Presidencies Of The United States

Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1808 As the 1808 presidential election neared, the infighting in the Democratic-Republican faction was exacerbated by not one but two challengers to Secretary of State James Madison’s candidacy – Vice President George Clinton and former US Minister to Britain James Monroe. Meanwhile, Napoleon’s constant wars in Europe continued to impact US foreign policy, and the Jefferson administration began a new round of negotiations with British envoy George Rose to seek a resolution to the crisis precipitated by the Chesapeake-Leopard incident while working out how to effectively enforce the Embargo Act. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “James Madison” by Gilbert Stuart [c. 1805-1807], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tenure of Office: March 22, 1790 – December 31, 1793 We’ve spent a good amount of time in the narrative talking about Jefferson as the third US president, but in this episode, while also exploring his life and career as a whole, we focus in a bit on Jefferson’s tenure as Secretary of State in the Washington administration. Thanks so much to my special guests for this episode, Howard and Jess from Plodding Through the Presidents! Featured Image: “Portrait of Thomas Jefferson” by Charles Willson Peale [c. 1791], courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1808 With a diplomatic resolution to the Chesapeake/Leopard affair looking increasingly unlikely and the threat of war looming, President Jefferson and his administration worked in late 1807 to devise an alternative to war while also preparing for the nation’s defense. Meanwhile, James Monroe’s frustrations continued in London while there was a shift in power in Congress. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “O Grab Me cartoon” [c. 1807], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1807 Little did the Jefferson administration, while preparing to prosecute the former Vice President of the United States, Aaron Burr, for treason, that they would be faced at the same time with an external challenge that threatened to plunge the nation into war. In mid-1807, the President, his Cabinet, and the nation were all anxious for the latest information from the Burr trial in Richmond as well as whether Great Britain was truly declaring war on the US following the attack on an American naval vessel off the coast of Virginia. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “John Marshall” by Rembrandt Peale [c. 1834], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tenure of Office: 26 September 1789 – 20 August 1795 Edmund Randolph served in not one but two positions in the Washington administration – as Attorney General then as Secretary of State. However, will that be enough to earn him a seat at the table of the Cabinet All-Stars? Listen to find out more about his life, career, and legacy! Thanks so much to my special guest for this episode, Bry from Pontifacts! Featured Image: “Edmund Randolph,” courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1807 Concurrent with the events of the Burr conspiracy, the Jefferson administration and its agents were engaged in other work on multiple fronts. Lt. Zebulon Pike was leading an expedition westward while Gen. James Wilkinson took questionable measures in the name of national security in New Orleans. In London, James Monroe and William Pinkney worked against all odds to finalize a treaty with Great Britain. Meanwhile, the President had to decide upon a new Attorney General as well as not one but two Supreme Court justices. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Zebulon Pike” by Charles Willson Peale [c. 1808], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1807 Aaron Burr’s plans were finally starting to come to fruition, but little did the former Vice President know that he had a turncoat in his midst. Meanwhile, as the Jefferson administration struggled to get a grasp of the scope of the conspiracy, it was forced to action, and the haphazard nature of it would have consequences on down the line. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Blennerhassett Island Home,” courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tenure of Office: 12 September 1789 – 31 December 1794 Henry Knox served the United States as a general and as the head of the War Department for ten years, but will his life and career earn him a seat at the table of the Cabinet All-Stars? Listen as we explore Knox’s legacy to find out! Thanks so much to my special guests for this episode – Rob and Jamie from Totalus Rankium! Featured Image: “Henry Knox” by Gilbert Stuart [c. 1806], courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1805-1806 With American and Spanish military forces amassing along the western US border and with the commanding general of the Army potentially involved in a secession and/or filibustering plot with the former Vice President, late 1806 was a time of trepidation for President Jefferson and his administration. Before long, though, a few hopeful prospects started to appear including the return of Jefferson’s protege turned continental explorer, Meriwether Lewis. