In 1835 a man ambushed Andrew Jackson outside the Capitol and fired at him with two different pistols from less than 10 feet away—yet Jackson was unharmed. We dig into this failed assassination attempt, the wild trial of would-be assassin Richard Lawrence, and the conspiracy theories that started circulating immediately. Then we welcome guest David S. Brown, author of The First Populist: The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson, for a chat about Jackson's image, personality, and his crusades...

How did James Madison go from being one of George Washington's best friends to someone Washington went to his grave despising? We look at the rise and fall of Washington and Madison's friendship, from their partnership to create the Constitution to their bitter breakup amidst the birth of America’s two-party system. Of all the rifts, rivalries, and betrayals that shaped the nation, this one might be the most personal. After digging into Madison's ratlike behavior, we read some listener...

We go on a bimetal-curious adventure over the rainbow to dig into the history of L. Frank Baum's American fairy tale The Wizard of Oz and its alleged connections to William Jennings Bryan and the Populist movement of the 1890s. Then, Howard talks with author Peter Shea about Bryan and other presidential candidates who never made it to the presidency—including Aaron Burr and John C. Calhoun—all featured in Shea's book "In The Arena: A History of American Presidential Hopefuls."Special thanks...

Guest Bob Crawford tells us about his new podcast "Founding Son: John Quincy's America" and John Quincy Adams's epic post-presidential battle against the Southern slavocracy and the Gag Rule. Before that, we dig into JQA's battle with solar eclipses and cover some exciting updates about JQA and the mole people—a myth we first discussed in our Season 1 episode "John Quincy Adams vs. The Internet."Find show notes and more at plodpod.comConsider joining our Patreon family at...

Fearing the Teddy Bear was just a fad, some folks started looking for a successor toy. They settled on the Billy Possum. We dig into the birth of Billy Possum at a lavish Atlanta banquet for William Howard Taft in 1909, the innovative and disturbing promotional efforts of Susie W. Allgood to make Billy Possum happen, and the series of unfortunate events that led to the stuffed marsupial's downfall.Show notes and more at plodpod.comCheck out our brand new "Hello Billy Possum!" shirt at our...

We dig into the truth behind the chaotic 1902 Mississippi bear hunt that forever linked Teddy Roosevelt to a cute little bear and we explore the competing versions of the teddy bear's origin—and the clear winner. Then we look at the bizarre religious backlash against the teddy bear craze in 1907.Show notes and sources at plodpod.com—special thanks to "Holt Collier: His Life, His Roosevelt Hunts, and the Origin of the Teddy Bear" by Minor Ferris Buchanan and "Margarete Steiff, Morris Michtom...

Guest Tegan Kehoe—medical historian and author of the fascinating new book "Exploring American Healthcare Through 50 Historic Treasures"—joins Howard for an enlightening and personal discussion about George Washington's dentures, Vitamin D beer, the tragic story of the Kennedy baby, and our firsthand experiences with lifesaving advancements in preemie care. But first, Howard and Jess talk about a medical treatment gone wrong with Thomas Jefferson's nightmarish trip to Warm Springs, Virginia...

We dig into the stories behind Benjamin Franklin's notoriously naughty reputation on a quest to determine whether he was a flirt, a feminist, or the philandering father of dozens of children. And we dive into a letter of Franklin's that was considered too obscene to print until 150 years after his death. Show notes and sources at plodpod.com Consider joining our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch store!...

We dig into the stories behind Benjamin Franklin's notoriously naughty reputation on a quest to determine whether he was a flirt, a feminist, or the philandering father of dozens of children. And we dive into a letter of Franklin's that was considered too obscene to print until 150 years after his death.Show notes and sources at plodpod.comConsider joining our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidentsCheck out our merch store!...

It's a Thanksgiving supergroup of history podcasters when Howard joins Kenny Ryan of [Abridged] Presidential Histories, Alycia from Civics & Coffee, and Jerry Landry from Presidencies of the United States for a special Friendsgiving spectacular to talk about some of their favorite things.Check them out:[Abridged] Presidential Histories (https://aph.buzzsprout.com/)Civics & Coffee (https://www.civicsandcoffee.com/)Presidencies of the United States...

We delve into the reasons behind John Adams's intense loathing of Benjamin Franklin, from their time as strange bedfellows in the Second Continental Congress to their time in France as diplomats with wildly different methods and work ethics. Even long after Franklin's death, Adams held a grudge against the man he considered a phony, glory-stealing sloth.Visit plodpod.com for more information.Key source: Evans, William B. “John Adams’ Opinion of Benjamin Franklin...

We look at the haunting sounds and even more haunting history of Benjamin Franklin's favorite invention: the glass armonica. Then we welcome author Michael Meyer to discuss his new book Benjamin Franklin's Last Bet. The conversation brings Franklin to life and covers his unique bequests to the cities of Philadelphia and Boston and his rocky relationship with his son (hereby known as William Franklin, Patriot Hunter). We also touch on what Elon Musk and modern politicians could learn from...

