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Episodes

2.24 – The 36th Ballot
June 15, 2019

2.24 – The 36th Ballot

Year(s) Discussed: 1800-1801 The nation had little time to process the news that Adams was defeated in his bid for reelection as a constitutional crisis developed regarding who would succeed him to the post. Meanwhile, the outgoing president only had a few weeks remaining to secure the ratificat…
2.23 – The Double-Edged Sword
June 8, 2019

2.23 – The Double-Edged Sword

Year(s) Discussed: 1796-1800 As the new federal capital comes alive with government officials and newspaper publishers moving in to be on hand for the congressional session opening in November 1800, President Adams waits with the rest of the nation to learn the results of electors being chosen a…
V003 – Interview with Jared Cohen, Accidental Presidents
May 26, 2019

V003 – Interview with Jared Cohen, Accidental Presidents

Year(s) Discussed: 1835-2009 In this episode, I talk with Jared Cohen, author of Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America, about the presidents who came to the office due to the untimely demise of their predecessor and how their becoming pr...
2.22 – Enter the Federal City
May 19, 2019

2.22 – Enter the Federal City

Year(s) Discussed: 1799-1801 As President Adams and the federal government transition to the new federal capital, the next presidential election looms, and both Federalist and Democratic-Republican leaders work on behalf of their favored candidates to meet challenges to their prospects. While Fe…
V002 – The Washington Presidency in Five (or So) Minutes
May 12, 2019

V002 – The Washington Presidency in Five (or So) Minutes

Year(s) Discussed: 1789-1797 In response to a question from Les, I attempt to do a summation of the Washington presidency from memory in five minutes. Though the full series is recommended for more detail, I think the result is rather entertaining.
2.21 – I am Gabriel, That Stands in the Presence of God
May 5, 2019

2.21 – I am Gabriel, That Stands in the Presence of God

Year(s) Discussed: 1792-1801 The revolution in Saint-Domingue inspires enslaved people in the United States to seek their freedom in the 1790s at a time that the slaveocracy was becoming more ingrained in the American economy, society, and legal codes. With a focus on Virginia, this episode will…
V001 – Tammany Hall and the Presidencies
April 28, 2019

V001 – Tammany Hall and the Presidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1789-1967 In response to Jacob from The Podcast on Germany‘s question, I examine the relationship between the historically influential political organization of Tammany Hall and the presidents of the United States.
2.20 – A Proper Sense of Their Duty
April 21, 2019

2.20 – A Proper Sense of Their Duty

Year(s) Discussed: 1799-1800 With the new members of the Adams Cabinet coming on board, the President travels south to inspect the work on the new Federal Capital as the US government begins its move from Philadelphia to Washington, DC. Meanwhile, Adams makes a decision on the fates of those con…
2.19 – Don’t Let the Door Hit You
April 7, 2019

2.19 – Don’t Let the Door Hit You

Year(s) Discussed: 1799-1800 As the presidential election of 1800 looms and party leaders begin weighing their options, President Adams decides that the time is right to make a few changes in his administration. To the President’s detriment, though, Arch Federalists are scheming at the same time…
30.000 – Body by Calvin Coolidge
April 1, 2019

30.000 – Body by Calvin Coolidge

Year(s) Discussed: 1872-1933 How much do you really know about America’s 30th president? Did you even remember that he was a president? In this show Jess and Joe explore the little known facts of one our most overlooked presidents in history.
2.18 – New Year, New à Vous
March 24, 2019

2.18 – New Year, New à Vous

Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1800 The French Directory falls, and the three US peace commissioners are left with many questions as to how to proceed before they even arrive in Paris. Meanwhile, the US government considers a change in its policy towards the Barbary States, and the USS Constellation en…
2.17 – Some Awful Crisis
March 10, 2019

2.17 – Some Awful Crisis

Year(s) Discussed: 1798-1799 In Trenton, Adams confronted his Cabinet as well as Gen. Alexander Hamilton over the peace mission to France before the government moved back to Philadelphia for one last winter. After the new session of Congress began in December 1799, news arrived which was describ…
2.16 – High Noon in Trenton
Feb. 24, 2019

2.16 – High Noon in Trenton

Year(s) Discussed: 1798-1799 New unrest in the government of France in 1799 presented President Adams with an important decision as to whether to continue with his peace overtures. Meanwhile, competing agendas within his own administration prompt one of Adams’s Cabinet members to urge him to end…
2.15 – Hot Time, Summer in the Country
Feb. 10, 2019

2.15 – Hot Time, Summer in the Country

Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1799 John Adams makes a fateful decision that threatens his administration and its ability to react quickly to developing events. Meanwhile, General James Wilkinson’s past collusion with the Spanish is discovered by a government agent in the Mississippi Territory. Closer …
A Humble Appeal
Feb. 7, 2019

A Humble Appeal

A brief, humble appeal from your friendly neighborhood podcaster for you to take a couple of seconds out of your day, each day from now through Sunday, February 17th, 2019 to support my personal mission of podcasting and history podcasting in general b...
2.14 – The Plausible Probability of Preserving the Peace
Jan. 27, 2019

2.14 – The Plausible Probability of Preserving the Peace

Year(s) Discussed: 1798-1799 Adams throws the American political landscape into a frenzy with a special message to Congress announcing that he was appointing a new Minister to France to negotiate peace. While exploring what this all means for Adams, his administration, and the nation, we also ta…
2.13 – Destiny Written in the Stars
Jan. 13, 2019

2.13 – Destiny Written in the Stars

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 beginning of 1799 with Pickering continuing the push for war. Meanwhile, the…
2.12 – Ready, Aim, Fire!
Jan. 2, 2019

2.12 – Ready, Aim, Fire!

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 star in the French military suffers a major setback that imperils the Frenc…
2.11 – The Opposition Strikes Back
Dec. 16, 2018

2.11 – The Opposition Strikes Back

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 undermined by General Alexander Hamilton. In Quincy, John Adams meets with E…
41.015 – An Important Assignment: A Tribute to George H W Bush
Dec. 5, 2018

41.015 – An Important Assignment: A Tribute to George H W Bush

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 from the new President to s...
2.10 – Checkmate: Hamilton
Dec. 2, 2018

2.10 – Checkmate: Hamilton

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 looms, the President and his commanding general end up in a back and forth …
2.095 – Abigail Adams
Nov. 25, 2018

2.095 – Abigail Adams

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 share her insight on Abigail is Presidential and First Lady historian Feather …
2.09 – All Around and Away They Go
Nov. 18, 2018

2.09 – All Around and Away They Go

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 a response to the XYZ Affair. However, as their power begins to consolidate…
2.08 – Have At Thee! The Response to XYZ
Nov. 4, 2018

2.08 – Have At Thee! The Response to XYZ

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 Representatives while back in Paris, divisions start to form between the special e…