Presidencies of the United States

By Evergreen PodcastsHistory

Presidencies of the United States episodes

December 05, 2018 41.015 – An Important Mission: 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 serve as the nation’s representative to China. In a newly created diplomatic post with unfamiliar partners, Bush throws himself headlong into his new post and life in Beijing and, in so doing, gains invaluable experience to prepare him for what lies ahead in his own future. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
Featured Image: “George Bush as United States Liaison to China; 1974-1975” [c. 1975], courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration and Wikipedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
29 min
December 02, 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 that threatens the preparedness of the Army. Meanwhile, Elbridge Gerry’s mission to France makes little headway as Talleyrand and Napoleon focus on plans to reestablish France as a major colonial power. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
Featured Image: “Alexander Hamilton” by William J Weaver, courtesy of Wikipedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
36 min
November 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 Schwartz Foster. Join us as we explore her fascinating life and discuss what legacy she leaves as First Lady and a historical figure in her own right. Sources used in this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
Featured Image: “Abigail Adams” by Gilbert Stuart (c. 1810-1815), courtesy of Wikipedia
Transition Music: “String Concerto in G Major [RV 532]”, Antonio Vivaldi, courtesy of Wikipedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 25 min
November 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, some in the party plot ways to use the situation to their advantage. Oh, and Adams goes to see a play! Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
Featured Image: “Toussaint Louverture and General Thomas Maitland,” unknown artist [c. 1790s?], courtesy of Wikipedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
33 min
November 04, 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 envoys as Talleyrand increases his pressure on one of their number. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
Featured Image: “Congressional Pugilists” by an unknown artist [15 Feb 1798], courtesy of Wikipedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
33 min
October 21, 2018 2.07 – One Hand Washes the Other: The XYZ Affair
Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1798
The three commissioners sent by Adams arrive in France to begin negotiations but find themselves beset with new characters and new circumstances following French victories in the field and a coup in the government. One figure in particular stands between the envoys and peace, and he’ll gladly get out of the way…if, of course, the Americans are willing to pay. Sources used in this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
Featured Image: “Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Périgord” by François Gérard [c. 1808], courtesy of Wikipedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
29 min
October 07, 2018 2.06 – Scandals and Observations
Year(s) Discussed: 1792-1797
Adams is joined in Philadelphia by his wife Abigail as he tries to balance war and peace with the first of the original six frigates of the US Navy being launched around the time that he appoints peace commissioners to France. Meanwhile, the US Senate is rocked by a scandal involving one of its leaders while news of Hamilton’s extramarital affair becomes public. Source information for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
Featured Image: “Alexander Hamilton” [possibly by John Trumbull, c. 1790], courtesy of Wikipedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
29 min
September 23, 2018 2.05 – Et Tu, France?
Year(s) Discussed: 1796-1797
News arrives in Philadelphia of the French government refusing to accept Charles Cotesworth Pinckney as the US Minister to France, and various individuals both inside and outside the Adams administration spring into action to try to gain control of US foreign policy. Meanwhile, Adams works to cultivate sources independent of the State Department to keep him informed of affairs in Europe, and forces conspire to launch an attack on one of the leading figures of the American political landscape. Source information for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
Featured Image: “Portrait of William Vans Murray,” Mather Brown [c. 1787], courtesy of Wikipedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
27 min
September 09, 2018 2.04 – Hither and Yon: The News From Abroad
Year(s) Discussed: 1783-1797
In this episode, we get caught up on the international situation around the time of Adams’s inauguration and the various issues that conditions beyond its borders bring up for the United States. Britain is faced with attacks from both at home and abroad. The French Directory stumbles along as two leaders arise. Toussaint L’Ouverture contemplates the future of Saint-Domingue. Various European powers conspire to threaten American sovereignty west of the Appalachians. Source information for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
Featured Image: “Bataille gagnée par le Général Bonaparte le 14 Janvier 1797”, Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux [c. 1844], courtesy of Wikipedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
26 min
August 26, 2018 2.03 – The New Sheriff in Town
Year(s) Discussed: 1796-1797
The election of 1796 results in John Adams becoming the nation’s second chief executive, but he quickly finds more questions than answers awaiting him on the path to taking the oath of office. Adams is immediately faced with the need to make decisions about who to keep from the previous administration, what if any policy changes to make, and even where he and his family will live. It’s a transition unlike any other in American history to that point, and with various pressing issues waiting on the desk, the honeymoon for the new President promised to be short-lived. Source information for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
Featured Image: “Congress Hall,” unknown artist, courtesy of the US Senate Historical Office

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
30 min

About Presidencies of the United States

From the publisher's feed

Ever wondered how U.S. presidents—and the teams around them—have shaped the nation’s history and influenced the world we live in today? The Presidencies of the United States dives deep into American presidential history from 1789 to the present, exploring the people, decisions, and pivotal moments that defined each administration.