Presidencies Of The United States

Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1807 Aaron Burr’s plans were finally starting to come to fruition, but little did the former Vice President know that he had a turncoat in his midst. Meanwhile, as the Jefferson administration struggled to get a grasp of the scope of the conspiracy, it was forced to action, and the haphazard nature of it would have consequences on down the line. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Blennerhassett Island Home,” courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tenure of Office: 12 September 1789 – 31 December 1794 Henry Knox served the United States as a general and as the head of the War Department for ten years, but will his life and career earn him a seat at the table of the Cabinet All-Stars? Listen as we explore Knox’s legacy to find out! Thanks so much to my special guests for this episode – Rob and Jamie from Totalus Rankium! Featured Image: “Henry Knox” by Gilbert Stuart [c. 1806], courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1805-1806 With American and Spanish military forces amassing along the western US border and with the commanding general of the Army potentially involved in a secession and/or filibustering plot with the former Vice President, late 1806 was a time of trepidation for President Jefferson and his administration. Before long, though, a few hopeful prospects started to appear including the return of Jefferson’s protege turned continental explorer, Meriwether Lewis. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “James Wilkinson” by Charles Willson Peale [c. 1797], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tenure of Office: 11 September 1789 – 31 January 1795 (Secretary of the Treasury) We begin our new special series with the first Cabinet member to assume office under the constitutional government – Alexander Hamilton! You may have seen the musical, but there are a few more parts of his history that didn’t make it into that production. Thanks so much to my special guest for this episode – Alycia from the Civics & Coffee Podcast! Featured Image: “Alexander Hamilton” by John Trumbull [c. 1805], courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introduction to a new special series of episodes titled “Seat at the Table” where I will be joined by special guests each episode to discuss a Cabinet member’s life and tenure in office and rank how they did before determining if they deserve a seat at the table of Cabinet All-Stars. Featured Images: “Alexander Hamilton” by John Trumbull [c. 1805], courtesy of Wikipedia; “Hamilton Fish” by Mathew Brady, courtesy of Wikipedia; “Frances Perkins” [c. 1932], courtesy of Wikipedia; and “Jesse Brown,” courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1805-1806 As Jefferson reflects upon the unexpected death of his mentor, various situations at home and abroad in 1806 imperil the future of the nation. A British ship unintentionally kills an American sailor, threatening the peace negotiations being conducted in London. Around the same time, expeditions to explore the west provoke Spanish forces already gathered on the border. Meanwhile, the President receives word of a domestic plot involving not only the former Vice President but also the commanding general of the US Army. Sources used in this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Map of the 1806 Red River Expedition” by Nich. King [c. 1806], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1804-1806 As tensions between the US and Spain increase over West Florida and the border with Tejas, Aaron Burr travels to the west and back again to meet with folks across the nation as his plot progresses. Meanwhile, supporters of Jefferson in Congress attempt to move against Rep. John Randolph of Roanoke, and a House Ways and Means Committee meeting gets so raucous that a duel seems to be in the making. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “A new chart of the Atlantic or Western Ocean” by William Heather [c. 1797], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1804-1806 The Napoleonic Wars continue apace in Europe as Napoleon plots an invasion of Britain, and Admiral Horatio Nelson searches for the French fleet in the Mediterranean. As battles continue on land and sea across the continent, American diplomats in London, Paris, and Madrid continue their work. Meanwhile, the untimely death of a key leader opens up opportunities for the US to negotiate a treaty. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “The Battle of Trafalgar” by J M W Turner [c. 1822-1824], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1804-1805 President Jefferson had much to celebrate in the latter half of 1805 as he finally secured a new Attorney General, envoys arrived from distant lands in the east and the west, and his daughter and her family joined him in the President’s House for the winter. Little did he know, though, that difficult negotiations in Madrid and the machinations of the former Vice President, Aaron Burr, would soon lead to difficulties for his administration. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Images: “Tchong-tas-sáb-bee, Black Dog, Second Chief” by George Catlin [c. 1834], courtesy of Wikipedia and “John Breckinridge” [c. 1891], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1748-1836 Studies of Thomas Jefferson’s life often discuss the impact of the two Marthas – his wife, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, and his daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph – on him, but few studies examine matters with the focus on the lives of the two women. While our knowledge of Martha Jefferson is limited, in this episode, we sift through the fragments of what we know about her before shifting to her daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph. In addition to the narrative, part of the episode features an interview with a special guest, Dr. Cynthia A. Kierner, whose biography of Martha is an invaluable resource for learning more about a person who was educated in Paris and mingled with presidents and political leaders but is far too often relegated to the background of history. Her life has much to tell us about the role of women and families in the early republic as well as in US presidential history. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured

