[Abridged] Presidential Histories

A 24-year career in Congress crested at a tumultuous time for Gerald Ford. He was the GOP leader of the house during the Nixon administration, then Nixon's VP, then the president who had to heal the country after Watergate. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum director Brook Clement discusses the crucible Ford walked as a national leader. Support the Show.

"Our long national nightmare is over." - Gerald Ford, August 9, 1974 ~~~ Gerald Ford is the only person in American history to reach the vice presidency and the presidency without being elected to either. Despite this, he was a popular president - for 1 month. But then he pardoned Nixon, and it was all downhill from there. Follow along as Ford rides his athletic gifts from Grand Rapids to The University of Michigan and eventually Yale, serves his country in World War 2, then embarks on a quest to become Speaker of the House, only to discover the presidency instead. Once there, he'll grapple with the legacy of Watergate, and a bedeviling rise in unemployment and inflation that threatened to send the country's economy over the cliff. Bibliography 1. Gerald Ford – Douglas Brinkley 2. Richard Nixon: The Life – John Farrell 3. Ronald Reagan: The life – H.W. Brands 4. The Vietnam War – Ken Burns (documentary) 5. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush – Jon Meacham 6. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream – Doris Kearns Goodwin 7. Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency – Mark K Updegrove 8. His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life – Jonathan Alter Support the Show.

It didn't take long for Richard Nixon to earn the nickname "Tricky Dick," but was he really any more tricky than the typical politician? You bet he was! John Farrell, a long-time journalist and author of numerous books on political leaders, including Richard Nixon, The Life, discusses the many campaigns of Richard Nixon, from the red scare tactics that swept him to office, to the southern strategy that changed America's political map forever. Support the Show.

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. Bibliography 1. Richard Nixon: The Life – John Farrell 2. The Vietnam War – Ken Burns (documentary) 3. Gerald Ford – Douglas Brinkley 4. Eisenhower in War and Peace – Jean Edward Smith 5. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush – Jon Meacham 6. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 – Robert Dallek 7. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream – Doris Kearns Goodwin 8. Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency – Mark K Updegrove Support 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. Bibliography 1. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream – Doris Kearns Goodwin 2. The Years of Lyndon Johnson and the Passage of Power – Robert Caro 3. Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency – Mark K Updegrove 4. The Vietnam War – Ken Burns (documentary) 5. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 – Robert Dallek 6. Richard Nixon: The Life – John Farrell 7. Eisenhower in War and Peace – Jean Edward Smith 8. Gerald Ford – Douglas Brinkley Support 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. Bibliography 1. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 – Robert Dallek 2. Richard Nixon: The Life – John Farrell 3. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream – Doris Kearns Goodwin 4. The Years of Lyndon Johnson and the Passage of Power – Robert Caro 5. Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency – Mark K Updegrove 6. Eisenhower in War and Peace – Jean Edward Smith Support 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: Presidencies of the United StatesCivics & CoffeePlodding 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 administration Support 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.

Bonus episode! Even the seemingly powerless have the power to change history. When the infamously corrupt Chester Arthur became president after the assassination of his predecessor, most Americans feared Democracy was about to go on the auction block. But, in an era when women couldn't even vote, one woman, Julia Sand, put pen to paper and changed history. Her letters imploring Arthur to abandon his corrupt political allies and listen to his long-abandoned better nature moved something in Arthur and Democracy itself may well have been saved. This is a recording of my 2022 Intelligent Speech Conference presentation. If you enjoy it, you might just enjoy the upcoming 2023 Intelligent Speech Conference on November 4. Learn more and buy tickets with the code "Abridged" at intelligentspeechonline.com 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. Bibliography 1. Eisenhower in War and Peace – Jean Edward Smith 2. Truman – David McCullough 3. FDR – Jean Edward Smith 4. Richard Nixon: The Life – John Farrell 5. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 – Robert Dallek 6. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream – Doris Kearns Goodwin Support the Show.