United States toward a small-government future.Bibliography1. Ronald Reagan: The life – H.W. Brands2. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush – Jon Meacham3. His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life – Jonathan Alter4. Gerald Ford – Douglas Brinkley5.  Richard Nixon, the life – John A. FarrellSupport the Show.

When unemployment and inflation began to rise side by side in the 1970s, nobody knew what to do. Economic theory suggested it should have been impossible, and yet the numbers couldn't be denied. Stanford Historian Jennifer Burns, author of Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative, discusses how American presidents of the 70's tried and failed to curb stagflation, what led Carter to Paul Volcker, and how Volcker's medicine may have saved the economy, but doomed Carter's pregnancy in the process.Support the Show.

It's commonly accepted wisdom that presidents are less effective in their second terms, when the term limits of the 22nd amendment turn them into Lame Ducks who cannot be elected to office a third time. But what if that common wisdom is wrong?Former NYU economics professor William Silber, author of The Power of Nothing to Lose: The Hail Mary Effect in Politics, War and Business, argues that lame ducks only appear less effective because, with nothing left to lose, they pursue goals that are more ambitious and more difficult. And nothing-to-lose, gamble-it-all-on-the-win behavior can also be seen in presidential campaigns when candidates trail badly in the polls or fear a defeat will end their careers.With two former presidents on the ballet this fall, Silber forecasts what to expect from the campaigns and potential administrations of the contendors.Support the Show.

When Jimmy Carter won the presidency, his Democratic party held a 61-37 majority in the Senate and a 292-143 majority in the House. Why then, with such a clear governing majority, were his relations with Congress so poor, and his agenda so challenged?Jonathan Alter, a long-time journalist and author of numerous books on the presidency, including His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life,  discusses how Carter's outsider status and a healthy heaping of luck swept him to the presidency, but betrayed him in the White House. Just Access PodcastYour go-to listen for fascinating interviews and discussions about human rights todayListen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the Show.

"The erosion of confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and political fabric of the nation," - Jimmy Carter, July 15, 1979~~~Jimmy Carter may have been the luckiest presidential candidate and unluckiest president in American history. Chasing the presidency after Watergate and the pardon of Nixon had crushed American faith in its leaders, Carter's outsider message was the right note at the right time. But once in office, a combination of economic headwinds and international disasters doomed his administration. From Plains, Georgia, to the White House and back, follow along as Carter navigates southern politics and national disenchantment to try and set the nation on a path for the future.Bibliography1. His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life – Jonathan Alter2. Gerald Ford – Douglas Brinkley3. Ronald Reagan: The life – H.W. Brands4. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush – Jon Meacham5. The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House – John F. HarrisGrave InjusticeThe makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court and the cases they are hearing are no...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the Show.

From 1953 to 1969, the Supreme Court was a vanguard of progressive change for the United States. But then came Tricky Dick.Michael Bobelian, author of Battle For The Marble Palace: Abe Fortas, Lyndon Johnson, Earl Warren, Richard Nixon and the Forging of the Modern Supreme Court, discusses how presidential candidate Richard Nixon and senate conservatives blocked LBJ's efforts to cement a progressive court for years to come and, in 3 short years, transformed the once liberal bastion into a conservative bulwark, forever changing how justices are nominated and confirmed in the United States.Grave InjusticeThe makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court and the cases they are hearing are no...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the Show.

A 24-year career in Congress crested at a tumultuous time for Gerald Ford. He was the GOP leader of the house during the Nixon administration, then Nixon's VP, then the president who had to heal the country after Watergate. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum director Brook Clement discusses the crucible Ford walked as a national leader.Support the Show.

