Episodes
May 05, 2019
2.21 – I am Gabriel, That Stands in the Presence of God
Year(s) Discussed: 1792-1801 The revolution in Saint-Domingue inspires enslaved people in the United States to seek their freedom in the 1790s at a time that the slaveocracy was becoming more ingrained in the American economy, society, and legal codes. With a focus on Virginia, this episode will explore the shifts in the American slave system in the late 1790s and the planned insurrection that has come to be known as Gabriel’s Rebellion.
02 - John Adams
April 28, 2019
V001 – Tammany Hall and the Presidencies
Year(s) Discussed: 1789-1967 In response to Jacob from The Podcast on Germany‘s question, I examine the relationship between the historically influential political organization of Tammany Hall and the presidents of the United States.
April 21, 2019
2.20 – A Proper Sense of Their Duty
Year(s) Discussed: 1799-1800 With the new members of the Adams Cabinet coming on board, the President travels south to inspect the work on the new Federal Capital as the US government begins its move from Philadelphia to Washington, DC. Meanwhile, Adams makes a decision on the fates of those convicted of crimes for their participation in Fries’s Rebellion while federal prosecutions under the Sedition Act continue and Democratic-Republicans gear up for the upcoming presidential election.
02 - John Adams
April 07, 2019
2.19 – Don’t Let the Door Hit You
Year(s) Discussed: 1799-1800 As the presidential election of 1800 looms and party leaders begin weighing their options, President Adams decides that the time is right to make a few changes in his administration. To the President’s detriment, though, Arch Federalists are scheming at the same time to remove him from his office. Meanwhile, new congressmen are making a name for themselves, and Toussaint L’Ouverture works to consolidate his power in Hispanola.
02 - John AdamsApril 01, 2019
30.000 – Body by Calvin Coolidge
Year(s) Discussed: 1872-1933 How much do you really know about America’s 30th president? Did you even remember that he was a president? In this show Jess and Joe explore the little known facts of one our most overlooked presidents in history.
March 24, 2019
2.18 – New Year, New à Vous
Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1800 The French Directory falls, and the three US peace commissioners are left with many questions as to how to proceed before they even arrive in Paris. Meanwhile, the US government considers a change in its policy towards the Barbary States, and the USS Constellation engages French naval forces once more in the Caribbean.
02 - John Adams
March 10, 2019
2.17 – Some Awful Crisis
Year(s) Discussed: 1798-1799 In Trenton, Adams confronted his Cabinet as well as Gen. Alexander Hamilton over the peace mission to France before the government moved back to Philadelphia for one last winter. After the new session of Congress began in December 1799, news arrived which was described as a national tragedy and had many wondering what lay in store for the US as a new century dawned.
02 - John Adams
February 24, 2019
2.16 – High Noon in Trenton
Year(s) Discussed: 1798-1799 New unrest in the government of France in 1799 presented President Adams with an important decision as to whether to continue with his peace overtures. Meanwhile, competing agendas within his own administration prompt one of Adams’s Cabinet members to urge him to end his sojourn in Quincy as yet another yellow fever epidemic strikes Philadelphia.
02 - John Adams
February 10, 2019
2.15 – Hot Time, Summer in the Country
Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1799 John Adams makes a fateful decision that threatens his administration and its ability to react quickly to developing events. Meanwhile, General James Wilkinson’s past collusion with the Spanish is discovered by a government agent in the Mississippi Territory. Closer to home, Fries’s Rebellion comes to a close as harassment of Democratic-Republican newspaper editors ramps up.
02 - John AdamsFebruary 07, 2019
A Humble Appeal
A brief, humble appeal from your friendly neighborhood podcaster for you to take a couple of seconds out of your day, each day from now through Sunday, February 17th, 2019 to support my personal mission of podcasting and history podcasting in general b...
January 27, 2019
2.14 – The Plausible Probability of Preserving the Peace
Year(s) Discussed: 1798-1799 Adams throws the American political landscape into a frenzy with a special message to Congress announcing that he was appointing a new Minister to France to negotiate peace. While exploring what this all means for Adams, his administration, and the nation, we also take a step back in this episode to look at the influence of American policy in Saint-Domingue and South America on the realities and future of Franco-American relations in 1799.
02 - John Adams
January 13, 2019
2.13 – Destiny Written in the Stars
Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1799 Despite the wealth of evidence coming in of the sincerity of the French Directory in seeking peace, President Adams found himself at odds with his Secretary of State Timothy Pickering at the beginning of 1799 with Pickering continuing the push for war. Meanwhile, the US Navy proved its worth in protecting American shipping in the Caribbean just as relations with the British began a downward spiral once more.
02 - John Adams
January 02, 2019
2.12 – Ready, Aim, Fire!
Year(s) Covered: 1798 As the nation gears up for the possibility of war with France, President Adams is increasingly focused on the possibility of peace as he prepares his annual message to Congress. Meanwhile, a rising star in the French military suffers a major setback that imperils the French Republic’s position on the global landscape.
