Tenure of Office: June 18, 1798 - March 31, 1801
A merchant and land speculator by trade, Benjamin Stoddert's path to becoming the first Secretary of the Navy was an unconventional one. However, did this unique background…
Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1809
The arrival of the new British Minister to the US, Francis James Jackson, was not necessarily seen as a good omen by the Madison administration for the prospect of healing the rift between the…
Year(s) Discussed: 1809
When the British government learned of the Erskine Agreement, it was not best pleased. In the summer of 1809, the Madison administration scrambled to deal with the ramifications of the British resp…
Tenure of Office: January 27, 1796 – June 2, 1800
James McHenry was the last individual appointed to the Cabinet of George Washington, but would being tapped to head the War Department by the esteemed first President lead…
Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1809
A new congressional session provided an opportunity for the President and his wife to make their mark on the Washington political and social scene as they invited guests into the refurbished …
Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1809
In the first couple of months of his presidency, Madison not only dealt with a domestic political dispute but also managed to negotiate an agreement with the British Minister to the US to res…
Tenure of Office: December 10, 1795 – March 4, 1801
Charles Lee served as legal counsel during some of the most notable trials of the Early Republic, but does that mean that his tenure as Attorney General is equally rema…
Year(s) Discussed: 1809
Though James Madison was seen as being Thomas Jefferson’s successor, it became clear starting with his inauguration that his presidency would be different from his predecessor’s, for better or wor…
Year(s) Discussed: 1785-1809
After scoring some key political victories in Virginia, Madison decided to lead an effort to reform the government of the United States. However, he would find that getting the Constitutional…
Tenure of Office: February 3, 1795 – December 31, 1800
Oliver Wolcott, Jr had big shoes to fill when he assumed office as the second Secretary of the Treasury. With my special guests, Lucy and Michelle from Tudoriferous,…
Year(s) Discussed: 1653-1785
As part of a family that had been on a steady rise in society since its earliest days in the Virginia colony, James Madison, Jr. was expected to do great things from the time of his birth, bu…
Tenure of Office: January 2, 1795 – December 10, 1795 (as Secretary of War); December 10, 1795 – May 12, 1800 (as Secretary of State)
Timothy Pickering’s tenure in the Washington and Adams administrations is arguably one…
You asked, and I answered! As we wrap up our series on Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, listeners submitted questions ranging from Franco-American relations during Jefferson’s tenure to what pets he kept to how would I go abou…
Year(s) Discussed: 1809-1826 After leaving the presidency, Thomas Jefferson found himself kept quite busy with both public business and personal matters. While striving to be a doting grandfather and fretting over his family…
Year(s) Discussed: 1807-1809
As the end of Jefferson’s second term neared, the Embargo Act came under increasing criticism at home, Napoleon’s plans for conquest continued apace in Europe, and the nation chose the man wh…
Tenure of Office: January 27, 1794 – August 23, 1795
Though William Bradford wasn’t Attorney General for long, he did have an impact on some key events in the Washington administration. With my special guest for this epi…
Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1808
As the 1808 presidential election neared, the infighting in the Democratic-Republican faction was exacerbated by not one but two challengers to Secretary of State James Madison’s candidacy – …
Tenure of Office: March 22, 1790 – December 31, 1793
We’ve spent a good amount of time in the narrative talking about Jefferson as the third US president, but in this episode, while also exploring his life and career as …
Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1808
With a diplomatic resolution to the Chesapeake/Leopard affair looking increasingly unlikely and the threat of war looming, President Jefferson and his administration worked in late 1807 to dev…
Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1807
Little did the Jefferson administration, while preparing to prosecute the former Vice President of the United States, Aaron Burr, for treason, that they would be faced at the same time with a…
Tenure of Office: 26 September 1789 – 20 August 1795
Edmund Randolph served in not one but two positions in the Washington administration – as Attorney General then as Secretary of State. However, will that be enough to …
Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1807
Concurrent with the events of the Burr conspiracy, the Jefferson administration and its agents were engaged in other work on multiple fronts. Lt. Zebulon Pike was leading an expedition westwa…
Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1807
Aaron Burr’s plans were finally starting to come to fruition, but little did the former Vice President know that he had a turncoat in his midst. Meanwhile, as the Jefferson administration str…
Tenure of Office: 12 September 1789 – 31 December 1794
Henry Knox served the United States as a general and as the head of the War Department for ten years, but will his life and career earn him a seat at the table of the…