"Our long national nightmare is over." - Gerald Ford, August 9, 1974~~~Gerald Ford is the only person in American history to reach the vice presidency and the presidency without being elected to either. Despite this, he was a popular president - for 1 month. But then he pardoned Nixon, and it was all downhill from there. Follow along as Ford rides his athletic gifts from Grand Rapids to The University of Michigan and eventually Yale, serves his country in World War 2, then embarks on a quest to become Speaker of the House, only to discover the presidency instead. Once there, he'll grapple with the legacy of Watergate, and a bedeviling rise in unemployment and inflation that threatened to send the country's economy over the cliff.Bibliography1. Gerald Ford – Douglas Brinkley2. Richard Nixon: The Life – John Farrell3. Ronald Reagan: The life – H.W. Brands4. The Vietnam War – Ken Burns (documentary)5. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush – Jon Meacham6. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream – Doris Kearns Goodwin7. Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency – Mark K UpdegroveSupport the show

It didn't take long for Richard Nixon to earn the nickname "Tricky Dick," but was he really any more tricky than the typical politician? You bet he was! John Farrell, a long-time journalist and author of numerous books on political leaders, including Richard Nixon, The Life,  discusses the many campaigns of Richard Nixon, from the red scare tactics that swept him to office, to the southern strategy that changed America's political map forever.Support the show

Richard Nixon was sworn in as President with a Democratic House and Senate across Capitol Hill, which you might expect to lead to legislative impasse. Instead, it was one of the more prolific legislative stretches in American history, including such accomplishments as: Lowering the voting age, Title IX, creating the EPA, the Clean Air Act, abolishing the draft, and more. But were all of these laws passed because of Richard Nixon, or despite him? Historian Luke Nichter, a Chapman University professor who operates nixontapes.org, explores how Nixon and the Democratic Congress came together to pass so much meaningful change.Support the show

"People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook." - Richard Nixon, November 17, 1973~~~Richard Nixon's life is a drama unlike any other. A desire to win at any cost earned him the name "Tricky Dick" and carried him from Whittier, California, to the Presidency of the United States, but it also proved his undoing. From Alger Hiss to Checkers, the Chenault Affair, "Nixon goes to China," and Watergate, we will dive into the remarkable rise and fall of the only American to resign the presidency, Richard Milhouse Nixon.Bibliography1. Richard Nixon: The Life – John Farrell2. The Vietnam War – Ken Burns (documentary)3. Gerald Ford – Douglas Brinkley4. Eisenhower in War and Peace – Jean Edward Smith5. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush – Jon Meacham6. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 – Robert Dallek7. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream – Doris Kearns Goodwin8. Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency – Mark K UpdegroveSupport the show

Migrating to the United States used to be as easy as buying a boat ticket. Getting settled was the hard part, and it became far more daunting when the United States was torn asunder by Civil War in 1861. As more and more northerners were conscripted into the Union Army, Lincoln realized a friendlier immigration policy might be the key to sustaining economic and military strength through the long years of war. Harold Holzer, director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College in New York City and  Chairman of the Lincoln Forum, discusses his new book Brought Forth on this Continent Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration, which delves into the role immigration played in killing the Whig party, building the republican party, and how Lincoln's views toward immigration changed during through his career and into the Civil War, when he attempted one of the first major overhauls of the American immigration system in U.S. history.Support the show

Lyndon Baines Johnson is one of the most legislatively accomplished presidents in American history - possibly the only president who actually did so much winning, people got tired of it. But how did he make legislating look so easy? Mark Updegrove, president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation and author of 5 books on the presidency, including Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency, discusses the impact and legacy of LBJ's Great Society.Support the show

Few presidents have a darker mark on their resume that LBJ's handling of the Vietnam war. Though overwhelmingly popular at first, the war divided the nation and broke Johnson's political power just 4 years later.How did the United States get into Vietnam? Why didn't LBJ see what the American people saw as public opinion turned against it? And what can we learn from Johnson's handling of the war in Vietnam?Mark Lawrence, director of the LBJ Presidential Library & Museum in Austin and author of The End of Ambition: The United States and the Third World in the Vietnam Era, discusses the legacy of LBJ's leadership of the Vietnam War.Support the show