02 - John Adams
December 16, 2018
2.11 – The Opposition Strikes Back
Year(s) Discussed: 1798 With yellow fever raging in Philadelphia, the federal government has to move once more, adding to the headaches of Secretary of War James McHenry who had his position in the Cabinet already being undermined by General Alexander Hamilton. In Quincy, John Adams meets with Elbridge Gerry to learn more about the latest offer for diplomatic talks with the French while in Virginia, Vice President Jefferson and former Rep. James Madison plot how to oppose the Alien and Sedition Acts.
02 - John AdamsDecember 05, 2018
41.015 – An Important Mission: A Tribute to George H W Bush
Year(s) Discussed: 1974-1975 In memory of the late George H W Bush, this special episode takes a look at his tenure as US Envoy to China. In the wake of Watergate, George Bush’s future is uncertain until he receives an offer from the new President to s...
December 02, 2018
2.10 – Checkmate: Hamilton
Year(s) Discussed: 1798 Adams quickly comes to regret his naming George Washington as commander-in-chief of the US Army when Washington decides to appoint Alexander Hamilton as his second in command. As the threat of war looms, the President and his commanding general end up in a back and forth that threatens the preparedness of the Army. Meanwhile, Elbridge Gerry’s mission to France makes little headway as Talleyrand and Napoleon focus on plans to reestablish France as a major colonial power.
02 - John Adams
November 25, 2018
2.095 – Abigail Adams
Year(s) Discussed: 1744-1818 This special episode is all about the life and times of Abigail Smith Adams, the learned woman from Weymouth who became the second First Lady of the United States. Returning to the show to share her insight on Abigail is Presidential and First Lady historian Feather Schwartz Foster. Join us as we explore her fascinating life and discuss what legacy she leaves as First Lady and a historical figure in her own right.
02 - John Adams
November 18, 2018
2.09 – All Around and Away They Go
Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1799 As the events of the Haitian Revolution start to involve the US and the Army works to secure control of the Mississippi Territory from the Spanish, Adams and the Federalists work to determine a response to the XYZ Affair. However, as their power begins to consolidate, some in the party plot ways to use the situation to their advantage. Oh, and Adams goes to see a play!
02 - John Adams
November 04, 2018
2.08 – Have At Thee! The Response to XYZ
Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1798 As the Adams administration learns of the XYZ Affair and the President works to determine his next course of action, partisan bickering devolves to a fight on the floor of the House of Representatives while back in Paris, divisions start to form between the special envoys as Talleyrand increases his pressure on one of their number.
02 - John Adams
October 21, 2018
2.07 – One Hand Washes the Other: The XYZ Affair
Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1798 The three commissioners sent by Adams arrive in France to begin negotiations but find themselves beset with new characters and new circumstances following French victories in the field and a coup in the government. One figure in particular stands between the envoys and peace, and he’ll gladly get out of the way…if, of course, the Americans are willing to pay.
02 - John Adams
October 07, 2018
2.06 – Scandals and Observations
Year(s) Discussed: 1792-1797 Adams is joined in Philadelphia by his wife Abigail as he tries to balance war and peace with the first of the original six frigates of the US Navy being launched around the time that he appoints peace commissioners to France. Meanwhile, the US Senate is rocked by a scandal involving one of its leaders while news of Hamilton’s extramarital affair becomes public.
02 - John Adams
September 23, 2018
2.05 – Et Tu, France?
Year(s) Discussed: 1796-1797 News arrives in Philadelphia of the French government refusing to accept Charles Cotesworth Pinckney as the US Minister to France, and various individuals both inside and outside the Adams administration spring into action to try to gain control of US foreign policy. Meanwhile, Adams works to cultivate sources independent of the State Department to keep him informed of affairs in Europe, and forces conspire to launch an attack on one of the leading figures of the American political landscape.
02 - John Adams
September 09, 2018
2.04 – Hither and Yon: The News From Abroad
Year(s) Discussed: 1783-1797 In this episode, we get caught up on the international situation around the time of Adams’s inauguration and the various issues that conditions beyond its borders bring up for the United States. Britain is faced with attacks from both at home and abroad. The French Directory stumbles along as two leaders arise. Toussaint L’Ouverture contemplates the future of Saint-Domingue. Various European powers conspire to threaten American sovereignty west of the Appalachians.
02 - John Adams
August 26, 2018
2.03 – The New Sheriff in Town
Year(s) Discussed: 1796-1797 The election of 1796 results in John Adams becoming the nation’s second chief executive, but he quickly finds more questions than answers awaiting him on the path to taking the oath of office. Adams is immediately faced with the need to make decisions about who to keep from the previous administration, what if any policy changes to make, and even where he and his family will live. It’s a transition unlike any other in American history to that point, and with various pressing issues waiting on the desk, the honeymoon for the new President promised to be short-lived.
02 - John Adams