Presidential Chronicles

Franklin Roosevelt #9: The 100 Days (1933); Topics covered include: Inaugurated as President, Great Depression, solves banking crisis, introduces and passes New Deal legislation including: Agriculture Adjustment Act, Civilian Conservation Corps, Farm Credit Association, Truth in Securities Act, Home Owners' Loan Corporation, Tennessee Valley Authority, National Industrial Recovery Act, Public...

Franklin Roosevelt #8: Perilous Interregnum (1932-1933); Topics covered include: Outreach from President Hoover (several times), refuses to engage (each time), names Cabinet, assassination attempt (and reaction), and the banking crisis Key people include: James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Herbert Hoover, Ray Moley, Ogden Mills, Cordell Hull, Carter Glass, William Woodin, Harold Ickes, Henry Wallace...

Franklin Roosevelt #7: Promising a New Deal for the American People (1930-1932); Topics covered include: Planning for 1932 presidential election, Brain Trust, wins nomination, travels to convention to accept nomination in person, promises a New Deal to the American people, criticized as a socialist, veterans' march on Washington ("Bonus Army"), campaign, and landslide victory over He...

Franklin Roosevelt #6: Triumphant Return (1928-1931); Topics covered include: 1928 presidential election, convinced to run for Governor of New York, wins election, distances himself from Al Smith, policies as Governor, stock market crash and onset of Great Depression, and re-elected as Governor Key people include: Louis Howe, Al Smith, Elliott Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Missy LeHand, Ed Flynn, Jam...

Franklin Roosevelt #4: Marriage Evolution & First National Campaign (1916-1920); Topics covered include: Children with Eleanor, end of marital relations, marriage transitions to more of a partnership, affair with Lucy Mercer, end of World War I, demobilization in Europe, election of 1920, Democratic nominee for Vice President, and loss of election Key people include: Eleanor Roosevelt, Anna Ro...

Franklin Roosevelt #3: Navy and War (1913-1919); Topics covered include: Assistant Secretary of the Navy, aided by Louis Howe, World War I, election of 1916, Germans resort to unrestricted submarine warfare, U.S. enters the War, Roosevelt's efforts to stop German U-Boats, and his visit to the front Key people include: Josephus Daniels, Louis Howe, Emory Land, Franz Ferdinand, Woodrow Wilson, J...

Franklin Roosevelt #2: Following TR's Path to Politics (1904-1913); Topics covered include: Law school, passes the Bar, first job in law, wins seat in State Senate, opposes Tammany Hall's candidate for U.S. Senate, supports Woodrow Wilson for President (1912), engages Louis Howe for re-election, accepts offer to become Assistant Secretary of the Navy Key people include: Theodore Roosevelt,...

Franklin Roosevelt #1: Youth, School, and Marriage (1882-1905); Topics covered include: Parents (including relationship with), youth, Groton, Harvard, relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt, engagement, and marriage Key people include: Isaac Roosevelt, James Roosevelt, Rebecca (Howland) Roosevelt, Sara Delano, Grover Cleveland, Endicott Peabody, George Biddle, Lathrop Brown, Eleanor Roosevelt, Elliot...

Herbert Hoover #13: Elder Statesman … Finally (1945-1964); Topics covered include: Death of Franklin Roosevelt, relationship with President Harry Truman, end of World War II, atomic bomb, role in food relief in post-war Europe, naming of Hoover Dam, "Hoover Commission" (government reorganization), election of 1948, 75th birthday, no plans to reture, writes more books, cold warrior, elect...

Herbert Hoover #12: The Leader of the Opposition - Part II (1937-1944); Topics covered include: Comparison of Roosevelt's campaign promises and his presidency, unemployment (Hoover vs. Roosevelt's first two terms), election of 1940, meets Adolph Hitler, start of World War II, Hoover Institute on War, Revolution, and Peace, attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. enters war, opposed to alignment with...

Herbert Hoover #11: The Leader of the Opposition - Part I (1932-1937); Topics covered include: Interregnum, political vacuum, banking crisis, Roosevelt inauguration, onset of New Deal and Hoover reaction, Court-packing plan, summary of Roosevelt's first term, and election of 1936 Key people include: Franklin Roosevelt, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Ogden Mills, Ray Moley, John Garner, Rex T...

Herbert Hoover #10: Fighting for the Soul of America (1932); Topics covered include: President of the United States, election of 1932, Bonus March, general election campaign, and election results Key people include: Al Smith, John Garner, Franklin Roosevelt, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton, Calvin Coolidge, and Charley Michelson For more information on the "Presidential Ch...

