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Episodes

March 16, 2021

State of the Podcast Update

As there have been some recent developments here at Presidencies HQ, I just wanted to give everyone a quick update. Spoiler: The podcast is not going away, though there may be some delays in the next couple of months.
March 1, 2021

Intelligent Speech Conference 2021

I’m excited to share that I will be presenting at the Intelligent Speech Conference on Saturday, April 24th, 2021! If you would like to attend, please take a moment to listen to this quick trailer for more information, go to www.
Feb. 27, 2021

3.27 – Second Term, Same as the Worst

Year(s) Discussed: 1803-1805 Jefferson’s second inauguration may have been a non-event, but on numerous fronts, various tensions were building in early 1805 that threatened to make his second term one to remember. Cabinet members plotted to further their own ambitions while Aaron Burr schemed w…
Feb. 14, 2021

3.235 – A Western Interlude

Year(s) Discussed: 1804-1805 With the Lewis and Clark expedition underway to explore the upper reaches of the Missouri River, President Jefferson at the end of his first term turned his attention to gathering support and talent for expeditions in the southern portions of the Louisiana Purchase.…
Feb. 1, 2021

3.26 – Present but Absent: The Hemings Family of Monticello

Year(s) Discussed: 1735-1873 Throughout Jefferson’s life and career, he was surrounded and served by various enslaved individuals of three generations of the same family. In this episode, we examine the lives of the Hemings family as some worked to attain their freedom, other Hemingses disappear…
Dec. 31, 2020

S008 – Transition Gone Wrong

Year(s) Discussed: 1875-1877 Though the US takes pride in the regular practice of peaceful transitions of power from one presidency to the next, sometimes the transition is not quite so peaceful, especially when the results are in dispute. Such was the case in the aftermath of the presidential …
Dec. 6, 2020

3.25 – What’s Next

Year(s) Discussed: 1801-1805 As James Monroe set off for his new special mission to Spain, a new congressional session began with Democratic-Republicans aiming to settle a long-standing issue as well as put their mark on the judiciary branch. However, they would find that their plans quickly wen…
Nov. 15, 2020

3.24 – Truth and Consequences

Year(s) Discussed: 1803-1805 With a presidential election looming, the Jefferson administration had to consider how to wrap up the first term and transition to the second. For some, that meant moving into new positions. For others, retirement was in their future. As the campaign worked to rally …
Nov. 2, 2020

S007 – Unprecedented Part III: 1968

Year(s) Discussed: 1907-1968 In a year of domestic unrest, social strife, and uncertainty at home and abroad, the United States prepared for a presidential election in 1968. Little did they know that it would be a contest unlike any other. In the midst of a turbulent campaign, political norms we…
Sept. 27, 2020

3.23 – One Man Left Standing

Year(s) Discussed: 1803-1804 While diplomatic disagreements occupied the attention of the Jefferson administration, Vice President Aaron Burr was occupied with a dispute of a more personal matter in the aftermath of his failed gubernatorial bid. Alexander Hamilton’s opposition to his campaign d…
Sept. 13, 2020

3.22 – A Death in the Family

Year(s) Discussed: 1803-1804 While Vice President Burr worked to secure his political future in his bid for the New York governorship and New England Federalists plotted to separate from the Union, the Jefferson family suffered the untimely loss of one of its members in the early months of 1804…
Aug. 30, 2020

3.21 – A Plotting We Will Go

Year(s) Discussed: 1803-1804 In the wake of multiple political losses in the first few years of the 19th century, as the election of 1804 neared, numerous Federalist leaders from New England began to consider the possibility of whether their prospects and those of their home region would be bet…
Aug. 16, 2020

Interview with Jeffrey Einboden, Jefferson’s Muslim Fugitives

Year(s) Discussed: 1776-1863 Interactions between people from various parts of the globe are a common occurrence in the 21st century, but though more infrequent in the late 18th and early 19th century, cross-cultural interactions in that time had a dec...
Aug. 13, 2020

From Me to All of You 2: A Quick Note

As we continue to face many challenges around the world, I wanted to send a quick note to all of you to hopefully provide some comfort as well as share a couple of updates about what’s coming with Presidencies. Take care, everyone!
Aug. 2, 2020

S006 – It’s Convention Time!

Year(s) Discussed: 1824-1992 Since the first national party convention in the United States in September 1831, party conventions have played a key role in American politics. In this episode, we explore the role of these gatherings in determining presidential nominees as well as setting agendas t…
July 19, 2020

3.20 – Action and Reaction

Year(s) Discussed: 1801-1804 As Jefferson’s first term entered its final year, numerous developments at home and abroad would start chains of reactions with long-reaching consequences. In the Caribbean, a nation declared its independence that would prove to be of particular concern to white Ame…
July 3, 2020

3.19 – The Not So Merry Merry

Year(s) Discussed: 1802-1803 The new British Minister to the US, Anthony Merry, arrived in Washington, DC in late 1803, and though his arrival was initially seen as a strengthening of British-American relations, it would soon prove to be quite the opposite. Meanwhile, the end of the year saw re…
June 21, 2020

S005 – Unprecedented Part II

Year(s) Discussed: 1936-1944 With increasing uncertainty in the global situation and continued instability in the domestic economy, candidates lined up on both the Democratic and Republican sides to succeed Franklin Roosevelt at the end of his second term. However, 1940 found the President consi…
June 17, 2020

Intelligent Speech Conference 2020

I will be presenting on the Rebellions of the Early Presidencies at the Intelligent Speech Conference on Saturday, June 27th, 2020. If you’d like to attend and hear from numerous educational podcasters and historians, be sure to go to www.
June 1, 2020

3.18 – The Boys Are Back in Town

Year(s) Discussed: 1801-1803 Though the Louisiana Purchase Treaty had been concluded, President Jefferson understood that didn’t mean it was a done deal, and he and his administration got to work in the latter half of 1803 on getting the treaty ratified by the Senate and in pushing through legi…
May 24, 2020

3.17 – Sailing in New Waters

Year(s) Discussed: 1802-1803 Despite some early successes, the US naval efforts against Tripoli languished in 1802 and early 1803, and with the cost of maintaining a squadron in the Mediterranean climbing, President Jefferson and his administration had to consider alternates in both leadership …
May 10, 2020

Interview with Lindsay Chervinsky

Year(s) Discussed: 1789-1809 George Washington established many precedents during his tenure of office, but one that had arguably the greatest impact was his establishment, not by law but by practice, of what we now know of as the Cabinet.
April 26, 2020

3.16 – Up River, Down River

Content Note: This episode mentions the topic of suicide. Year(s) Discussed: 1802-1803 As the Jefferson administration awaited word on the outcome of Monroe’s mission to France, the territorial governors and government agents in the western US dealt with various issues including labor short…
April 19, 2020

S004 – Unprecedented Part I

Year(s) Discussed: 1800-1801, 1816-1825, 1860-1864 While some presidential elections function in much the same way as others of the time, there are those select few that reshape the process or are noteworthy for being unique in some way. In the next two episodes of the special series, I will be …