Tag Archives: William Henry Harrison

4.04 – East and West

March 27, 202204 - James MadisonAustria, David Erskine, France, George Canning, Great Britain, Illinois Territory, Indiana Territory, James Madison, John Marshall, John Quincy Adams, Napoleon Bonaparte, Ninian Edwards, Robert Smith, Russia, Spain, William Henry Harrisonpresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1808-1809

In the first couple of months of his presidency, Madison not only dealt with a domestic political dispute but also managed to negotiate an agreement with the British Minister to the US to resolve issues with Great Britain. Unbeknownst to him, however, the continued instability in Europe would keep peace and prosperity just out of reach for his administration. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “David Erskine” by Richard Woodman [c. 1820], courtesy of Wikipedia

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

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3.31 – Waves on the Horizon

June 30, 202103 - Thomas JeffersonAaron Burr, Albert Gallatin, Andrew Jackson, Anthony Merry, Barnabas Bidwell, Burr Conspiracy, Federalists, France, Francisco de Miranda, George Clinton, Gideon Granger, Great Britain, Haitian Revolution, Henry Dearborn, James Madison, James Monroe, James Wilkinson, John Armstrong Jr, John Quincy Adams, John Randolph of Roanoke, Jonathan Dayton, Levi Lincoln, Louisiana, Mississippi Territory, Nathaniel Macon, Orleans Territory, Robert Smith, Samuel Smith, Spain, Texas, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Mann Randolph, US House, US Senate, West Florida, William C C Claiborne, William Henry Harrison, William Pinkneypresidencies

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

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3.29 – A Winter to Remember

May 2, 202103 - Thomas JeffersonAaron Burr, Albert Gallatin, Andrew Jackson, Benjamin Latrobe, Burr Conspiracy, Charles Pinckney, Dolley Madison, East Florida, Edward Livingston, France, Great Britain, Indiana Territory, James Madison, James Monroe, James Wilkinson, John Breckinridge, Jonathan Dayton, Louisiana Territory, Martha Jefferson Randolph, Meriwether Lewis, Michigan Territory, New Orleans, Robert Smith, Spain, Talleyrand, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Mann Randolph, West Florida, William Clark, William Henry Harrison, William Hullpresidencies

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

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3.27 – Second Term, Same as the Worst

February 27, 202103 - Thomas JeffersonAaron Burr, Albert Gallatin, Anthony Merry, Barbary States, France, George Clinton, Gideon Granger, Great Britain, Henry Dearborn, Indiana Territory, Isaac Coles, James Wilkinson, John Breckinridge, Levi Lincoln, Louisiana Territory, Mexico, Native Americans, Orleans Territory, Robert Smith, Spain, Texas, Thomas Jefferson, William Armistead Burwell, William Henry Harrisonpresidencies

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

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3.16 – Up River, Down River

April 26, 202003 - Thomas JeffersonAlbert Gallatin, Benjamin Hawkins, Benjamin Rush, Georgia, Henry Dearborn, Indiana Territory, James Madison, Levi Lincoln, Louisiana, Meriwether Lewis, Mississippi Territory, Native Americans, New Orleans, slavery, Spain, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Mann Randolph, William C C Claiborne, William Clark, William Henry Harrisonpresidencies

Content Note: This episode mentions the topic of suicide.

Year(s) Discussed: 1802-1803

As the Jefferson administration awaited word on the outcome of Monroe’s mission to France, the territorial governors and government agents in the western US dealt with various issues including labor shortages, troubled relations with neighboring indigenous nations, and the economic chaos caused by the port of New Orleans being closed to American shipping. To the east, the President and his Cabinet worked with Meriwether Lewis to prepare him for the planned transcontinental expedition as news came from across the Atlantic that would reshape the United States forever. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “William C. C. Claiborne, Governor of Louisiana” [c. early 19th century], courtesy of Wikipedia

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

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Interview with Jon Finkel (Jocks in Chief)

March 22, 2020InterviewAbraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, Calvin Coolidge, George Washington, Gerald Ford, John F Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt, William Henry Harrisonpresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1789-2020

The term “fit for office” is often bandied about when talking about the US presidency, but how exactly does physical fitness relate to the office or to presidential campaigning? To explore that question, I recently spoke with Jon Finkel, author of Jocks in Chief. In our conversation, Jon shared the system that he came up with to rank the athleticism of the 44 individuals who thus far have served as president, and we discussed how various presidents approached exercise in their lives as well as how impressions of the vigor of some presidential candidates impacted their campaigns and historical legacies.