Herbert Hoover #9: The Depression Won't Relent (1930-1932); Topics covered include: President of the United States, the Great Depression, President's Emergency Committee on Employment, economic collapse in Europe, establishes the National Credit Association, establishes the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, pushing for balanced budgets (via spending cuts and tax increases), and vetoes ex...

Herbert Hoover #8: The Stock Market Crash (1929-1930); Topics covered include: President of the United States, stock market soaring and crash, reactions to crash, impact on unemployment, rival politics from the Democrats (including the writings of Charley Michelson), and the ongoing Depression Key people include: Adolph Miller, Irving Miller, John Raskob, Charley Michelson, and Andrew Mellon For m...

Herbert Hoover #7: First Year Agenda (1928-1929); Topics covered include: President-elect, tour of Latin America, names Cabinet, President of the United States, work style/philosophy, Prohibition, Smoot-Hawley Tariff, Farm Bill, and disarmament agreement with Britain and Japan Key people include: Andrew Mellon, James Davis, Henry Stimson, Ray Wilbur, Charles Francis Adams III, Lou Hoover, and Rams...

Herbert Hoover #6: From the Cabinet to the White House (1921-1928); Topics covered include: Secretary of Commerce, recession and focus on unemployment, focus on establishing standards across industries, death of President Warren Harding, presidency of Calvin Coolidge, Mississippi Valley floods, election of 1928, and election to the presidency Key people include: Warren Harding, Henry Wallace, Calv...

Herbert Hoover #5: Ideology, Politics, and More Relief (1919-1922); Topics covered include: Writes "American Individualism," election of 1920, becomes Secretary of Commerce, and food relief in Russia Key people include: Franklin Roosevelt, Hiram Johnson, Leonard Wood, Frank Lowden, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Harry Daugherty, Albert Fall, Charles Evans Hughes, Andrew Mellon, Woodrow...

Herbert Hoover #4: The Great Humanitarian (1917-1919); Topics covered include: World War I, becomes Food Administrator, end of war, attends Paris Peace Conference, leads the American Relief Administration (ARA) for relief across Europe, suggests changes to Treaty of Versailles (rejected), "Operation Pack Rat," and gratitude for Hoover's service across Europe Key people include: Woodr...

Herbert Hoover #3: Belgium's Savior (1914-1917); Topics covered include: World War I begins, helps Americans depart Europe, agrees to lead food relief for Belgium, establishes Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB), gets belligerents to allow the CRB to function, election of 1916, Germany pursues unrestricted submarine warfare, U.S. enters war, Hoover transition CRB to neutral nations, and sum...

Herbert Hoover #2: The Great Engineer (1895-1914); Topics covered include: First mining jobs, meets Louis Janin, works for Bewick, Moreing in Western Australia, mining success in Australia and China, survives Boxer Rebellion, overcomes embezzlement at firm, birth of children, opens mining consultancy, and achieves broad success throughout engineering career Key people include: Louis Janin, Charles...

Herbert Hoover #1: Quaker Orphan Goes to Stanford (1874-1895); Topics covered include: Youth, Quakerism, death of parents, moves to Oregon, works for the Oregon Land Co., attends first class at Stanford University, standout as a Mining Engineer/Geology major, active on campus, meets Lou Henry, and graduates from Stanford Key people include: George Fox, Jesse Hoover, Huldah (Minthorn) Hoover, Henry...

Calvin Coolidge #10: Nothing Lasts Forever (1927-1933); Topics covered include: Summer in South Dakota, fishing, speaks on Indian reservations, announces not running for re-election, election of 1928, makes up with his home state of Vermont; widespread prosperity, Hoover elected, concerns about the stock market and borrowing to buy stocks, Hoover's inauguration, return to Massachusetts, lack o...

Calvin Coolidge #9: Silent Cal (1872-1933); Topics covered include: Perspectives from Coolidge and those who knew him on his taciturnity Key people include: John Hammond, Henry Field, Grace Coolidge, John Bartlett, Claude Feuss, Edward Lowery, and John Derieux For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

Calvin Coolidge #8: Foreign Affairs (1924-1929); Topics covered include: Views on the League of Nations, Dawes Plan, dispute with Mexico over foreign purchases of oil fields, peacekeeping role in Nicaragua, participation in Pan-American Conference in Cuba, and the Kellogg-Brian Pact Key people include: Charles Hughes, Frank Kellogg, Charles Dawes, Woodrow Wilson, Pancho Villa, Victoriano Carranza,...

Calvin Coolidge #7: The Roaring Twenties (1924-1928); Topics covered include: Features of the "Roaring Twenties," inauguration (1925), Cabinet changes, American economy and prosperity, cuts in spending, cuts in taxes, death of John Coolidge (father), floods in the Mississippi Valley and the administration's response, views on federalism, Orteig Prize, flight from New York to Paris by...