"There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem." - Lyndon Baines Johnson, March 9, 1965~~~Lyndon Baines Johnson was thrust into the presidency at a moment of tragedy - the public assassination of his predecessor. With the nation in panic, Congress in deadlock, and Civil Rights seemingly out of reach, the challenges were long, but Johnson used his mastery of the legislative process to overcome all of these challenges. He may have gone down as one of the greats if not for the war that consumed his presidency, the war in Vietnam. Bibliography1. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream – Doris Kearns Goodwin2. The Years of Lyndon Johnson and the Passage of Power – Robert Caro3. Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency – Mark K Updegrove4. The Vietnam War – Ken Burns (documentary)5. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 – Robert Dallek6. Richard Nixon: The Life – John Farrell7. Eisenhower in War and Peace – Jean Edward Smith8. Gerald Ford – Douglas BrinkleySupport the show

JFK once joked, "the worst I do, the more popular I get." Historian Harold Holzer, director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College in New York City,  Chairman of the Lincoln Forum, and author of The presidents vs. the Press: The endless battle between the white house and the media, from the founding fathers to Fake News, discusses how JFK used his mastery of the press to become one of the most enduringly popular presidents in U.S. history.Support the show

Joe Kennedy Jr. used his intellect, connections, and more than a few shady stock market tricks to become one of the wealthiest men in America. Once there, he threw his vast fortune behind the political aspirations of his children, challenging them to do good in the world. But tragedy was always a step away. Within a year of Joe's crowning achievement, the presidential inauguration of his son, Jack, Joe was struck down by a stroke. He lived 8 more years, helplessly watching as two sons were felled by assassins bullets.Historian David Nasaw, author of The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy, discusses the Shakespearean tragedy that is Joe Kennedy Sr.Support the show

60 years ago today, John F. Kennedy was assassinated while traveling through the streets of Dallas. Stephen Fagin, curator of The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, takes us through the tragic day and discusses why Kennedy's assassination has attracted so much doubt and dreams of conspiracy. Support the show

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy,  January 20, 1961~~~John F. Kennedy presided over three of the most turbulent years of the Cold War. From the Bay of Pigs to the Cuban Missile Crisis and a coup in Vietnam, the stakes have rarely been higher. But how did he overcome youth and bigotry against his Catholic faith to reach the White House? Well, it helps when your daddy has money and you have charisma to spare.Bibliography1. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 – Robert Dallek2. Richard Nixon: The Life – John Farrell3. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream – Doris Kearns Goodwin4. The Years of Lyndon Johnson and the Passage of Power – Robert Caro5. Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency – Mark K Updegrove6. Eisenhower in War and Peace – Jean Edward SmithSupport the show

Earlier this year, four podcasters got together to record the second annual Friendsgiving History Podcast Spectacular! Tune in as I'm joined by three fellow history podcasters and friends for a round table discussion on U.S. and presidential history. The other podcasters are:Jerry Landry, Presidencies of the United StatesAlycia, Civics & Coffee Howard Dorre, Plodding through the PresidentsHappy Thanksgiving!Support the show

Eisenhower is the last general to have become president. How did his time in the army influence his administration and what stamp did it leave on the presidency? Bryan Gibby, the deputy head of West Point's history department, discusses how Ike's time at the academy, in the army, and during World War II shaped his leadership style and impacted his presidential administrationSupport the show

As the election of 1952 approached, one thing seemed certain - a staunch isolationist, senator Robert Taft, was going to be the GOP's presidential nominee and the next president of the United States. Which was a major concern to anyone who feared the United States retreating back to its borders would invite Soviet conquest in the 50s just as it had invited Nazi conquest in the 30s. And so a plan was hatched to draft Eisenhower, the supreme commander of a fledgling NATO, to defeat Taft at home so the United States could defeat soviet influence abroad. The fate of the GOP, and the world, hung in the balance - would the later half of the 20th century be an isolationist one, or an international one?Historian Christopher Nichols, who is currently working on a book about the 1952 election, discusses the pivotal race that set the stage for the rest of the Cold War.Support the show

Bonus episode! Even the seemingly powerless have the power to change history.When the infamously corrupt Chester Arthur became president after the assassination of his predecessor, most Americans feared Democracy was about to go on the auction block. But, in an era when women couldn't even vote, one woman, Julia Sand, put pen to paper and changed history. Her letters imploring Arthur to abandon his corrupt political allies and listen to his long-abandoned better nature moved something in Arthur and Democracy itself may well have been saved.This is a recording of my 2022 Intelligent Speech Conference presentation. If you enjoy it, you might just enjoy the upcoming 2023 Intelligent Speech Conference on November 4. Learn more and buy tickets with the code "Abridged" at intelligentspeechonline.comSupport the show

