Presidencies of the United States

Year(s) Discussed: 1794-1795 Despite achieving a major diplomatic victory in the Northwest Territory, the administration is rocked by controversy as Secretary of State Randolph is confronted about allegations of collusion with the French while Washington himself is accused of improper use of public finances. Scandals and controversies abound in this episode! Source information can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com Featured images: * Bust of Gaius Julius Caesar, courtesy of Wikipedia * “Oliver Cromwell” by Samuel Cooper [c. 1656], courtesy of Wikipedia * “George Washington” by Gilbert Stuart [c. 1797], courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1789-1799 While the construction of the nation’s new capital proceeds, the public battle against the Jay Treaty begins in earnest upon its publication by Benjamin Franklin Bache. Demonstrations and meetings go on up and down the Eastern seaboard, and even Alexander Hamilton has difficulty determining how to respond. Meanwhile, Washington has to fill John Jay’s position as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and deal with the last remaining member of his first Cabinet now looking to find a way out of his post. Source information for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: Burning of Stamp Act [c.1903], courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1794-1795 The Jay Treaty finally arrives in Philadelphia, but it turns out to be more of a curse than the blessing for which Washington and his administration were hoping. As Washington and Randolph scramble to figure out what to do with the treaty, the opposition makes preparations for a full-on attack on this treaty with the British. Meanwhile, the Administration learns of US Minister James Monroe’s “fraternal embrace” of the French and goes in search of a special envoy to send to Spain. Diplomacy and political intrigue abound at home and abroad in 1795. Source information for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Portrait of John Jay” by Gilbert Stuart [c. 1794], courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1772-1795 As Alexander Hamilton readies himself to depart from the administration at the beginning of 1795, I use this defining point of the Washington presidency to explore various points of domestic policy and foreign issues including the establishment of the Trans-Oconee Republic, the state of the Democratic-Republican faction, the first steps of the Thermadorian government in France, the Kościuszko Uprising in Poland, the influx of refugees from Saint-Domingue and the progress of the Haitian Revolution, and British intrigues in the Caribbean. Many issues face Washington and his new Cabinet secretaries as they enter the final two years of his second term. Source information for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “Portrait of Tadeusz Kościuszko” by Karl Gottlieb Schweikart, courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1783-1793 The development of white settlements in what was then the Southwest United States brings about conflicts with various Native American nations including the Mvskoke (commonly referred to as the Creek). Thus, the Washington administration finds itself in the position of having to police its own citizens while at the same time negotiating peace with native peoples in the region. Meanwhile, the threat of slave uprisings moves closer to the United States and causes some slaveowners to reconsider their approach to enslaved people and the institution of slavery as a whole. Source information for this episode as well as supplementary maps can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: “James Oglethorpe presenting the Yamacraw Indians to the Georgia Trustees” by William Verelst [c. 1734], courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In remembrance of Dr. King, join me on a tour of the Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site in Atlanta, GA. The site highlights the life of Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, as well as shares information about other social activists related to the Kings and about the African-American community in Atlanta. Historic buildings at the site include Dr. King’s birthplace, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and Fire Station No. 6. Pictures from the trip can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. A map of the historic site and the surrounding neighborhood can be found at the following link: https://www.nps.gov/malu/planyourvisit/maps.htm The episode of the Harrison Podcast on my visit that same weekend to Fort Hill, the home of John C Calhoun in Clemson, SC, can be found at http://whhpodcast.blubrry.com. Sources: * Ash, Carol S. “The Venerable Dr. King & Fire Station No. 6.” Legacy. (Sepember-October 2002) 20-24. * “Birth Home.” Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, National Parks Service. 4 May 2017. https://www.nps.gov/malu/planyourvisit/birth-home.htm [Last Accessed: 10 Jan 2018] * Lewis, David L. King: A Biography. Urbana, IL; Chicago; and London: University of Illinois Press, 1978 [1970]. * Tarleton, Gary. “Birth Home Tours.” Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, National Parks Service. 24 April 2015. https://www.nps.gov/malu/planyourvisit/birth_home_tours.htm [Last Accessed: 10 Jan 2018] * Tarleton, Gary. “Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.” Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, National Parks Service. 10 February 2016. https://www.nps.gov/malu/planyourvisit/ebenezer_baptist_church.htm [Last Accessed: 10 Jan 2018] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1793-1794 James Monroe arrives in France as major changes are occurring in the governance of the nation – Robespierre is out, and the Thermadorians are in. Back in the US, Washington and Hamilton ride at the head of an army west to put an end to the Whiskey Rebellion once and for all, but they will be shocked by what they find as they draw nearer to Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, as we near the end of 1794, the longest serving member of Washington’s Cabinet considers his future. Source information for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured Image: James Monroe by Louis Semé [c. 1794], courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1793-1794 Developments on both sides of the Atlantic keep the administration busy in 1794. Prominent envoys are sent to both Britain and France in order to avert the US being drawn into conflict with a foreign power. General Wayne and his troops march into action in the Northwest Territory. Even Washington is getting into the action as he heads into the field to face the rebels in western Pennsylvania. Though only five years old, the new government under the Constitution is tested like never before. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Featured image: John Jay, copy based on an original by Gilbert Stuart, courtesy of Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1731-1802 In this special episode, we take a closer look at Martha Washington, the woman who would serve as the nation’s first First Lady before the term was even crafted for the role. To help us better understand her life and her role in American history, I am joined in this episode by Presidential and First Ladies historian Feather Schwartz Foster who shares her knowledge and insights about Martha’s strengths and shortcomings, the Washingtons’ marriage, how Martha approached her public and household duties after her husband took the oath of office in 1789, and what impact Martha had on crafting the role of the First Lady. Audio editing by Andrew Pfannkuche, and special thanks to Toyin, Kato, Barbara, Mark, and Alex for providing the intro quotes. This episode is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Betty Landry, and is being released on what would have been her 68th birthday. The music between sections are selections from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto 1st Movement (Allegro), performed by Markus Krumpöck and the Merkur Orchester Wiener Neustadt conducted by Willibald Zwittkovits. Sources used in this episode as well as links to Feather’s website and social media can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Year(s) Discussed: 1792-1794 The Washington administration is beset by various problems in the west while the British threaten American shipping interests in the West Indies, leading the two nations on the path to war. Though growing ever more tired of his position, President Washington must devise a plan to thwart attempts at rebellion in the west, decide upon an envoy to send east to London to seek out a diplomatic resolution, and begin work to build the US Navy. No rest for a weary President in 1794! Source information for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices