Monthly Archives: June 2020

S005 – Source Notes



Special thanks to Bry and Fry of Pontifacts as well as Carrie and Alex for providing the opening quotes for this episode!

  • Brands, H W. Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. New York: Doubleday, 2008.
  • Chadakoff, Rochelle, ed. Eleanor Roosevelt’s My Day: Her Acclaimed Columns, 1936-1945. New York: Pharos Books, 1989.
  • Dallek, Robert. Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979.
  • “Garner, John Nance (1868-1967).” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=G000074. [Last Accessed: 12 May 2020]
  • Goodwin, Doris Kearns. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
  • Gould, Lewis L. Grand Old Party: A History of the Republicans. New York: Random House, 2003.
  • Hall, Kermit L, etc, eds. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
  • Hiltzik, Michael. The New Deal: A Modern History. New York: Free Press, 2011.
  • Ickes, Harold. The Secret Diary of Harold L Ickes, Volume III: The Lowering Clouds, 1939-1941. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955.
  • McCullough, David. Truman. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.
  • “McNary, Charles Linza (1874-1944).” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=M000583. [Last Accessed: 10 May 2020]
  • Peters, Charles. Five Days in Philadelphia: The Amazing “We Want Willkie!” Convention of 1940 and How It Freed FDR to Save the Western World. New York: PublicAffairs, 2005.
  • Roosevelt, Franklin Delano. “Address at University of Virginia, 10 Jun 1940.” Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/209705. [Last Accessed: 14 May 2020]
  • Roosevelt, Franklin Delano. “Radio Address to the Democratic National Convention Accepting the Nomination, 19 Jul 1940.” Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/209818. [Last Accessed: 15 May 2020]
  • Roosevelt, Franklin Delano. “Campaign Address at Boston, Massachusetts, 30 October 1940.” Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/209314. [Last Accessed: 16 May 2020]
  • Smith, Jean Edward. FDR. New York: Random House, 2007.
  • Stone, Irving. They Also Ran: The Story of the Men Who Were Defeated for the Presidency. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran and Co Inc, 1943.
  • “Taft, Robert Alphonso (1889-1953).” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=T000009. [Last Accessed: 9 May 2020]
  • Tarr, David R, et al. Guide to U.S. Elections, Sixth Edition, Volume I. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2010.
  • “Vandenberg, Arthur Hendrick (1884-1951).” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=V000025. [Last Accessed: 10 May 2020]
  • Vandenberg, Arthur H, Jr., ed. The Private Papers of Senator Vandenberg. Joe Alex Morris, collab. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1952.
  • Whyte, Kenneth. Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 2017.
  • Willkie, Wendell L. “Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination in Elwood, Indiana, 17 August 1940.” Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/275905. [Last Accessed: 17 May 2020]
  • Witcover, Jules. Party of the People: A History of the Democrats. New York: Random House, 2003.
  • Wunderlin, Clarence E, Jr, ed. The Papers of Robert A Taft: Volume 2, 1939-1944. Kent, OH and London: Kent State University Press, 2001.

Featured Image: “President Franklin D. Roosevelt seated at desk with microphones,” courtesy of Wikipedia


S005 – Unprecedented Part II



Year(s) Discussed: 1936-1944

With increasing uncertainty in the global situation and continued instability in the domestic economy, candidates lined up on both the Democratic and Republican sides to succeed Franklin Roosevelt at the end of his second term. However, 1940 found the President considering what was previously unthinkable: running for a third term of office. In this special episode, we explore this unprecedented election conducted under the looming threat of being drawn into a war waging abroad. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Wendell Willkie, President of the Commonwealth & Southern Corporation appearing before House Military Affairs Subcommittee” by Harris & Ewing [17 May 1939], courtesy of Wikipedia


Intelligent Speech Conference 2020



I will be presenting on the Rebellions of the Early Presidencies at the Intelligent Speech Conference on Saturday, June 27th, 2020. If you’d like to attend and hear from numerous educational podcasters and historians, be sure to go to www.intelligentspeechconference.com and select “Book Now” to get your online ticket. It should be a great conference, so I hope to see you there!


3.18 – Source Notes



Special thanks to Chris and Åsa of the Flatpack History of Sweden podcast for providing the intro quotes for this episode! Special thanks also to Alex for some last minute audio editing assistance!