There are October Surprises, and there are October crisis. Just days before Americans went to the polls to vote for Ike's 1956 reelection, his allies France, England, and Israel launched a surprise October invasion of Egypt to capture the Suez Canal. With Cold War temperatures rising, Ike was faced with a high-stakes dilemma. Would he back his allies, or Egypt, for control of the all-important canal.Veteran journalist Jim Newton, author of Eisenhower: The White House Years, discusses the crisis that reshaped the political world order.Support the show

Dwight Eisenhower ascended to the presidency when the United States was in the grips of a red scare - a red scare fanned by Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy. As McCarthy exploited the public fear to steal the spotlight with hundreds of unfounded accusations of communist sympathies, Eisenhower, and three future presidents then in the Senate, had to grapple with the moral and societal threat of McCarthy to the republic, and what they were willing to do to stop him.New York Times best-selling author Larry Tye, author of Demagogue: The life and long shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy, discusses the origins of the McCarthy era, its costs, and what it took to end it.  Support the show

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." - Dwight Eisenhower,  April 16, 1953~~~Dwight Eisenhower was born to poverty, but rose to be the savior of Europe and preside over the perilous early years of the Cold War. Follow along as Ike punches a ticket to education and upward mobility at West Point, leads the allied armies of Europe to victory during World War II, and faces off with Soviets abroad and racists at home from the White House. Bibliography1. Eisenhower in War and Peace – Jean Edward Smith2. Truman – David McCullough3. FDR – Jean Edward Smith4. Richard Nixon: The Life – John Farrell 5. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 – Robert Dallek6. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream – Doris Kearns GoodwinSupport the show

As millions of Americans demobilized after World War II, some were welcomed home as heroes, but others were attacked by their neighbors. When a white South Carolina sheriff attacked a black sergeant, still in uniform, on his way home from the war, the resulting outrage inspired Harry Truman to risk his presidency for the cause of Civil Rights. Judge Richard Gergel, author of Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of President Harry S. Truman and Judge J. Waties Waring, discusses the attack and its impact on a nation and its conscience. Support the show

Before he was president, and before he formed the Truman Committee, Harry Truman was known primarily for one thing: his connection to an infamous Kansas City political machine - the Pendergast Machine. But what was the Pendergast Machine? How did it work? What was it into? Historian Jon Taylor discusses Truman's connection to the infamous operation, and who was helping who in the relationship.Support the show

"16 hours ago, an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima ... It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East" - President Harry S. Truman, Aug. 6, 1945, in his announcement of the first atomic attack in world history~~~When Harry S. Truman unexpectedly became president on April 12, 1945, the United States was still in the midst of World War II - but there were plans to hasten its resolution. Secret plans. Atomic plans. In the following four months, the first atomic bombs would be tested in New Mexico and then dropped on the Empire of Japan. Historian D.M. Giangreco, author of the new book Truman and the Bomb: The Untold Story, discusses what Senator Truman knew about the bomb and when he knew it, the casualty forecasts that Truman weighed in his decision to drop the bomb, and whether dropping the bomb ended World War II.~~~“The full impact of the war comes more to me, I think, in some respects than it does to anyone in this country.  The daily casualty lists are mine.  They arrive in a constant stream, a swelling stream, and I can't get away from them.” - Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, June, 1945Support the show

"When people create delays for profit, when they sell poor products for defense use, when they cheat on price and quality, they aren't any different from a draft dodger and the public at large feels just the same way about it." - Senator Harry S. Truman, March 31, 1941~~~As American war industry roared to life in 1941, Senator Harry S. Truman began receiving letters from concerned constituents. Money was being wasted. Badly. And all over the place. Truman jumped in his car and travelled thousands of miles to investigate first-hand, then formed the senate investigatory committee that would bear his name - The Truman Committee. NPR executive producer Steve Drummond, author of The Watchdog: How the Truman Committee Battled Corruption and Helped Win World War Two, discusses the origin and impact of the Truman Committee, and some of the truly crazy schemes of corruption it unearthed for the American people.Support the show