More information about Jon and his work can be found on his website at https://jonfinkel.com/.

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3.07 – The Door to the West

November 17, 201903 - Thomas JeffersonAndrew Jackson, Barbary States, Congress, Henry Dearborn, Indiana Territory, James Madison, James Wilkinson, Meriwether Lewis, Mississippi Territory, Napoleon Bonaparte, Native Americans, Spain, Thomas Jefferson, US Army, US Navy, William C C Claiborne, William Henry Harrisonpresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1798-1801

Jefferson and his administration early on focused their attention on the civilian and military operations in the western frontier of the US and worked through the year leading up to the convening of the first session of the Seventh Congress to determine who would stay and who would go. Meanwhile, despite his concerns about a standing army and navy, Jefferson also worked in his first year in office to establish two key supports for the US military establishment: a military academy and a dry dock. Sources used in this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: Portion of “The Treaty of Greenville” [c. late 18^th century], courtesy of Wikipedia

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

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V003 – Interview with Jared Cohen, Accidental Presidents

May 26, 2019UncategorizedAbraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Chester A Arthur, Franklin D Roosevelt, Harry S Truman, James A Garfield, John F Kennedy, John Tyler, Lyndon B Johnson, Millard Fillmore, Theodore Roosevelt, William Henry Harrison, William McKinley, Zachary Taylorpresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1835-2009

In this episode, I talk with Jared Cohen, author of Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America, about the presidents who came to the office due to the untimely demise of their predecessor and how their becoming president altered the course of US history. In this wide-ranging discussion, we assess some of the successes and failures of these presidents as well as the history of how constitutional questions related to succession were answered and what questions still remain. Images used in this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Jared Cohen” by Esther Nisanova

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2.20 – A Proper Sense of Their Duty

April 21, 201902 - John AdamsAbigail Adams, Alien and Sedition Acts, Benjamin Stoddert, Charles Lee, Fries's Rebellion, Indiana Territory, James Callender, James McHenry, John Adams, John Marshall, Martha Washington, Mount Vernon, Northwest Territory, Samuel Chase, Samuel Dexter, Timothy Pickering, Washington DC, William Henry Harrisonpresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1799-1800

With the new members of the Adams Cabinet coming on board, the President travels south to inspect the work on the new Federal Capital as the US government begins its move from Philadelphia to Washington, DC. Meanwhile, Adams makes a decision on the fates of those convicted of crimes for their participation in Fries’s Rebellion while federal prosecutions under the Sedition Act continue and Democratic-Republicans gear up for the upcoming presidential election. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Samuel Dexter”, courtesy of Wikipedia

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1.28 – A Caesar, a Cromwell, and a Washington: The Betrayals of 1795

March 18, 201801 - George WashingtonAlexander Hamilton, Anthony Wayne, Benjamin Franklin Bache, Edmund Randolph, George Hammond, George Washington, Jay Treaty, Jean-Antoine Fauchet, John Beckley, Native Americans, Northwest Indian War, Northwest Territory, Oliver Wolcott Jr, Timothy Pickering, William Bradford, William Henry Harrisonpresidencies

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

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Presidencies of the United States

A journey through presidential history from the beginning to the present day

Tag Archives: William Henry Harrison

4.04 – East and West

3.31 – Waves on the Horizon

3.29 – A Winter to Remember

3.27 – Second Term, Same as the Worst

3.16 – Up River, Down River

Interview with Jon Finkel (Jocks in Chief)

3.07 – The Door to the West

V003 – Interview with Jared Cohen, Accidental Presidents

2.20 – A Proper Sense of Their Duty

1.28 – A Caesar, a Cromwell, and a Washington: The Betrayals of 1795