Discover[Abridged] Presidential Histories
[Abridged] Presidential Histories
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[Abridged] Presidential Histories

Author: Kenny Ryan

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From Yorktown to the Civil War, Pearl Harbor to 9/11, discover the pivotal moments that defined each president's life and legacy and the lessons we can draw from them. New episodes available the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month.
104 Episodes
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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 them. 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
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
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Comments (2)

Thrinnskaar99

I've always believed any state should be allowed to seceed for any reason. I don't know why that is put forth as such a shocking viewpoint. Especially as the United States was founded by succession from England. (In Old English voice: "I think it hypocrisy otherwise.") Also I wouldn't call it treason.

Sep 28th
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Thrinnskaar99

Great podcast! However I'd like to make a critique.On the previous few episodes you make it sound like the Indians are completely helpless imbeciles who see a drop of liquor and lose their minds becoming brainless zombies that bear absolutely no responsibility at all for losing their land. It does them a disservice by making them look like idiots of "lesser intellect."

Sep 28th
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