Now that Mr. Biden is halfway through his presidential term, we want to find his place in US history. In other words, we want to weigh his presidency against prior US presidents. 

For example, how do Mr. Biden's successes or failures stack up against his predecessors? How does his age compare to prior US presidents? I know that's a big concern for lots of people. And related to that, here is another question: have any former US presidents died of old age while in office?

How about classified documents? Has that been an issue with other sitting presidents? 

Also, there is the matter of the Democratic Party itself. Would Andrew Jackson, the first president of the Democratic Party, recognize President Biden's democratic party? How about FDR - a more modern Democratic President? Would he recognize President Biden's Democratic Party? Would either of them vote for a Biden second term?

To learn more about this history, and to get some insights into what's happening now, in our present moment, I spoke to Dr. Thomas J. Balcerski. He is a visiting professor in US History at Occidental College, also known as Oxy, where he teaches courses on U.S. Presidents and First Ladies as well as the history of the Democratic Party, from Thomas Jefferson to Joe Biden.

In addition to Oxy, Dr. Balcerski is a professor of American history at Eastern Connecticut State University.

Dr. Balcerski is also a Long-Term Fellow at the Huntington Library, where he is conducting research for his forthcoming book The Greatest Party Ever Known, which we discuss in this episode….

He is the author of Bosom Friends: The Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King. Among his many publications and projects with the White House History Quarterly, Civil War History, Journal of Social History, and others, he recently appeared on the Discovery+ series “The Book of Queer” to discuss the sexuality of Abraham Lincoln.

To learn more about Dr. Balcerski, you can visit his academic homepage,

In addition, below are links to two other fascinating episodes:

S3E1: Principles & Roots of the GOP, Prof. Joel Richard Paul 

S2E41: A 2nd Trump Term? Prof. Michael J. Gerhardt

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the History Behind News podcast

⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.

To watch our distinguished guests tell the history behind our news, follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠, ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok .