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04 - James Madison Episodes

Jan. 15, 2023

4.15 - Affairs of State

Year(s) Discussed: 1810-1811 As President Madison struggled to fill various vacant positions in both the executive and judicial branches, the administration's enemies in Congress gathered their forces to take on an instit…
Dec. 11, 2022

4.14 - Freedom or Death

Year(s) Discussed: 1809-1811 As news of Macon's Bill No. 2 reached Europe, US Minister John Armstrong worked to take advantage of the increasingly precarious situation for the French in order to secure a deal with the gov…
Oct. 30, 2022

4.13 - The Spanish Situations

Year(s) Discussed: 1810-1811 With the Spanish government on the Iberian peninsula in disarray, people in their colonial holdings in the Americas had to figure out what to do in the meantime. Some decided to stay the cours…
Oct. 9, 2022

4.12 - The Two Shawnee Brothers

Year(s) Discussed: c. 1764-1810 In the latter decades of the 18th and the first decade of the 19th century, native peoples in the old Northwest found themselves under threat from a westward push from Europeans wishing to …
Sept. 25, 2022

4.11 - Intrigue in Washington

Year(s) Discussed: 1809-1810 In the wake of the failed negotiations with British Minister to the US Francis James Jackson, the Madison administration and Congress had to determine next steps to address the tensions with b…
Sept. 4, 2022

4.10 - Yazoo v Yazoo

Year(s) Discussed: 1795-1810 For fifteen years, one controversy popped up time and again to disrupt the public arena - the Yazoo Land Controversy. From newspaper essays to debates in Congress, this issue involved some of …
Aug. 21, 2022

4.09 - Fear and Loathing in Napoleonic Europe

Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1810 Despite achieving a victory in the War of the Fifth Coalition, French Emperor Napoleon's hold on control over the European continent was looking increasingly shaky. This would make the recepti…
July 24, 2022

4.083 - Dolley Madison Part Three

Year(s) Discussed: 1817-1858 James and Dolley Madison left Washington, DC in 1817 anticipating a peaceful retirement in Montpelier. Little did they know what life had in store for them or that Dolley would end up returnin…
July 10, 2022

4.082 - Dolley Madison Part Two

Year(s) Discussed: 1768-1849 We continue our examination of the life and legacy of Dolley Madison with a discussion with Hilarie Hicks, Senior Research Historian at James Madison's Montpelier. In this episode, we talk abo…
Guest: Hilarie Hicks
July 3, 2022

4.081 - Dolley Madison Part One

Year(s) Discussed: 1768-1809 Born in a Southern log cabin, the woman who would go on to be the center of social life in the nation's capital developed her skills of charm and entertainment through formative years filled w…
June 12, 2022

4.08 - Fussin', Fightin', and Carryin' On

Content Note: This episode mentions the topic of suicide. Year(s) Discussed: 1807-1810 The Madison administration experienced numerous setbacks and embarrassments in the latter part of 1809. The President's private sec…
May 15, 2022

4.07 - Dissension and Discord

Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1809 The arrival of the new British Minister to the US, Francis James Jackson, was not necessarily seen as a good omen by the Madison administration for the prospect of healing the rift between the…
April 24, 2022

4.06 – Peace Interrupted

Year(s) Discussed: 1809 When the British government learned of the Erskine Agreement, it was not best pleased. In the summer of 1809, the Madison administration scrambled to deal with the ramifications of the British resp…
April 10, 2022

4.05 – In the Arena

Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1809 A new congressional session provided an opportunity for the President and his wife to make their mark on the Washington political and social scene as they invited guests into the refurbished …
March 27, 2022

4.04 – East and West

Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1809 In the first couple of months of his presidency, Madison not only dealt with a domestic political dispute but also managed to negotiate an agreement with the British Minister to the US to res…