Historical revisionism can be tricky, especially when it's being employed on American Presidents. Whether a President leaves office with a lot of popularity or in disgrace, a common trend for most Presidents long after they are done serving their terms seems to soften among historians and the overall populace. George W. Bush, for example, left office with approval ratings below 40 percent, yet just 13 years later, is viewed favorably now by the majority of Americans. 

Surprisingly enough, Ulysses S Grant, a Civil War hero, is one of the few exceptions to this trend, as his popularity after he left office plummeted and stayed low throughout the entire 20th century. In this episode, we unpack why that was the case, especially considering Grant was way ahead of his time on the most polarizing issues of his generation. Building on the Jefferson episode, how should we expect the favorability of certain Presidents to trend going forward as our society continues to socially develop? How is it possible for Grant to be transitioning to a top 20 President 150 years later, and what kinds of qualities will make a President more popular as we move deeper into the 21st century? We tackle these questions and the unique pros and cons for having a noble, but also hands-off personality like Grant as President. 

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Presidents

American Presidents

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Thomas Jefferson used to be characterized by most of the American public as an undeniable hero of American history for almost 200 years after he left the Presidency. Having been instrumental to the nation's founding as well as its expansion -- Jefferson's legacy, even as a slave holder, seemed to be on its way to remaining as untarnished as any historical figure could be.

In this episode of Unpresidented, we find out how that legacy of Jefferson has collapsed in the past 25 years. The retelling and takeaways of Jefferson's life have developed tremendously in concert with how our society has developed, so much that our conversations of Jefferson today question if he should be celebrated at all. We tap into what Jefferson did during his life to make him such a controversial figure, and if the current conversations ridiculing him are fair to how he chose to live his life personally and politically.

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Presidents

American Presidents

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Even though Gerald Ford had only two and a half years as President, he had a great opportunity to be just as impactful as his post-WWII predecessors. The qualities that got him to the Vice-Presidency -- such as his laid-back demeanor, eagerness to avoid direct confrontation on difficult issues, and his overall compromising nature, though, is arguably what got in the way of him becoming an effective President. Unfortunately, a nation coming out of the year-long shock of Watergate needed more closure than what Ford was willing to offer.

The 1970s brought more unprecedented issues to the US, such as how to deal with an economy falling into a recession while experiencing rising prices due to its dependency on imported gas and oil. At the same time, the country’s middle class is reaching its peak of power and wealth, the poverty rate is falling, giant diplomatic gains are being made with the USSR and China, and 1976 brings bi-centennial celebrations across the nation that are ideal circumstances for any incumbent President heading for a general election. What factors, then, caused Ford to somehow lose in 1976, especially when his party just four years earlier won 49 out of 50 states in a historic landslide? Was Ford another President that just inherited unlucky circumstances? Or were the poor outcomes that came out of his Presidency exactly what we would expect from someone who was the only person to be both VP and President without ever being elected to either office?

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Presidents

American Presidents

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In this episode of Unpresidented, we discuss what factors have made William McKinley's Presidency become more favorable among historians the further time has gone on. Why is McKinley considered an underrated President in 2021 with such a controversial record on occupying and ruling over newly, forcibly acquired territories? Should McKinley accomplishments of occupation and American imperial expansion be glorified?

McKinley certainly wasn't a bad President in the traditional sense of leading a breakdown in the American economy and presiding over a recession. In fact, the American economy fares very well in his tenure, but that should not be the takeaway from a Presidency that could've changed the way millions of people lived by instilling democracy in other parts of the world. Instead, the US moves in the other direction and continues the oppression its European counterparts started in its new territories like Puerto Rico and Guam. 

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Presidents

American Presidents

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Maps!

New decade, new census, same problems. In this episode of UnPresidented, we take a break from diving into individual Presidents to explore another pillar of American political power -- redistricting. The process of redrawing Congressional districts due to a shift in state populations only happens once every ten years, but the process for who gets to decide how new maps are drawn is controversial, and objectively anti-democratic.

We explore the rise in popularity in the practice of gerrymandering, and how the census can now make or break modern day Presidencies. How can Congressional candidates be held accountable by constituents if they can handpick which constituents get to vote in their election? Is there any way to actually solve the problem of gerrymandering? We close out our first of 5 seasons of UnPresidented with an unusual, and hopefully nice change of pace with a current affairs side-episode. We will be back with Season 2 of UnPresidented in one month!

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Presidents

American Presidents

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The country's newest, youngest President in 1852 was put in office to be a symbol of compromise between the north and south. The expansion of the US and its railroads also forced the country to confront how it was going to move forward on slavery. Franklin Pierce, a northernor but southern sympathizer, seemed like a great choice to guide the nation back to a steady harmony geographically. 