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “James Wilkinson” by Charles Willson Peale [c. 1797], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tenure of Office: 11 September 1789 – 31 January 1795 (Secretary of the Treasury) We begin our new special series with the first Cabinet member to assume office under the constitutional government – Alexander Hamilton! You may have seen the musical, but there are a few more parts of his history that didn’t make it into that production. Thanks so much to my special guest for this episode – Alycia from the Civics & Coffee Podcast! Featured Image: “Alexander Hamilton” by John Trumbull [c. 1805], courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introduction to a new special series of episodes titled “Seat at the Table” where I will be joined by special guests each episode to discuss a Cabinet member’s life and tenure in office and rank how they did before determining if they deserve a seat at the table of Cabinet All-Stars. Featured Images: “Alexander Hamilton” by John Trumbull [c. 1805], courtesy of Wikipedia; “Hamilton Fish” by Mathew Brady, courtesy of Wikipedia; “Frances Perkins” [c. 1932], courtesy of Wikipedia; and “Jesse Brown,” courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1805-1806 As Jefferson reflects upon the unexpected death of his mentor, various situations at home and abroad in 1806 imperil the future of the nation. A British ship unintentionally kills an American sailor, threatening the peace negotiations being conducted in London. Around the same time, expeditions to explore the west provoke Spanish forces already gathered on the border. Meanwhile, the President receives word of a domestic plot involving not only the former Vice President but also the commanding general of the US Army. Sources used in this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Map of the 1806 Red River Expedition” by Nich. King [c. 1806], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1804-1806 As tensions between the US and Spain increase over West Florida and the border with Tejas, Aaron Burr travels to the west and back again to meet with folks across the nation as his plot progresses. Meanwhile, supporters of Jefferson in Congress attempt to move against Rep. John Randolph of Roanoke, and a House Ways and Means Committee meeting gets so raucous that a duel seems to be in the making. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “A new chart of the Atlantic or Western Ocean” by William Heather [c. 1797], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1804-1806 The Napoleonic Wars continue apace in Europe as Napoleon plots an invasion of Britain, and Admiral Horatio Nelson searches for the French fleet in the Mediterranean. As battles continue on land and sea across the continent, American diplomats in London, Paris, and Madrid continue their work. Meanwhile, the untimely death of a key leader opens up opportunities for the US to negotiate a treaty. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “The Battle of Trafalgar” by J M W Turner [c. 1822-1824], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1804-1805 President Jefferson had much to celebrate in the latter half of 1805 as he finally secured a new Attorney General, envoys arrived from distant lands in the east and the west, and his daughter and her family joined him in the President’s House for the winter. Little did he know, though, that difficult negotiations in Madrid and the machinations of the former Vice President, Aaron Burr, would soon lead to difficulties for his administration. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Images: “Tchong-tas-sáb-bee, Black Dog, Second Chief” by George Catlin [c. 1834], courtesy of Wikipedia and “John Breckinridge” [c. 1891], courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1748-1836 Studies of Thomas Jefferson’s life often discuss the impact of the two Marthas – his wife, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, and his daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph – on him, but few studies examine matters with the focus on the lives of the two women. While our knowledge of Martha Jefferson is limited, in this episode, we sift through the fragments of what we know about her before shifting to her daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph. In addition to the narrative, part of the episode features an interview with a special guest, Dr. Cynthia A. Kierner, whose biography of Martha is an invaluable resource for learning more about a person who was educated in Paris and mingled with presidents and political leaders but is far too often relegated to the background of history. Her life has much to tell us about the role of women and families in the early republic as well as in US presidential history. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured

Year(s) Discussed: 1803-1805 With the war with Tripoli continuing to drag on year after year, Jefferson and his administration had to determine whether the best course to bring it to a conclusion lay with opening up a new front by partnering with foreign agents or through engaging in a new round of diplomacy. Meanwhile, a change in the command of the US naval squadron in the Mediterranean took the wind out of the sails of what had been an energetic force. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Attack on Derna” by Charles Waterhouse, courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As there have been some recent developments here at Presidencies HQ, I just wanted to give everyone a quick update. Spoiler: The podcast is not going away, though there may be some delays in the next couple of months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m excited to share that I will be presenting at the Intelligent Speech Conference on Saturday, April 24th, 2021! If you would like to attend, please take a moment to listen to this quick trailer for more information, go to www.intelligentspeechconference.com, and use the promo code “presi” to get 10% off your ticket to 24 hours of content available on 4 simultaneous streams. It should be a great experience, so I hope you’ll join us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1803-1805 Jefferson’s second inauguration may have been a non-event, but on numerous fronts, various tensions were building in early 1805 that threatened to make his second term one to remember. Cabinet members plotted to further their own ambitions while Aaron Burr schemed with foreign powers and domestic discontents in order to return to prominence. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the president, one of his appointments would put a double agent in place to potentially break the recently acquired Louisiana Purchase away from the US. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Thomas Jefferson” by Matthew Harris Jouett, courtesy of Wikipedia Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices