Episodes - Page 5 | Presidencies of the United States

March 12, 2023

4.18 - Put Your Best Plot Forward

Year(s) Discussed: 1811-1812 In 1811, President Madison brought in a new US Minister who he felt might actually be able to navigate the complicated diplomatic intrigues of the Napoleonic French government to bring about a resolution to long-standing issues with that government as he and his admi…

Feb. 26, 2023

4.17 - Unsettled Ground

Year(s) Discussed: 1807-1812 With changes happening in the nation's capital and abroad, the Madison administration worked as 1811 gave way to 1812 to navigate through new circumstances. In the House of Representatives, new leadership came to the forefront with an expansionist agenda. Around the …

Feb. 19, 2023

SATT 018 - John Breckinridge

Tenure of Office: August 7, 1805 - December 14, 1806 After a few initial fits and starts, John Breckinridge propelled himself to become a prominent leader in the state of Kentucky before moving on to the national scene and ultimately into the Cabinet of Thomas Jefferson as the 5th US Attorney Ge…

Guest: Nick Emel

Feb. 5, 2023

4.16 - We're Not Going to Take It Anymore

Year(s) Discussed: 1810-1811 As a new British Minister made his way to the US, a naval engagement off the Eastern Seaboard further complicated relations between the United States and United Kingdom. In Washington, President Madison had to figure out how to approach the situation with the French …

Jan. 22, 2023

SATT 017 - Robert Smith

Tenure of Office: July 27, 1801-March 4, 1809 (as Secretary of the Navy); March 6, 1809-April 1, 1811 (as Secretary of State) Propelled to national office by circumstance, Robert Smith's time in the Cabinet would be a tale of two presidencies. While achieving much success as Jefferson's Secretar…

Guest: Zachary DeBacco

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 institution that had been in the cross hairs of some Democratic-Republican leader…

Jan. 1, 2023

SATT 016.2 - Albert Gallatin Part Two

Tenure of Office: May 14, 1801 - February 8, 1814 After being forced out of his post as Treasury Secretary, Albert Gallatin spent the next few decades serving in numerous diplomatic postings abroad, writing essays on various topics, being nominated as Vice-President, and even challenging the pol…

Dec. 25, 2022

SATT 016.1 - Albert Gallatin Part One

Tenure of Office: May 14, 1801 - February 8, 1814 A descendant of a leading Genevese family, Albert Gallatin made his way across the Atlantic and rose to prominence as a Democratic-Republican leader before being recruited by ...

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 government of Emperor Napoleon that would restore open trade with that nation.…

Nov. 28, 2022

SATT 015.2 - James Madison Part Two

Tenure of Office: May 2, 1801 - March 3, 1809 Picking up where we left off in Part One, join me and my special guest, Kenny Ryan from [Abridged] Presidential Histories, as we examine the remainder of James Madison's tenure as Secretary of State as well as touch on the highlights of his post-Cabi…

Guest: Kenny Ryan

Nov. 21, 2022

Friendsgiving

How better to celebrate the upcoming holiday season than by getting together with some podcasting friends! I hope you'll take some time to check out this conversation that I had with Alycia from Civics & Coffee, Howard from P...

Nov. 13, 2022

SATT 015.1 - James Madison Part One

Tenure of Office: May 2, 1801 - March 3, 1809 Regular listeners of the podcast may have heard of this guy a time or two thus far, but there's still so much more to know about the career of James Madison leading up to his becoming the fifth Secretary of State. In this episode, I and my special gu…

Guest: Kenny Ryan

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 course with current leadership while others used the opportunity to try to bring…

Oct. 16, 2022

SATT 014 - Levi Lincoln Sr

Tenure of Office: March 5, 1801 - March 3, 1805 For every figure in American history who is in the spotlight, there is someone who is behind the scenes making it happen. For Thomas Jefferson, one of those folks was Levi Lincoln Sr of Massachusetts. With my special guest, Steve of the Speakcies S…

Guest: Steve Glissman

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 settle on their lands and being treated as pawns in conflicts between Europ…

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 both Great Britain and France. Meanwhile, a new diplomat arrived from Spain …

Sept. 20, 2022

SATT 013 - Henry Dearborn

Tenure of Office: March 5, 1801 - March 4, 1809 Revolutionary War veteran, US Representative, Secretary of War, War of 1812 General, US Minister to Portugal - with that accumulation of offices, one would imagine that Henry Dearborn would be better remembered. With my special guest, Steve Guerra …

Guest: Stephen Guerra

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 the biggest leaders of the time including Alexander Hamilton, John Randolph…

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 reception received by the new US Minister to Russia John Quincy Adams a warm one a…

Aug. 14, 2022

SATT 012.2 - John Marshall Part Two

Year(s) Discussed: 1755-1835 As a follow-up episode focused more on John Marshall's lengthy tenure as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, I am joined by Ben Lovelace and Matthew Nichol of the John Marshall House for a discussion on his historical and legal legacy as well as to get a better sense…

Guest: Ben Lovelace, Matthew Nichol

Aug. 7, 2022

SATT 012.1 - John Marshall Part One

Tenure of Office: June 13, 1800 - March 4, 1801 John Marshall is a name much better known for where his career led him after serving in the administration of John Adams, but there was still much to discuss with my special guest, Alycia from Civics & Coffee, about his brief tenure as Secretary of…

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 returning to the social circles of the leading politicians in the nation's capital.…

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 about Dolley's role in the social circles of the nation's capital during James…

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 with uncertainty, turmoil, and tragedy. Join me as I explore the early life …