On this episode of UnPresidented, we discuss the compromises that kept the nation from engaging in a Civil War for so long, and how they were all doomed to fail. While Pierce's Presidency is disappointing on all fronts, we get a clear understanding of how the Civil war becomes unavoidable through the [in]actions of Pierce, and reflect on how poor the  political generation that proceeds the founders are.

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Presidents

American Presidents

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Many of the most notable and covered Presidencies focus on so many of the individualistic aspects of a President themselves by detailing their unique rise to the top of American politics. Harry Truman, though, is the rare exception as someone with a remarkably proficient and newsworthy Presidency, but having such little fanfare invested into what he truly was like as a person. This episode of UnPresidented follows suit in diving deeper into the Presidential years of a President more than any other episode so far, as the decision-making of a President never has been more consequential than when Truman took office.

Becoming President after the most popular President in US history dies during the worst war in human history is hard enough. Combine that with the global acknowledgment that the US is now one of the only two global superpowers to lead global decision-making after the war, and it’s easy to see how important it was that Roosevelt’s successor was up to the job. We explore the many ways in which he was in foreign affairs, but less so domestically. The successes of Truman’s Presidency over time are becoming more appreciated the further out we get from 1945, and we explore how it can be considered one of the most successful when put in proper context.

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American Presidents

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John Tyler

Who are the Whigs, and how does John Tyler, a former Democratic-Republican and low-level House member, find himself on their ticket in the 1840 election? In this episode of Unpresidented, we explore the wild, uncertain politics that emerge out of the Founders Era. Figures like Hamilton, Jefferson and Madison are replaced by a less remembered generation such as John Calhoun, Andrew Jackson, and William Henry Harrison -- that splits up the Democratic-Republican Party into a new era of partisan divide.

John Tyler emerging as President within this new group of political leaders, though, assures the newly formed Democratic Party the upper-hand in the new two-party fight, as he has no interest in working with a supermajority in Congress that expects him to happily sign their legislation. American parties, then, actually figure out that picking a good VP, or even just an obedient VP to the Party is actually important, as the nation finds themselves with their first President to assume office after the death of another President. How does the nation react in this constitutional crisis, as it was unclear if the VP was the rightful successor to the President at the time? Even though Tyler is able to establish a successful, critical precedent, his Presidency is anything but a success.

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American Presidents

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Ronald Reagan Part 2

By 1967, the transition to passionate conservative for Ronald Reagan was complete, and the new governor of California finally secured a distinguished office to bring his brand of conservatism into the mainstream of California politics. Translating that success into victory for a general Presidential election, though, was going to be far more difficult. How do you get a country to embrace the message “that government is not the solution, it’s the problem,” right off the back of LBJ’s Great Society legislation breakthroughs? Both Republicans and Democrats, at this point, had embraced expanding the size of the Federal Government, was Reagan truly unique in wanting to reverse that trend?

In this episode of Unpresidented, we examine Reagan’s determination and persistence to finally secure the Presidency after going through two losing campaigns in 1968 and 1976, and what societal factors made his brand more appealing as the nation approached the 1980s. We also discuss the volatile highs and lows of his Presidency, and how he was able to keep his popularity consistently high after having one of the worst first two years in office. Two episodes of Reagan still feel underwhelming in covering all of the implications of his Presidency and career, as his legacy lives on in much of the culture and politics that we see today.

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American Presidents

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Ronald Reagan Part 1

Conservatism, in the most true sense of its political meaning, could have never emerged with such immense popularity in the US without a brilliant (political) actor like President Ronald Reagan. His career provides the whole political framework for conservative politicians today on how to frame issues to encourage popular support for cuts to government programs, reduced regulations, reduced gun control, and more tax cuts. Whether you are a fan of more conservative policies or not, Reagan’s polarizing embrace of such strongly conservative political values still has a foothold on the whole policy agenda of the modern Republican Party -- much in the same way as FDR for the Democratic Party.

In Part 1 of our conversation on President Ronald Reagan, we try to make sense of how he transitions from an admirer of FDR (even as one of the most influential actors in Hollywood) to campaigning for a candidate like Walter Mondale. As Reagan’s jump into the political arena comes at the height of the most progressive economic era in American history, what specifically motivates him to switch his party affiliation from a Democrat to a Republican? Much of Reagan’s political dominance can be attributed to his easy-going nature and confidence for public speaking and in engagement with American media, so why did he choose to use his talents to lift far-right conservatism out of irrelevance in American politics? We reason that Reagan could have been a successful politician without an extreme approach, and in doing so we explore the motivations behind Reagan’s transformation to wrap up Part 1.

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Presidents

American Presidents

America

USA

United States

Politics

History

Biography

Biographical

Republicans

Democrats

Political Parties

Senate

House of Representatives

Constitution

American Anthem

White House

American Flag