In 1799, New York City needed clean water to prevent the spread of Yellow Fever and Aaron Burr needed a friendly bank to fund his election efforts. We dig into how the brilliant, scheming Burr addressed both problems at once with the "perfect monster" known as The Manhattan Company, and how he duped Alexander Hamilton into being his greatest champion.Show notes and sources at plodpod.comConsider joining our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidentsCheck out our...

In our fourth season premiere we dig into the 1799 murder of Elma Sands, a young woman whose body was found in the Manhattan Well. With a boardinghouse full of suspects—none of whom can be trusted—the trial was always going to be a sensation. But with the accused killer Levi Weeks being defended by the dream team of rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, it became a truly dramatic event.Enter to win our Season 4 3-book giveaway!...

Season 4 premieres Tuesday, October 25th! Enter to win our 3-book giveaway of fascinating historical books from our first three guests this season: https://kingsumo.com/g/k3clkv/3-book-giveaway-plodding-through-the-presidents-season-4 These are the books: 1. Benjamin Franklin's Last Bet: The Favorite Founder's Divisive Death, Enduring Afterlife, and Blueprint for American Prosperity by Michael Meyer 2. Exploring American Healthcare through 50 Historic Treasures by Tegan Kehoe 3. In the...

Season 4 premieres Tuesday, October 25th!Enter to win our 3-book giveaway of fascinating historical books from our first three guests this season: https://kingsumo.com/g/k3clkv/3-book-giveaway-plodding-through-the-presidents-season-4These are the books:1. Benjamin Franklin's Last Bet: The Favorite Founder's Divisive Death, Enduring Afterlife, and Blueprint for American Prosperity by Michael Meyer2. Exploring American Healthcare through 50 Historic Treasures by Tegan Kehoe3. In the Arena: A...

In our third season finale, we look at confounding founder Benjamin Rush—his outstanding humanitarian accomplishments, his controversial bleeding and purging treatments during the Yellow Fever epidemics, and the dramatic trial where he sued newspaper publisher William Cobbett for accusing him of killing his patients. Sources and more at plodpod.com but a special shoutout to the extremely helpful Law and Medicine in Revolutionary America: Dissecting the Rush v. Cobbett Trial, 1799 by Linda...

We explore the tragic stories of John Quincy Adams’s sons—George Washington Adams, John Adams II, and Charles Francis Adams—through the structure of their cousin Mary Hellen playing a real life game of "F*ck Marry Kill" with them. Show notes, photos, and sources at plodpod.comConsider joining our Patreon family (and our Season 3 patron party on November 14th) at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for bonus content and perks!Check out our merch store at...

We dig into the dubious story of Winston Churchill's naked encounter with the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. Then we welcome author, paranormal investigator, and New England Legends host Jeff Belanger for a fascinating conversation about the long history of reported hauntings in the White House, why New England has so many legends, and the value of ghost stories in teaching history.Show notes, photos, and sources at plodpod.comWe'll be back November 9th!Consider joining our Patreon family at...

First, the Hermitage’s director of interpretation Bryan Gilley shares a historical haunting from Andrew Jackson’s home and a hair-raising experience of his own. Then, Adams National Historical Park curator Kelly Cobble describes the hauntingly beautiful Stone Library built to house John Quincy Adams’s books. And then we dig deeper into something Cobble mentioned – a 1996 heist at the Stone Library where the priceless Mendi Bible was stolen.Show notes, photos, and sources at...

We look at the role of the Illuminati in the Election of 1800 between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson before welcoming Dr. Mark Cheathem to the show. He teaches a course on conspiracy theories in American history at Cumberland University, and he joined us to talk about his course, his personal inspiration for teaching it, and conspiratorial thinking. Then we dig into a conspiracy theory about a rigged election and the men who rode it all the way to the White House – Andrew Jackson and Martin...

We explore the incredible story of the Amistad captives and the sensation sparked by their rebellion, along with the opportunities their situation offered to the abolitionist cause and the rabble-rousing John Quincy Adams. And we look at the impact of the Amistad rebellion on a man named Madison Washington who helped lead the most successful slave revolt in American history aboard a ship called The Creole.Show notes, photos, and sources at plodpod.comConsider joining our Patreon family...

Author Dr. Cara Finnegan (Photographic Presidents: Making History From Daguerreotype to Digital) joins Howard for a conversation about the early days of photography and some of the most intriguing presidential photographs, including a photo of a painting of William Henry Harrison that looks eerily lifelike and a "spirit photograph" of Mary Lincoln and the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. Before the interview, Jess and Howard tackle Jimmy Carter's brief but devastating encounter with a "killer" swamp...

George Washington's mother Mary Ball Washington has been unfairly portrayed as a greedy shrew for decades. This week, we dig into the truth of the most popular allegations levied against her by biographers. We also trace the origins of two legends about her – the deadly lightning bolt said to have changed her and her founding fetus forever and the story of a wild horse (you thought we were done with animals?) that inspired the legend of young George and the cherry tree. Along the way we look...

Our very first guest, Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky, joins Howard for a conversation about her book The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution and about the personalities and relationships of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton. And of course we talk a bit about our mutual love for John Quincy Adams. Jess and Howard kick off the episode with a look at the most famous story of George Washington's profanity. Note: Our interview with Chervinsky was...