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 b…
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 …
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 u…
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…
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 …
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 sha…
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 …
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 Represe…
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 c…
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 appoi…
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 adm…
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 State…
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.…
I asked for your questions, and you sent in some great ones! As a part of the transition into a new presidency, we send George Washington off by addressing some lingering issues about his life and tenure including whether he…
Year(s) Discussed: 1773-1797
As the Revolution against Great Britain kicks off, John Adams assumes office in the Continental Congress where he makes a name for himself with individuals from the various colonies before bei…
Year(s) Discussed: 1638-1772
A new series starts here! From his beginnings on a farm in Braintree, Massachusetts, John Adams set off on a path of learning that would take him through Harvard College and into the practice …
Year(s) Discussed: 1796-1799
Washington envisioned a relaxing retirement at Mount Vernon with his family after leaving the presidency in March 1797, but it was not to be. Between personal issues and a return to public ser…
Year(s) Discussed: 1794-1797
After President Washington releases his Farewell Address, informing the nation that he would not seek another term, the 1796 election is carried out though, both domestically and abroad, there…
Year(s) Discussed: 1790-1796
Relations between the US and France deteriorate after the Jay Treaty goes into effect while Washington gets involved in the campaign to secure Lafayette’s release from his imprisonment in the …
Year(s) Discussed: 1795-1796
Though finally managing to resolve his personnel issues, Washington and his Cabinet find themselves faced with a host of new problems including a new round of debate over the Jay Treaty and po…
Year(s) Discussed: 1773-1848
On May 21st, 1796, Ona/Oney Judge slips out of the President’s House in Philadelphia, PA in a bid to obtain her freedom from enslavement. The story of her being born into slavery at Mount Vern…
Year(s) Discussed: c. 16th century-1795
Diplomatic representatives of the Washington administration navigate new waters as they seek a peaceful resolution to conflicts with the Barbary States and Spain while the President…
Year(s) Discussed: 1792-1796
With positions in his Cabinet to fill, Washington is finding it difficult to convince anyone to join his administration. Meanwhile, the son of his Revolutionary War comrade the Marquis de Lafa…
Year(s) Discussed: 1794-1795
Despite achieving a major diplomatic victory in the Northwest Territory, the administration is rocked by controversy as Secretary of State Randolph is confronted about allegations of collusion…
