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Episodes

4.23 - Out with the Old
July 16, 2023

4.23 - Out with the Old

Year(s) Discussed: 1812-1813 As the USS Constitution brought home the nation's first major victory in the War of 1812, the Madison administration had to carefully consider how to readjust its strategy in ground operations. New leaders started emerging in the field, but the President, after secur…
Interview with C W Goodyear, President Garfield
July 2, 2023

Interview with C W Goodyear, President Garfield

Year(s) Discussed: 1831-1881 On this episode, I am joined by C W Goodyear, author of the new biography President Garfield, to talk about the man who he described as "a pathologically reasonable person" and his navigation through the turbulent waters of Reconstruction and Gilded Age American poli…
Guest: C W Goodyear
SATT 022 - James Monroe
June 18, 2023

SATT 022 - James Monroe

Tenure of Office: April 6, 1811 - March 4, 1817 (as Secretary of State); September 27, 1814 - March 2, 1815 (as Secretary of War) James Monroe is one of the rare Cabinet members who served in two Cabinet positions simultaneously, and what is really remarkable about Monroe's doing so is that it w…
Guest: Joe Faykosh
4.22 - The Eastward March
June 11, 2023

4.22 - The Eastward March

Content Note: There is a mention of death by suicide in this episode around the 32 minute mark. Year(s) Discussed: 1811-1812 Even after the declaration of war in 1812, US and British officials on both sides of the Atlantic continued to work towards a cessation of hostilities. At around the sa…
Interview with Paul Brandus, Countdown to Dallas
June 4, 2023

Interview with Paul Brandus, Countdown to Dallas

Year(s) Discussed: 1939-1994 As we've seen in the podcast, certain circumstances coming together at just the right time can change the course of history for good or ill. In this episode, I am joined by author, historian, and White House correspondent Paul Brandus to discuss his new book, Countdo…
Guest: Paul Brandus
4.21 - When It Rains
May 28, 2023

4.21 - When It Rains

Year(s) Discussed: 1812 In the aftermath of the surrender of Detroit, the Madison administration had to consider whether its strategy against Britain had already gone awry in the early days of the War of 1812. Meanwhile, in East Florida, the arrival of a new colonial governor boded ill for the P…
SATT 021 - Paul Hamilton
May 14, 2023

SATT 021 - Paul Hamilton

Tenure of Office: May 15, 1809 - January 1, 1813 Rising through the political ranks in South Carolina, Paul Hamilton was called to national service for the first time by President Madison to serve as his Secretary of the Navy. In this episode, I am joined by my husband Alex to explore the life a…
Guest: Alex
4.20 - Once More Unto the Breach
April 30, 2023

4.20 - Once More Unto the Breach

Year(s) Discussed: 1812 With the path to war set, the Madison administration had to develop a strategy to prosecute warfare against Great Britain. On top of logistical difficulties, having a Secretary of War and a Secretary of the Navy with little to no military experience didn't help matters, a…
SATT 020 - William Eustis
April 16, 2023

SATT 020 - William Eustis

Tenure of Office: March 7, 1809 - January 13, 1813 After his service as a surgeon on the battlefields of the Revolutionary War, William Eustis of Massachusetts began a political career which would bring him to serve as the 6th US Secretary of War in the Madison administration. Joined by Craig Ba…
Guest: Craig Baird
4.19 - Let Slip...
April 9, 2023

4.19 - Let Slip...

Year(s) Discussed: 1810-1812 Tensions had been building for years between Britain and the United States. By June 1812, the American government was ready to take action. The circumstances by which they would declare war, however, were far from ideal, and it was only due to a series of events on b…
SATT 019 - Caesar A Rodney
March 26, 2023

SATT 019 - Caesar A Rodney

Tenure of Office: January 20, 1807 - December 5, 1811 A member of the politically prominent Rodney family of Delaware, Caesar A Rodney was recruited to service in the US House of Representatives by none other than Thomas Jefferson and a few years later was invited to join his Cabinet as Attorney…
Guest: Åsa and Chris
4.18 - Put Your Best Plot Forward
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…
4.17 - Unsettled Ground
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 …
SATT 018 - John Breckinridge
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
4.16 - We're Not Going to Take It Anymore
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 …
SATT 017 - Robert Smith
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
4.15 - Affairs of State
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…
SATT 016.2 - Albert Gallatin Part Two
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…
SATT 016.1 - Albert Gallatin Part One
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 ...
4.14 - Freedom or Death
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.…
SATT 015.2 - James Madison Part Two
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
Friendsgiving
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...
SATT 015.1 - James Madison Part One
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
4.13 - The Spanish Situations
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…