Presidential Chronicles

Andrew Johnson #4: Wartime Governor (1862-1865); Topics covered include: Civil War, remains loyal to the Union and President Abraham Lincoln, Tennessee secedes, military battles in Tennessee, Military Governor of Tennessee, battles around Nashville, and the Emancipation Proclamation Key people: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, Don Buell, Nathan Forrest, and William Rosecrans For more information on...

Andrew Johnson #3: A Southerner Takes a Stand (1853-1862); Topics covered include: Governor of Tennessee (two terms), Eliza Johnson contracts tuberculosis, marriage of daughter Martha Johnson to David Patterson, U.S. Senator, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Bleeding Kansas, Homestead Act, election of 1860, Southern secession, only Senator from a seceded state to remain loyal to the Union, firing on Fort Sumt...

Andrew Johnson #2: Off to Congress (1843-1853); Topics covered include: Congressman, loyal Democrat, Homestead Act, relationship with President James Polk, Mexican War, Compromise of 1850, and end in Congress after five terms Key people: Parson Brownlow, James Polk, Sarah Polk, and Martha Johnson For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchr...

Andrew Johnson #1: A Mudsill (1808-1843); Topics covered include: Parents, poverty throughout youth, father dies, apprenticed as a tailor, abandoned apprenticeship, leaves for Tennessee, settles in Greenville, sets up tailor shop, self-educates, marries Eliza McArdle, birth of first two children, elected to the town council, becomes mayor, elected to the state legislature, tailor shop thrived, joi...

Abraham Lincoln #15: Reconstruction and Assassination (1865); Topics covered include: 10% Plan, discussion regarding plans for Reconstruction, final offensive of the war, Richmond falls, Lincoln visits Richmond, Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses Grant at Appomattox Court House, death toll of Civil War, attends play at Ford's Theater, shot by John Wilkes Booth, dies next morning, funeral services...

Abraham Lincoln #14: Wartime Election (1864-1865); Topics covered include: Ulysses Grant named commanding general of the Union Army, 10% Plan, Election of 1864, forms the National Union Party, Overland Campaign, defense of Washington, DC at Fort Stevens, capture Atlanta, electoral victory for Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, and passage of the 13th Amendment Key people: Ulysses Grant, John Fremont, Geo...

Abraham Lincoln #13: Tide Turns (1863); Topics covered include: Change in commanders, Battle of Chancellorsville, arrest of Clement Vallandigham, justification for use of executive power, Battle of Gettysburg, Battle of Vicksburg, Gettysburg Address, and the Battle of Chattanooga Key people: George McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, Joe Hooker, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Clement Vallandigham,...

Abraham Lincoln #12: Emancipation (1862-1863); Topics covered include: Attempts for compensated emancipation (fail), Second Confiscation Act, Draft Emancipation Proclamation, response to Horace Greeley's "Prayer of 20 million," Battle of Antietam, replace George McClellan with Ambrose Burnside, releases draft Emancipation Proclamation to the public, justification for Emancipation, an...

Abraham Lincoln #11: Frustrated Commander (1861-1862); Topics covered include: Selection of commanders, Battle of Bull Run, First Confiscation Act, foreign affairs (principally with France and England), frustration with slow moving commanders, victories at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, death of Willie Lincoln, Peninsula Campaign, and the replace of George McClellan with Henry Halleck in command of...

Abraham Lincoln #10: Commander-in-Chief and the Constitution (1861-1865); Topics covered include: Lincoln presidency, selection of Cabinet, standoff in Charleston Harbor, attack on Fort Sumter, suspension of habeas corpus, defy Supreme Court, Ex parte Merryman, special session of Congress, and discussion of Presidents and Constitutional authorities in a time of war Key people: William Seward, Salm...

Abraham Lincoln #9: Secession and the Declaration (1860-1861); Topics covered include: Secession and the Declaration of Independence Key people: Thomas Jefferson For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

Abraham Lincoln #8: Most Perilous Interregnum and Inauguration (1860-1861); Topics covered include: Election of 1860, Southern secession, Fort Sumter, Lincoln's public and private statements, train trip to Washington, DC, and delivers Inaugural Address Key people: William Seward, Robert Anderson, James Buchanan, Lyman Trumbull, Elihu Washburne, Thurlow Weed, Sarah Lincoln, William Herndon, All...

Abraham Lincoln #7: The Most Important Election (1860); Topics covered include: Speech at Cooper Union, political positions, 1860 election, 1860 Republican Convention, and the general election and results Key people: Henry Ward Beecher, Robert Lincoln, William Seward, David Davis, David Cartter, Hannibal Hamlin, Stephen Douglas, John Breckinridge, John Bell, and Grace Bedell For more information o...

