Monthly Archives: September 2016

010 – Sources Used



US Capitol, 1846, courtesy of the Library of Congress
US Capitol, 1846, courtesy of the Library of Congress

The Inaugural Address can be found here. All other sources used for this episode are as follows:

  • Boller, Paul F, Jr. Presidential Anecdotes. New York: Penguin, 1982 [1981].
  • Cleaves, Freeman. Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time. Newtown, CT: American Political Biography Press, 2010 [1939].
  • Cole, Donald B, and John J McDonough. Witness to the Young Republic: A Yankee’s Journal, 1828-1870. Hanover, NH and London: University Press of New England, 1989.
  • Eliot, Charles W, ed. American Historical Documents, 1000-1904. New York: P F Collier & Son Corp, 1969 [1910].
  • Gunderson, Robert Gray. The Log-Cabin Campaign. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977 [1957].
  • Harrison, William Henry. “Inaugural Address,” March 4, 1841. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25813.
  • Harvey, Peter. Reminiscences and Anecdotes of Daniel Webster. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company, 1878.
  • Hamilton, J G de Roulhac, ed. The Papers of William Alexander Graham: Volume Two 1838-1844. Raleigh, NC: State Department of Archives and History, 1959.
  • Jackson, Andrew. “Proclamation 43 – Regarding the Nullifying Laws of South Carolina,” December 10, 1832. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=67078.
  • Peterson, Merrill D, ed. The Portable Thomas Jefferson. New York: Penguin Books, 1977.
  • Poore, Benjamin Perley. Perley’s Reminiscences of Sixty Years in the National Metropolis Vol I. Philadelphia, PA: Hubbard Brothers, 1886.
  • Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Democracy, 1833-1845. New York: Harper & Row, 1984.
  • Remini, Robert V. Daniel Webster: The Man and His Time. New York and London: W W Norton & Co, 1997.
  • Shewmaker, Kenneth R, ed. The Papers of Daniel Webster: Diplomatic Papers, Volume 1 1841-1843. Hanover, NH and London: University Press of New England, 1983.
  • Urofsky, Melvin I. A March of Liberty: A Constitutional History of the United States, Volume I: To 1877. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988.
  • White, Leonard D. The Jeffersonians: A Study in Administrative History, 1801-1829. New York: Macmillan Co, 1956.
  • Witcover, Jules. Party of the People: A History of the Democrats. New York: Random House, 2003.

The intro music for this week’s episode was “Hail to the Chief” performed by the Air Force Concert Band. The full recording is available at archive.org.


010 – The Bout to Take The General Out: The Inauguration Speech Part 1



Harrison's Inauguration, courtesy of Library of Congress
Harrison’s Inauguration, courtesy of Library of Congress

This week’s episode examines Harrison’s precedent-breaking inaugural address including his direct challenge to Andrew Jackson, his conception of the powers and responsibilities of the president, and his plans for his four year term. It’s an episode not to be missed! A link to the speech as well as other sources used for this episode can be found at http://whhpodcast.blubrry.com.


009 – Sources Used



Jane Irwin Harrison, courtesy of the White House
Jane Irwin Harrison, courtesy of the White House
  • 1836 Aug 1, Anna Tuthill Harrison Taylor to Anna Symmes Harrison, Benjamin Harrison Historical Site. Indianapolis, IN.
  • “Anna Harrison, Letitia Tyler, Julia ” First Ladies: Influence and Image. C-SPAN. 9 April 2014. http://firstladies.c-span.org/Transcript/Anna-Harrison.pdf. Last Accessed: 6 August 2016.
  • Booraem, Hendrik, V. A Child of the Revolution: William Henry Harrison and His World, 1773-1798. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2012.
  • Cleaves, Freeman. Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time. Newtown, CT: American Political Biography Press, 2010 [1939].
  • Green, James A. William Henry Harrison: His Life and Times. Richmond, VA: Garrett and Massie, 1941.
  • Gunderson, Robert Gray. The Log-Cabin Campaign. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977 [1957].
  • Morris, Edmund. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. New York: Modern Library, 2001 [1979].
  • Owens, Robert M. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.
  • Pringle, Henry. William Howard Taft: The Life and Times, Volume One. Newtown, CT: American Political Biography Press, 1998 [1939].
  • Seale, William. The President’s House: A History, Volume I. Washington, DC: White House Historical Association, 1986.
  • Smith, Howard W. Benjamin Harrison and the American Revolution. Edward M Riley, ed. Williamsburg, VA: Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission, 1978.
  • Wead, Doug. All the Presidents’ Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of America’s First Families. New York: Atria Books, 2003.
  • Winfield, Charles H. “Life and Public Services of John Cleves Symmes.”Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society. Second Series. Vol V. 1877-1879. Newark, NJ: Daily Advertiser, 1879.

009 – The Harrison Bunch



Anna Symmes Harrison, courtesy of the Library of Congress
Anna Symmes Harrison, courtesy of the Library of Congress

This week’s episode focuses in on those nearest and dearest to Harrison – his family. We take a brief look at his parents, his wife Anna Symmes Harrison, and their many children. We also take a few moments to discuss his most famous grandson who was also known as the 23rd President of the United States. This episode has body snatching, military adventuring, May/December romances, and much more, so don’t miss out! Sources used for this episode can be found at http://whhpodcast.blubrry.com.