"I don't know if you fellas ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me." - Harry S. Truman,  April 13, 1945, the day after Franklin Roosevelt died and Truman was sworn in as president.~~~Harry S. Truman was a political late bloomer, first elected to the senate at age 50, and becoming vice president against his own wishes at age 60. That second role lasted just 82 days before president Franklin Roosevelt died and Truman inherited the final months of a world war, and the opening years of a cold war. Follow along as Truman, an uneducated farmer, World War I veteran, and failed businessman, rises to the presidency and grapples with the atomic bomb, global communist aggression, and a rogue general eager to start World War III.Bibliography1. Truman – David McCullough2. FDR – Jean Edward Smith3. Eisenhower in War and Peace – Jean Edward SmithSupport the show

"You are the only man whom in all my life I have met who has repeatedly and in every way done for me what I could not do for myself and nobody else would do." - New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt to Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, 1900~~~Theodore Roosevelt didn't reach the top of American politics without a little help from his friends, and no friend was more important than Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, a titan in his own right. Laurence Jurdem,  author of The Rough Rider and the Professor (publication date: July 4, 2023), discusses how Roosevelt and Lodge propelled each other to the heights of American politics, and the battles they waged together and against each other once they got there.Support the show

"A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader. A great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves." - Eleanor Roosevelt~~~Eleanor Roosevelt is the most enduringly famous first lady in American history, and for good reason. She transformed what a first lady can be, criss-crossing the country to meet and listen to Americans in need and serve as their advocate in Washington D.C. But the woman we remember her as is not the woman she always was. David Michaelis,  author of New York Times bestseller Eleanor discusses how Eleanor rose from a "Dickensian childhood" to become the champion of millions.Support the show

"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms."The first is freedom of speech and expression ..."The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way ..."The third is freedom from want ..."The fourth is freedom from fear." - Franklin Roosevelt, Jan. 6, 1941, State of the Union Address~~~When FDR entered office, he had one overriding concern - to get the United States of America out of the Great Depression. But as the years advanced, as the economy improved, and as war spread across Asia and Europe, Roosevelt began to turn his focus to the international situation and the world he hoped to forge.  Christopher Nichols,  the Wayne Woodrow Hayes Chair in National Security Studies and a Professor of History at Ohio State University, and Liz Borgwardt, a historian, lawyer, and author, discuss their new book, Rethinking American Grand Strategy, and the stamp FDR put on it.Support the show

"By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States ... I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War and the Military Commanders ... to prescribe military areas … from which any or all persons may be excluded," - Executive Order No. 9066, Feb. 12, 1942~~~Two months after Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order permitting the military to remove anyone it wanted from designated "military areas." By this authority, 120,000 Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and put in military prison camps for the duration of the war. Historical consultant Paul Sparrow, a former Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York, discusses the arguments for and against this policy, why FDR implemented it, and what life was like for the tens of thousands of innocent civilians caught up in order 9066.Support the show

"The president wants to come into your home and sit at your fireside for a little fireside chat," - Robert Trout of CBS News, introducing one of FDR's radio speeches.~~~FDR is the longest-serving president in U.S. history, winning four consecutive terms. That doesn't happen without darn good PR. Historian Howard Holzer, director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College in New York City,  Chairman of the Lincoln Forum, and author of The presidents vs. the Press: The endless battle between the white house and the media, from the founding fathers to Fake News , joins me to discuss how FDR mastered the media of his day to become the most persuasive president in U.S. history.Support the show

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little," - Franklin Roosevelt, Jan. 20, 1937.~~~FDR had one of the most privileged upbringings of any U.S. President. Why was he the one to enact the most radical social and economic reforms in U.S. history? Historian H.W. Brands discusses his Pulitzer Prize-finalist book, Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the roles uncle Teddy, Polio, and the Great Depression played in making FDR a champion of the downtrodden. Support the show