Abraham Lincoln #6: Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858); Topics covered include: Lincoln-Douglas Debates Key people: Stephen Douglas For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

Abraham Lincoln #5: Taking a Stand (1854-1858); Topics covered include: Kansas-Nebraska Act, popular sovereignty, "Bleeding Kansas," joins Republican Party, "Lincoln's Lost Speech," election of 1856, Dred Scott v. Sandford, and the "House Divided Speech" Key people: Stephen Douglas, Franklin Pierce, William Herndon, Lyman Trumbull, John Fremont, James Buchanan, Dred Scott, and Roger Taney For more...

Abraham Lincoln #4: Lawyer with a Moral Core (1848-1850); Topics covered include: Election of 1848, Lincoln support Zachary Taylor, argues case before Supreme Court, receives patent, leaves Congress and returns to the law, examples of legal cases, and the Compromise of 1850 Key people: Zachary Taylor, Alexander Stephens, Lewis Cass, William Herndon, Jack Armstrong, Hannah Armstrong, William Armstr...

Abraham Lincoln #3: Personal Life and Personality (1831-1853); Topics covered include: Relationships with his parents, Ann Rutledge, Mary Owens, and Mary (Todd) Lincoln; personality traits, including humor, storytelling, melancholy, and sadness Key people: Thomas Lincoln, Nancy Lincoln, Sarah Lincoln, Ann Rutledge, Mary Owens, Mary (Todd) Lincoln, William Herndon, and David Davis For more informat...

Abraham Lincoln #2: Path to Politics (1832-1848); Topics covered include: Studies law, political beliefs (Whig), elected to state legislature, passes Bar, initial views on slavery and abolition, first political address (rule of law), elected U.S. Congress, anti-Mexican War, and his Spot Resolutions Key people: John Stuart, Henry Clay, Joshua Speed, Stephen Logan, William Herndon, and James Polk Fo...

Abraham Lincoln #1: Frontier Youth for 'Honest Old Abe' (1809-1833); Topics covered include: Youth on frontier, relationship with father, death of mother, stepmother and siblings, early education/self-learner, trip to New Orleans, volunteer in Black Hawk War, odd jobs, strength, humor, and honesty Key people: Thomas Lincoln, Nancy (Hanks) Lincoln, Sarah (Johnston) Lincoln, Danton Offutt, J...

James Buchanan #10: Don't Blame Me (1861-1868); Topics covered include: Inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln, return to Wheatland with family, Civil War begins, defends attacks on his administration, "Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion," blame for abolitionists and Congress, end of the war, assassination of President Lincoln, marriage of Harriet Lane,...

James Buchanan #9: Perilous Interregnum (1860-1861); Topics covered include: Election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln election President of the United States, southern secession (including legal interpretations), showdown in Charleston Harbor (Fort Sumter), Cabinet resignations, Peace Conference, and the end of Buchanan's term Key people: Stephen Douglas, John Breckinridge, John Bell, Abraham Lincoln...

James Buchanan #8: Presidential Duties and Investigations (1857-1860); Topics covered include: Rebellion in Utah, Panic of 1857, "reform, not relief," foreign affairs (Cuba and Mexico), midterm elections, and the Covode Committee investigation Key people: Brigham Young, Alfred Cummings, John Slidell, John Covode, and John Sherman For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles&...

James Buchanan #7: Bleeding Kansas and the Lecompton Constitution (1857); Topics covered include: President of the United States, Dred Scott v. Sandford, life in the White House, patronage, Bleeding Kansas, Lecompton Constitution, conflict with Stephen Douglas, and the final rejection of the Lecompton Constitution Key people: Roger Taney, Dred Scott, Esther Parker (Miss Hetty), Harriet Lane, Rober...

James Buchanan #6: Elected: Greatest Trial of His Life (1856-1857); Topics covered include: Election of 1856, receives Democratic nomination, elected President of the United States, Cabinet, one term pledge, and his Inaugural Address Key people: Stephen Douglas John Slidell, James Bayard, Jesse Bright, John Breckinridge, John Fremont, Millard Fillmore, Lewis Cass, Howell Cobb, and Roger Taney For...

James Buchanan #5: Off to Europe, While Kansas Bleeds (1849-1856); Topics covered include: Out of office, country squire at Wheatland, family patriarch, Compromise of 1850, election of 1852, Minister to Great Britain, death of William King, Ostend Manifesto, Kansas-Nebraska Act, and Bleeding Kansas Key people: Esther Parker (Miss Hetty), Harriet Lane, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Lewis Cass,...