Year(s) Discussed: 1803-1805 With the war with Tripoli continuing to drag on year after year, Jefferson and his administration had to determine whether the best course to bring it to a conclusion lay with opening up a new front by partnering with foreign agents or through engaging in a new round of diplomacy. Meanwhile, a change in the command of the US naval squadron in the Mediterranean took the wind out of the sails of what had been an energetic force. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Attack on Derna” by Charles Waterhouse, courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As there have been some recent developments here at Presidencies HQ, I just wanted to give everyone a quick update. Spoiler: The podcast is not going away, though there may be some delays in the next couple of months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m excited to share that I will be presenting at the Intelligent Speech Conference on Saturday, April 24th, 2021! If you would like to attend, please take a moment to listen to this quick trailer for more information, go to www.intelligentspeechconference.com, and use the promo code “presi” to get 10% off your ticket to 24 hours of content available on 4 simultaneous streams. It should be a great experience, so I hope you’ll join us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1803-1805 Jefferson’s second inauguration may have been a non-event, but on numerous fronts, various tensions were building in early 1805 that threatened to make his second term one to remember. Cabinet members plotted to further their own ambitions while Aaron Burr schemed with foreign powers and domestic discontents in order to return to prominence. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the president, one of his appointments would put a double agent in place to potentially break the recently acquired Louisiana Purchase away from the US. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Thomas Jefferson” by Matthew Harris Jouett, courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1804-1805 With the Lewis and Clark expedition underway to explore the upper reaches of the Missouri River, President Jefferson at the end of his first term turned his attention to gathering support and talent for expeditions in the southern portions of the Louisiana Purchase. Meanwhile, the Corps of Discovery arranged for Jefferson to get a first-hand account of life west of the Mississippi River. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Carte Du Mexique et des Pays Limitrophes Situes Au Nord et a l’est Dressee d’apres la Grande Carte de la Nouvelle Espagne De Mr. A. De Humboldt” by Alexander von Humboldt [c. 1811], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1735-1873 Throughout Jefferson’s life and career, he was surrounded and served by various enslaved individuals of three generations of the same family. In this episode, we examine the lives of the Hemings family as some worked to attain their freedom, other Hemingses disappeared from the historical record without a trace, and one became the most famous enslaved individual in the United States for bearing the third President’s children. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “View of the West Front of Monticello and Garden” by Jane Braddock [c. 1825], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1875-1877 Though the US takes pride in the regular practice of peaceful transitions of power from one presidency to the next, sometimes the transition is not quite so peaceful, especially when the results are in dispute. Such was the case in the aftermath of the presidential election of 1876 where, for months, allegations flew back and forth, political leaders across the nation exerted their influence in favor of their chosen candidate, members of both parties prepared for armed confrontation, and no one could predict whether Samuel J Tilden or Rutherford B Hayes would end up being the nineteenth president of the United States. Source notes for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Images: “Rutherford B Hayes” [c. 1865-1880], courtesy of Wikipedia and “Samuel Jones Tilden” [c. 1860-1886], courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1801-1805 As James Monroe set off for his new special mission to Spain, a new congressional session began with Democratic-Republicans aiming to settle a long-standing issue as well as put their mark on the judiciary branch. However, they would find that their plans quickly went awry, and the events of early 1805 would have impacts on Jefferson’s second term and beyond. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “John Randolph” by Gilbert Stuart [c. 1804-1805], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1803-1805 With a presidential election looming, the Jefferson administration had to consider how to wrap up the first term and transition to the second. For some, that meant moving into new positions. For others, retirement was in their future. As the campaign worked to rally the public, the decisions of 1804 made at home and abroad would have far-reaching consequences. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Images: “Thomas Jefferson” by Rembrandt Peale [c. 1800], courtesy of Wikipedia and “George Clinton” by Ezra Ames [c. 1814], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1907-1968 In a year of domestic unrest, social strife, and uncertainty at home and abroad, the United States prepared for a presidential election in 1968. Little did they know that it would be a contest unlike any other. In the midst of a turbulent campaign, political norms were challenged, rivalries were intensified, and the only guarantee was that a new chapter in American history would emerge after all the votes were in. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Lyndon Johnson meets with Presidential candidate Richard Nixon at the White House” by Yoichi Okamoto [26 Jul 1968], courtesy of Wikipedia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/presidencies-united-states/id1191633316?ls=1&mt=2 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3ByZXNpZGVuY2llcy5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Qv Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/presidencies-of-the-united-sta-241094 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZRBiyuv