Monthly Archives: January 2017

027 – Source Notes



John C Calhoun by George Peter Alexander Healy [c. 1845], courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery
  • Booraem, Hendrik, V. A Child of the Revolution: William Henry Harrison and His World, 1773-1798. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2012.
  • Burr, Samuel Jones. The Life and Times of William Henry Harrison. Philadelphia: L W Ransom, 1840.
  • Cleaves, Freeman. Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time. Newtown, CT: American Political Biography Press, 2010 [1939].
  • Coit, Margaret L. John C Calhoun: American Portrait. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1950.
  • Cox, Isaac Joslin, ed. “Selections from the Torrence Papers, IV.” Quarterly Publication of the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio. vol. 3, no. 3, 1908, pp. 69-102.
  • Dangerfield, George. The Era of Good Feelings. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co, 1952.
  • Goebel, Dorothy Burne. William Henry Harrison: A Political Biography. Philadelphia, PA: Porcupine, 1974.
  • Green, James A. William Henry Harrison: His Life and Times. Richmond, VA: Garrett and Massie, 1941.
  • Harrison, William Henry. “31 Aug 1822, to Benjamin Harrison VII.” Benjamin Harrison Historical Site.
  • Harrison, William Henry. “21 Feb 1833, to Gen. Thomas Sidney Jesup.” War of 1812 mss. Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/view?docId=InU-Li-VAC1213&doc.view=print
  • Jeffrey, Thomas E. State Parties and National Politics: North Carolina, 1815-1861. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1989.
  • Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832. New York: Harper & Row, 1981.
  • Seager, Robert, II, ed. The Papers of Henry Clay, Volume 8: Candidate, Compromiser, Whig, March 5, 1829-December 31, 1836. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 1984.
  • Shafer, Ronald G. The Carnival Campaign: How the Rollicking 1840 Campaign of “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” Changed Presidential Elections Forever. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2016.
  • Todd, Charles S., Drake, Benjamin, and Perkins, James H. Sketches of the Civil and Military Services of William Henry Harrison. Cincinnati, OH: J A & U P James, 1847.
  • White, Leonard D. The Jacksonians: A Study in Administrative History, 1829-1861. New York: Macmillan Co, 1954.
  • Wilson, Clyde N, ed. The Papers of John C Calhoun, Volume XI, 1829-1832. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1978.

027 – Years of Struggle



A View of Cincinnati in 1841 by Klauprech & Menzel, courtesy of Wikipedia

Upon his return to the United States, Harrison found himself beset by both personal and political issues. Through the course of Jackson’s terms in the White House, Harrison would face the death of loved ones and financial strains while at the same time continuing to make a name for himself in the public eye in spite of the efforts of rivals. He would also attempt to straddle both sides of the issue in the growing national debate over slavery. Through the many twists and turns of the 1830s, he would find the path ahead increasingly looking like it might lead to a White House in Washington. Source information for this episode can be found at http://whhpodcast.blubrry.com.


026 – Source Notes



Símon Bolívar leading troops at the Battle of Junín by Martín Tovar y Tovar and courtesy of Wikipedia

The full text of the letter of 27 September 1829 from Harrison to Símon Bolívar can be found on Google Books in Samuel Jones Burr’s The Life and Times of William Henry Harrison starting on page 282.

The sources used for this episode are as follows:

  • Arana, Marie. Bolivar: The Epic Life of the Man Who Liberated South America. London: Phoenix, 2014 [2013].
  • Bemis, Samuel Flagg. John Quincy Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1956.
  • Brands, H W. Reagan: The Life. New York: Doubleday, 2015.
  • Burr, Samuel Jones. The Life and Times of William Henry Harrison. Philadelphia: L W Ransom, 1840.
  • Elliott, J H. Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492-1830. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 2007 [2006].
  • Hall, James. A Memoir of the Public Services of William Henry Harrison of Ohio. Philadelphia, PA: Edward C Biddle, 1836.
  • Niven, John. Martin Van Buren: The Romantic Age of American Politics. Newtown, CT: American Political Biography Press, 2012 [1983].
  • White, Leonard D. The Jeffersonians: A Study in Administrative History, 1801-1829. New York: Macmillan Co, 1956.

