presidential history

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• 3/5/2023
  

  Why We Don't Remember Edith Galt Wilson as the "First Woman President"

  by Richard Bluttal

  While the First Lady ran the executive branch while concealing the extent of Woodrow Wilson's ill health after a stroke, her unofficial stewardship raises too many questions about secrecy and its consequences to be celebrated today. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  2/16/2023
  

  From "Birth of a Nation" to "Till": The Politics of White House Screenings

  The Bidens hosted a group of about 100 historians, civil rights leaders, and members of Congress to screen the biographical film adaptation of the story of Emmett Till and his mother's quest for justice. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  2/20/2023
  

  The Carter Presidency Wasn't How we Remember It

  by Kai Bird

  While he was pessimistic about the moral quality of politics, a biographer says that the 39th president was capable of ruthless pragmatism that helped him achieve more than he is credited for, though it cost him reelection. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  2/19/2023
  

  From a Celebration of the First President to a Celebration of the Presidency

  Nothing, from the date to the name to the punctuation, has been straightforward in the celebration of Presidents' Day (which is officially observed by the federal government as Washington's Birthday), says biographer Alexis Coe. 

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• 1/15/2022
  

  One Term, Two Presidencies: Biden's Prospects under Divided Government

  by Michael A. Genovese

  If recent patterns prove out, the second half of Biden's term will be marked by executive orders with little prospect of significant legislation. 

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• SOURCE: Wall Street Journal
  11/8/2022
  

  How the Baton is Passed (Review)

  by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

  David Marchick has headed the Partnership for Public Service's Center for Presidential Transition; he is the author of a new book that presents his practical knowledge of what is needed for the transfer of power to run smoothly between one administration and the next. 

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  10/19/2022
  

  Steve Knott: Coming to Terms with "Camelot"

  by Tom Nichols

  Tom Nichols interviews presidential historian Steve Knott, who discusses how the JFK legacy has shifted with political trends and how the JFK Library has sometimes put politics over history. 

• 
• 10/16/2022
  

  Now More than Ever, America Must Commit to Ensure the Transition of Presidential Power

  by David Marchick and Valerie Smith Boyd

  The latest evidence presented by the January 6 Commission underscore the urgent need for all parties to renew the commitment the core principle of an orderly transition of power from one elected president to another.

• 
• 10/9/2022
  

  Ten Years Ago, Barack Obama's Debate Choke Threatened His Reelection

  by Cary Heinz

  Barack Obama wasn't unprepared for his first debate against Mitt Romney in 2012, but he stumbled nonetheless. Ten years later, his performance offers a warning to incumbents of the challenges they face in coming out winners from the spectacle. 

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• SOURCE: NPR
  9/6/2022
  

  CRS Scholar: 22nd Amendment's Roots in Partisanship, Civil Rights Opposition

  Stephen W. Stathis of the Congressional Research Service traces the partisan politics behind presidential term limits, from Ulysses Grant to the passage of the 22nd Amendment as Harry Truman sought to continue the New Deal program. 

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• SOURCE: Daily Beast
  8/27/2022
  

  How Long Until We Hear "Madam President"?

  by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

  In the early republic, the perception of ambition was a negative for a political candidate, especially for president. That norm mostly survives today in its application to women candidates. 

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• 8/21/2022
  

  The Reputation of Presidents Takes a Hit in Their Second Term

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  The 2024 presidential campaign is fast approaching, with speculation rampant about whether Biden should seek a second term. Although his political fortunes have improved recently, the record of second-term presidents might give him pause. 

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• 8/21/2022
  

  President as Change Agent: Breakers vs. Builders

  by Michael A. Genovese

  While Joe Biden has recently enjoyed policy successes that point toward a revival of the Democrats' political fortunes, his brand of change is handicapped by a lack of excitement. Will Americans ultimately choose a "disruptor" over an incrementalist? 

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• 8/7/2022
  

  For 38 Years of American History, There Has Been No Vice President

  by Cary Heinz

  The frequency with which the vice presidency has been vacant shows the historical insignificance of the office. 

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• SOURCE: Politico
  7/22/2022
  

  Is Trump the New Nixon? The Young Custodian of the Nixon Library Would Rather Not Say

  Jim Byron, the CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation, is the unofficial guardian of the former president's legacy, having worked his way up in the organization after starting as a teenaged summer intern. 

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• SOURCE: Democracy Now!
  6/15/2022
  

  Garrett Graff: A "Conspiratorial Mindset" Links Trump and Nixon Actions

  Garrett Graff, author of "Watergate: A New History" argues that both January 6 and Watergate were the logical culminations of the broader politics of the Trump and Nixon administrations and the movements that sustained them. 

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• SOURCE: WBUR
  4/12/2022
  

  New Book Offers First Historians' Take on Trump Presidency

  Julian Zelizer is the editor of a collection of essays by an all-star lineup of historians taking stock of the Trump presidency. He discusses the book and the challenges of putting the recent, contested past in perspective. 

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  4/6/2022
  

  Trump Can't Just Erase History the Way Nixon Tried to Do

  by Tim Naftali

  "The newly reported Trumpian gap may actually be easier to fill in, and therefore less of a threat to the historical record than Nixon’s."

• 
• 4/10/2022
  

  The Problem of Presidential Isolation

  by Michael A. Genovese

  Today, who can speak truth to the president’s power? And to whom can a president unburden himself in those moments of stress and self-doubt? From whom can the president expect direct and candid advice?

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• SOURCE: Briscoe Center for American History
  4/7/2022
  

  UT's Briscoe Center Acquires Richard and Doris Kearns Goodwin Papers,Popular History

  "I’m impressed by the depth and breadth of the Briscoe Center’s holdings, and also by its innovative mission as a center that actively conducts its own research into its collections, as well as facilitating the research of others."