  • Bemis, Samuel Flagg. John Quincy Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1956.
  • Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton. New York: Penguin Press, 2004.
  • Ellis, Joseph J. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson. New York: Vintage Books, 1998 [1996].
  • Fischer, David Hackett. The Revolution of American Conservatism: The Federalist Party in the Era of Jeffersonian Democracy. New York: Harper & Row, 1965.
  • Gaines, William H, Jr. Thomas Mann Randolph: Jefferson’s Son-in-Law. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1966.
  • Gallatin, Albert. “To Thomas Jefferson, 13 January 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-39-02-0281. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 39, 13 November 1802–3 March 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012, pp. 324–327.] [Last Accessed: 3 May 2020]
  • Garland, Hugh A. The Life of John Randolph of Roanoke. St. Clair Shores, MI: Scholarly Press, 1970 [1850].
  • Gordon-Reed, Annette. Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy. Charlottesville, VA and London: University Press of Virginia, 1997 [1997].
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “To Robert R. Livingston, 10 October 1802,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-38-02-0435. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 38, 1 July–12 November 1802, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011, pp. 476–477.] [Last Accessed: 6 May 2020]
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “To Albert Gallatin, 13 January 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-39-02-0282. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 39, 13 November 1802–3 March 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012, pp. 327–328.] [Last Accessed: 3 May 2020]
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “Proclamation—Convening an Extra Session of the Congress, 16 Jul 1803,” Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204771. [Last Accessed: 3 May 2020]
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “III. Jefferson’s Revision of Original Draft, 12–17 July 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0530-0004. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 40, 4 March–10 July 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013, pp. 699–701.] [Last Accessed: 6 May 2020]
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “To William C. C. Claiborne, 18 July 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-41-02-0052. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 41, 11 July–15 November 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014, p. 84.] [Last Accessed: 6 May 2020]
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “To Wilson Cary Nicholas, 7 September 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-41-02-0255. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 41, 11 July–15 November 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014, pp. 346–348.] [Last Accessed: 3 May 2020]
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “To James Madison, 14 September 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-41-02-0283. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 41, 11 July–15 November 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014, p. 382.] [Last Accessed: 8 May 2020]
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “Third Annual Message, 17 October 1803.” Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, eds. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/202655. [Last Accessed: 8 May 2020]
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “Special Message, 21 October 1803.” Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204966. [Last Accessed: 16 May 2020]
  • Ketcham, Ralph. James Madison: A Biography. Charlottesville, VA and London: University Press of Virginia, 1994 [1971].
  • Kierner, Cynthia A. Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello: Her Life and Times. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2012.
  • Landry, Jerry. The Presidencies of the United States. 2017-2020. http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
  • Lincoln, Levi. “To Thomas Jefferson, 10 January 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-39-02-0261. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 39, 13 November 1802–3 March 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012, pp. 302–305.] [Last Accessed: 3 May 2020]
  • Livingston, Robert R. “To Thomas Jefferson, 2 June 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0352. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 40, 4 March–10 July 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013, pp. 470–474.] [Last Accessed: 8 May 2020]
  • Madison, James. ““Proposed Constitutional Amendment, [ca. 9 July] 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/02-05-02-0198. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Secretary of State Series, vol. 5, 16 May–31 October 1803, ed. David B. Mattern, J. C. A. Stagg, Ellen J. Barber, Anne Mandeville Colony, and Bradley J. Daigle. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000, p. 156.] [Last Accessed: 3 May 2020]
  • Madison, James. “To Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe, 29 July 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/02-05-02-0271. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Secretary of State Series, vol. 5, 16 May–31 October 1803, ed. David B. Mattern, J. C. A. Stagg, Ellen J. Barber, Anne Mandeville Colony, and Bradley J. Daigle. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000, pp. 238–240.] [Last Accessed: 3 May 2020]
  • Madison, James. “To James Monroe, 30 July 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/02-05-02-0275. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Secretary of State Series, vol. 5, 16 May–31 October 1803, ed. David B. Mattern, J. C. A. Stagg, Ellen J. Barber, Anne Mandeville Colony, and Bradley J. Daigle. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000, pp. 248–250.] [Last Accessed: 3 May 2020]
  • Madison, James. “To Daniel Clark, 16 September 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/02-05-02-0442. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Secretary of State Series, vol. 5, 16 May–31 October 1803, ed. David B. Mattern, J. C. A. Stagg, Ellen J. Barber, Anne Mandeville Colony, and Bradley J. Daigle. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000, pp. 428–429.] [Last Accessed: 8 May 2020]
  • Madison, James. “To Carlos Martínez de Yrujo, 4 October 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/02-05-02-0500. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Secretary of State Series, vol. 5, 16 May–31 October 1803, ed. David B. Mattern, J. C. A. Stagg, Ellen J. Barber, Anne Mandeville Colony, and Bradley J. Daigle. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000, pp. 488–489.] [Last Accessed: 8 May 2020]
  • Malone, Dumas. Jefferson the Virginian: Jefferson and His Time, Volume One. Boston: Little, Brown and Co, 1948.
  • Malone, Dumas. Jefferson the President First Term, 1801-1805: Jefferson and His Time, Volume Four. Boston: Little, Brown and Co, 1970.
  • Nicholas, Wilson Cary. “To Thomas Jefferson, 3 September 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-41-02-0243. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 41, 11 July–15 November 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014, pp. 312–314.] [Last Accessed: 3 May 2020]

Featured Image: “William Duane” by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin [c. 1802], courtesy of Wikipedia


3.18 – The Boys Are Back in Town



Year(s) Discussed: 1801-1803

Though the Louisiana Purchase Treaty had been concluded, President Jefferson understood that didn’t mean it was a done deal, and he and his administration got to work in the latter half of 1803 on getting the treaty ratified by the Senate and in pushing through legislation to carry through the purchase. However, they also had to contend with increased criticism in the press and with a gnawing concern in many minds, including that of the President, that there was nothing in the Constitution that said the United States could in fact acquire new territory. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “William Plumer, head-and-shoulders portrait, right profile” by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin [c. 1806], courtesy of Wikipedia

Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band