026 – The Case of Harrison v Despotism



Símon Bolívar, c. 1830, by José María Espinosa, courtesy of Wikipedia

We take a close look in this episode at Harrison’s letter to Símon Bolívar of 27 September 1829, completed just prior to Harrison’s return to the United States, in order to understand what it reveals about Harrison’s observations on Colombia and its government as well as about Harrison and what he took from this foray into international diplomacy. I also consider what implications this letter has for Harrison at this point in his life and what we might glean from it about his plans upon his return to North Bend. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://whhpodcast.blubrry.com.


025 – Source Notes



A map of Gran Colombia in 1824 by Agustín Codazzi, Manuel Maria Paz, and Felipe Pérez, courtesy of Wikipedia
  • Arana, Marie. Bolivar: The Epic Life of the Man Who Liberated South America. London: Phoenix, 2014 [2013].
  • Bemis, Samuel Flagg. John Quincy Adams and the Union. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1956.
  • Cleaves, Freeman. Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time. Newtown, CT: American Political Biography Press, 2010 [1939].
  • Elliott, J H. Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492-1830. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 2007 [2006].
  • Esdaile, Charles. Napoleon’s Wars: An International History. New York: Penguin, 2009 [2007].
  • Green, James A. William Henry Harrison: His Life and Times. Richmond, VA: Garrett and Massie, 1941.
  • Hall, James. A Memoir of the Public Services of William Henry Harrison of Ohio. Philadelphia, PA: Edward C Biddle, 1836.
  • Niven, John. Martin Van Buren: The Romantic Age of American Politics. Newtown, CT: American Political Biography Press, 2012 [1983].
  • Seager, Robert II, ed. The Papers of Henry Clay, Volume 7: Secretary of State, January 1, 1828-March 4, 1829. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 1982.

As mentioned in the episode, Mike Duncan’s Revolutions podcast can be found at http://www.revolutionspodcast.com/.


025 – The Colombian Mission



The Cathedral of Bogotá in Bolívar Square, 2004 by Kenori, courtesy of Wikipedia

Harrison is sent off on a diplomatic mission to Colombia but quickly learns that navigating international politics can sometimes be problematic, particularly in the wake of both the turbulence of the Latin American wars of independence and the Jackson revolution back in the States. Join the General and myself on a journey of nearly 2,500 miles from North Bend to Bogotá, the capital of Simón Bolívar’s Gran Colombia. Sources for this episode can be found at http://whhpodcast.blubrry.com.


024 – Source Notes



White House State Dining Room during Pierce administration, courtesy of Wikimedia

For some images and more information on the New Year’s Day Reception, the White House Historical Association has a page on its website devoted to the event.

  • Bemis, Samuel Flagg. John Quincy Adams and the Union. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1956.
  • Bernstein, R B. Thomas Jefferson: The Revolution of Ideas. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
  • Boller, Paul F, Jr. Presidential Anecdotes. New York: Penguin, 1982 [1981].
  • Brady, Patricia. Martha Washington: An American Life. New York: Penguin, 2006 [2005].
  • Ketcham, Ralph. James Madison: A Biography. Charlottesville, VA and London: University Press of Virginia, 1994 [1971].
  • Malone, Dumas. Jefferson the President, First Term, 1801-1805: Jefferson and His Time, Volume Four. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co, 1970.
  • McCullough, David. John Adams. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
  • Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832. New York: Harper & Row, 1981.
  • Restad, Penne L. Christmas in America: A History. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996 [1995].
  • Seale, William. The President’s House: A History, Volume One. Washington, DC: White House Historical Association, 1986.
  • Seale, William. The President’s House: A History, Volume Two. Washington, DC: White House Historical Association, 1986.
  • Unger, Harlow Giles. The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness. Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press, 2009.
  • Wallner, Peter A. Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire’s Favorite Son. Concord, NH: Plaidswede Publishing, 2004.

The version of Auld Lang Syne utilized for the intro music for this episode was performed by the US Navy Band, and the full version can be found at Wikipedia.

 


024 – The New Year’s Levee



The White House, c. 1846, by John Plumbe Jr, courtesy of the Library of Congress

As the world rings in a new year, in this week’s episode we look back on early American traditions for New Year’s with a focus on a New Year’s tradition in days gone by: the Presidential New Year’s Day Reception. From the very beginning to the last one in the 20th century, we look at how different presidents both before and after Harrison approached the event and what it meant for a nation working to develop its own identity after independence. For source notes and additional information, please visit http://whhpodcast.blubrry.com