008 – Sources Used



Democratic Ticket 1836 - Liberty & Equal Rights
Democratic Ticket 1836 – Liberty & Equal Rights, courtesy of HarpWeek and the Library of Congress
  • Coit, Margaret L. John C Calhoun: American Portrait. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1950.
  • Cole, Donald B. The Presidency of Andrew Jackson. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1993.
  • Curtis, James C. The Fox at Bay: Martin Van Buren and the Presidency, 1837-1841. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1970.
  • Gunderson, Robert Gray. The Log-Cabin Campaign. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977 [1957].
  • Lepler, Jessica. 1837: Anatomy of a Panic. Dissertation, Brandeis University, 2008. UMI Number 3290956.
  • McGuiness, Colleen, ed. American Leaders 1789-1994: A Biographical Summary. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1994.
  • Niven, John. Martin Van Buren: The Romantic Age of American Politics. Newtown, CT: American Political Biography Press, 2012 [1983].
  • Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832. New York: Harper & Row, 1981.
  • Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Democracy, 1833-1845. New York: Harper & Row, 1984.
  • Remini, Robert V. Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union. New York: W W Norton & Co, 1991.

And a special credit and thank you to Amy Buchanan for her rendition of the Martin Van Buren campaign song, accompanied by ukulele and lyrics set to the tune of “Rock-a-Bye Baby.” Your presidentially inclined friend is most grateful for your indulgence! For more recent commentary on this song as well as other campaign songs, feel free to check out these articles from Slate and NBC News. There is also an album available from the Smithsonian with campaign songs from 1789 to 1996 which includes the full version of the Van Buren Rockabye Baby as well as two other 1840 hits – Tippecanoe and Tyler Too and the Harrison Yankee Doodle. While I can’t wait to hear all three of those, I have to admit I’m also very curious about “Get in a Raft with Taft.” Political history never ceases to amaze!


008 – Martin Van Ruin, er Buren



Martin Van Buren, c. 1855-1858, photographed by Mathew Brady
Martin Van Buren, c. 1855-1858, photographed by Mathew Brady

We explore the life and legacy of Martin Van Buren, eighth president of the United States. From his beginnings in Kinderhook, NY to his rise to the highest office in the land and later pursuit to return to the presidency, Van Buren’s is a story that spans the antebellum period and leaves us much to ponder about whether the ends do truly justify the means. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://whhpodcast.blubrry.com.


007 – Sources Used



Daguerrotype of William Henry Harrison, 1841
Daguerrotype of William Henry Harrison, 1841
  • Blair, Francis Preston, and Andrew Jackson. “Andrew Jackson to Francis Preston Blair, April 19, 1841.” 1841. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <https://www.loc.gov/item/maj016715/>. Last Accessed: 5 September 2016.
  • Chitwood, Oliver Perry. John Tyler: Champion of the Old South. Newtown, CT: American Political Biography Press, 2003 [1939].
  • Cleaves, Freeman. Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time. Newtown, CT: American Political Biography Press, 2010 [1939].
  • Cocke, Louisa. “[Diary] 1841 January 1-1841 August 24.” Box 194. Cocke Family Papers, Accession #640, etc., Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, VA.
  • Coleman, Mrs. Chapman. The Life of John J Crittenden, with Selections From His Correspondence and Speeches, Volumes I and II. Philadelphia, PA: J B Lippincott & Co, 1873.
  • Dinnerstein, Leonard. “The Accession of John Tyler to the Presidency.” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 70:4 (Oct 1962): 447-458.
  • Gunderson, Robert Gray. The Log-Cabin Campaign. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977 [1957].
  • Hamilton, J G de Roulhac, ed. The Papers of William Alexander Graham: Volume Two, 1838-1844. Raleigh, NC: State Department of Archives and History, 1959.
  • Holt, Michael F. The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
  • Hone, Philip. The Diary of Philip Hone, 1828-1851, Volume II. Bayard Tuckerman, ed. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co, 1889.
  • Liep, David. “1840 Presidential General Election Results.” Dave Leip’s Atlas of US Presidential Elections. http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1840. Last Accessed: 5 September 2016.
  • Miller, Thomas. “Case of the Late William H. Harrison, President of the United States.” The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. 24:17 (2 June 1841): 261-267.
  • Munroe, John A. Louis McLane: Federalist and Jacksonian. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1973.
  • Remini, Robert V. Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union. New York: W W Norton & Co, 1991.
  • Scott, John W. “18 May 1841, to Mary Neal Scott.” Benjamin Harrison Historical Site. Indianapolis, IN.
  • Seager, Robert, II, ed. The Papers of Henry Clay, Volume 9: The Whig Leader, January 1, 1837-December 31, 1843. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1988.
  • Seale, William. The President’s House: A History, Volume One. Washington, DC: White House Historical Association, 1986.
  • Stevenson, Andrew. “3 May 1841, to Daniel Webster.” Box 43, Andrew Stevenson and J W Stevenson Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
  • Webster, Fletcher, ed. The Writing and Speeches of Daniel Webster, Volume 18: Private Correspondence, Volume 2. Boston: Little, Brown & Co, 1903.

007 – Listener Questions



Results of 1840 US Presidential Election
Results of 1840 US Presidential Election

This week’s episode is devoted to answering questions from listeners. Topics range from Harrison’s health to the historical role of the vice presidency to Harrison’s relationship with Henry Clay to the speed of information in the pre-telegraph age. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://whhpodcast.blubrry.com.