[Abridged] Presidential Histories

The debate over slavery is was old as independence. What made Lincoln to end it with the emancipation of the slaves? Join me as I interview Kate Masur, an associate professor of 19th-century American History at Northwestern University and author of Until Justice Be Done: America’s First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction, on the history of the abolitionist movement and Lincoln's place in it. Support the show

How did Lincoln keep the slave-holding border states in the union while also advancing the cause of emancipation? Join me as I interview  Louis Masur, a distinguished professor of American Studies and History at Rutgers University and author of Lincoln’s Hundred Days: The Emancipation Proclamation and the War for the Union , on the tightrope act Lincoln walked to save the union and end American slavery once and for all.Support the show

When Abraham Lincoln was elected, the south didn't take it too well. Before he was even sworn in, seven states had already seceded, and four more joined the confederacy in the months that followed. The fate of the union was at stake. Follow along as Lincoln goes from country lawyer to U.S. President and then leads the nation to reunification by winning the PR war, finding a general who can win the shooting war, and eventually ending slavery once and for all.Bibliography1. Abraham Lincoln – David Herbert Donald2. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin3. James Buchanan – Jean H. Baker4. Polk: The man who transformed the presidency – Walter R. Borneman5. Embattled Rebel – James M. McPherson6. Grant – Jean Edward Smith7. Andrew Johnson – Annette Gordon-ReedSupport the show

Was James Buchanan secretly the nation's first gay president? Join me as I interview historian Thomas Balcerski, author of Bosom Friends, the intimate world of James Buchanan and William Rufus King, on the 150-year-old rumors about Buchanan's sexuality. We'll also dive into Buchanan's presidency and ask, what can we learn from a man widely considered one of the worst presidents we've ever had?Support the show

In 1857, the debate over slavery had fractured Kansas, national political parties, and even national churches. It's easy to see why the country turned to James Buchanan, a man with one of the strongest resumes ever put in the white house.Unfortunately, he inherited 31 states, and left behind 27, as the pre-civil was secession crisis overwhelmed the nation during his final months in office.Follow along as Buchanan develops an affinity for southern slave culture, then vigorously advances that cause as a congressman, senator, minister abroad, secretary of state, and president, engages in all sorts of corruption to strengthen slavery as a president, and then sits by and does nothing to stop the secession of the south and the rapidly oncoming civil war.Bibliography1. James Buchanan – Jean H. Baker 2. Bosom Friends – Thomas Balcerski 3. Polk: The man who transformed the presidency – Walter R. Borneman 4. Millard Fillmore – Paul Finkelman5. Abraham Lincoln – David Herbert Donald6. Franklin Pierce – Michael F. Holta 7. Embattled Rebel – James M. McPhersonSupport the show

"We Polked  you in 44, we're Pierce you in 52!"Franklin Pierce may have my favorite campaign slogan yet. But in terms of presidencies, wow, this guy is a total disaster. I mean, Millard Fillmore just nuked the only major opposition party into oblivion. Governing should be easy, right? Not when you're Pierce, who do his best to one-up Fillmore and wreck the Democratic party on the bloody shoal known as "Bleeding Kansas."Follow along as Pierce falls hilariously short in his pursuit of military glory in the Mexican-American War, gets elected president anyway when Democratic partisans can't agree on any of the more-qualified candidates, and then triggers a mini Civil War in Kansas after he passes the Kansas-Nebraska act.By the time Pierce leaves office, we'll be four years away from The Civil War.Bibliography1. Franklin Pierce – Michael F. Holt2. Millard Fillmore – Paul Finkelman3. Bosom Friends – Thomas J. Balcerski4. James Buchanan - Jean H. Baker5. Abraham Lincoln – David Herbert DonaldSupport the show

When Millard Fillmore became president, the country was on the verge of collapse. President Taylor had just died, the Compromise of 1850 appeared dead, and southern secessionist were organizing a convention to plot disunion. The nation looked to Fillmore to save it.And he totally whiffed.Follow along as Fillmore uses the scapegoating of minorities to rise to power, postpones Civil War for a decade with the Compromise of 1850, destroys the Whig party with his overzealous enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act, and runs for president with the Know Nothings - a nativist secret-society-turned-political-party that dreamt of building an America where immigrants, catholics, and minorities are second-class citizens.Bibliography1. Millard Fillmore – Paul Finkelman2. Zachary Taylor – John D. Eisenhower3. Heirs of the Founders – H.W. Brands4. Abraham Lincoln – David Herbert Donald5. Franklin Pierce – Michael F. HoltSupport the show

"Ol' Rough n' Ready" hadn't even been sworn in yet when the discovery of California gold derailed whatever plans he'd held for his presidency. 100,000 Americans flooded west to California In 1849 and quickly began clamoring for statehood - statehood without slavery. The north loved the idea, the south threatened to secede over it, and Zachary Taylor had to bridge the gap or die trying.Follow Taylor as he participates in four wars and becomes a national hero for his generalship in the Mexican-American War, gets pulled into politics by a Whig party desperate to reclaim the White House, and then shows he won't be bullied by anyone when the California Gold Rush leads to the threat of a secessionist crisis In 1850.Bibliography1. Zachary Taylor – John D. Eisenhower2. Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America – Walter R. Borneman 3. Millard Fillmore – Paul Finkelman4. Martin Van Buren and the American Political System – Donald B. Cole5. Heirs of the Founders – H.W. Brands6. Abraham Lincoln – David Herbert DonaldSupport the show

No president better captures the spirit of Manifest Destiny than James K. Polk. When he entered office, the United States had a disputed claim to Oregon, and that's about it. When he left office, the United States looked like the continent-spanning empire it is today..Follow along as Polk revives his dead-end political career to shock everyone and win the White House, manipulates the United States into war with Mexico to steal the American Southwest, acquires the Oregon Territory from Great Britain through bold negotiation, and accomplishes all of his domestic priorities in a single action-packed term.Bibliography1. Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America – Walter R. Borneman2. Zachary Taylor – John D. Eisenhower3. John Tyler - Gary May4. Heirs of the Founders – H.W. Brands5. John Quincy Adams - Harlow G Unger6. James Buchanan – Jean H. Baker7. Abraham Lincoln – David Herbert Donald8. Franklin Pierce – Michael F. HoltSupport the show

President John Tyler was so hated, he was burned in effigy by his own party before being kicked out of the party and made into a political pariah. And that's BEFORE he committed treason.Follow along as John Tyler sneaks into the presidency in a fluke, vetoes his own party's agenda to incur their wrath, engages in some of the most ambitious backroom political plotting so far, and then annexes Texas during his final days in office - lighting a 16-year fuse to Civil War.Bibliography1. John Tyler - Gary May2. William Henry Harrison – Gail Collins3. Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America – Walter R. Borneman 4. Sam Houston – James L. Haley5. Martin Van Buren and the American Political System – Donald B. Cole6. Heirs of the Founders – H.W. Brands7. John Quincy Adams - Harlow G UngerSupport the show