Season 4 - Page 2 | Presidencies of the United States

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 …

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 …

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…

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.…

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…

Oct. 9, 2022

4.12 - The Two Shawnee Brothers

Year(s) Discussed: c. 1764-1810 In the latter decades of the 18th and the first decade of the 19th century, native peoples in the old Northwest found themselves under threat from a westward push from Europeans wishing to settle on their lands and being treated as pawns in conflicts between Europ…

Sept. 25, 2022

4.11 - Intrigue in Washington

Year(s) Discussed: 1809-1810 In the wake of the failed negotiations with British Minister to the US Francis James Jackson, the Madison administration and Congress had to determine next steps to address the tensions with both Great Britain and France. Meanwhile, a new diplomat arrived from Spain …

Sept. 4, 2022

4.10 - Yazoo v Yazoo

Year(s) Discussed: 1795-1810 For fifteen years, one controversy popped up time and again to disrupt the public arena - the Yazoo Land Controversy. From newspaper essays to debates in Congress, this issue involved some of the biggest leaders of the time including Alexander Hamilton, John Randolph…

Aug. 21, 2022

4.09 - Fear and Loathing in Napoleonic Europe

Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1810 Despite achieving a victory in the War of the Fifth Coalition, French Emperor Napoleon's hold on control over the European continent was looking increasingly shaky. This would make the reception received by the new US Minister to Russia John Quincy Adams a warm one a…

July 24, 2022

4.083 - Dolley Madison Part Three

Year(s) Discussed: 1817-1858 James and Dolley Madison left Washington, DC in 1817 anticipating a peaceful retirement in Montpelier. Little did they know what life had in store for them or that Dolley would end up returning to the social circles of the leading politicians in the nation's capital.…

July 10, 2022

4.082 - Dolley Madison Part Two

Year(s) Discussed: 1768-1849 We continue our examination of the life and legacy of Dolley Madison with a discussion with Hilarie Hicks, Senior Research Historian at James Madison's Montpelier. In this episode, we talk about Dolley's role in the social circles of the nation's capital during James…

Guest: Hilarie Hicks

July 3, 2022

4.081 - Dolley Madison Part One

Year(s) Discussed: 1768-1809 Born in a Southern log cabin, the woman who would go on to be the center of social life in the nation's capital developed her skills of charm and entertainment through formative years filled with uncertainty, turmoil, and tragedy. Join me as I explore the early life …

June 12, 2022

4.08 - Fussin', Fightin', and Carryin' On

Content Note: This episode mentions the topic of suicide. Year(s) Discussed: 1807-1810 The Madison administration experienced numerous setbacks and embarrassments in the latter part of 1809. The President's private secretary, Isaac Coles, committed an egregious breach of privilege while on of…

May 15, 2022

4.07 - Dissension and Discord

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 United States and Great Britain, and the negotiations once they started pr…

April 24, 2022

4.06 – Peace Interrupted

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 response while at the same time, two members of the Cabinet found themselves in…

April 10, 2022

4.05 – In the Arena

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 President’s House. Meanwhile, General James Wilkinson continued with his in…

March 27, 2022

4.04 – East and West

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 resolve issues with Great Britain. Unbeknownst to him, however, the continued …

March 13, 2022

4.03 – The Call of My Country

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 worse. While the public got to see a more festive social tone as set by Dolley…

Feb. 27, 2022

4.02 – Madison Pre-Presidency Part Two

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 Convention to agree on a new federal structure was only half the battle, a…

Feb. 6, 2022

4.01 – Madison Pre-Presidency Part One

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, but his family could scarcely have imagined the heights to which he would ris…