Louisiana Purchase, The
Historian Peter Onuf explains that Thomas Jefferson's interest in the Louisiana territory was not driven by a desire to double the size of the United States. Knowing that France had an interest in New Orleans, Jefferson was concerned that the new we...
Election of 1796, The
Historian Peter Onuf provides fascinating insights into Thomas Jefferson, whose uncanny political instincts enabled him to not only weather the election of John Adams in 1796, but plan his own campaign for the presidency that would lead to his elect...
National Conventions and Presidential Elections
Former Secretary of State James A. Baker talks about some of the changes that have occurred since he served as the campaign manager of the Ford campaign in 1976. He points out that the Reagan challenge to Gerald Ford that year was the last closely c...
Politics of Extremism, The
Former White House press secretary Mike McCurry talks about the tendency to be, "...provocative, or angry, or loud, or shrill..." as perhaps the only way to cut through the enormous amount of information that is cluttering the political landscape at...
Election of Thomas Jefferson, The
Historian Peter Onuf explains that the primary difference between the Jefferson presidency and that of John Adams was that Jefferson emphasized state's rights over a strong centralized government, and also paid down the national debt by more than fi...
Adams Presidency, The
Historian Peter Onuf talks about the high points as well as the shortcomings of the John Adams presidency. On the downside, President Adams had to contend with an extremely disloyal Cabinet, consisting largely of holdovers from the second Washington...
Changing Election Traditions
Former Secretary of State James A. Baker argues against federalizing presidential elections. "Article Two of our Constitution says the state legislatures of each state will determine how presidential electors are selected," Secretary Baker points ou...
Ballot Changes
Former Secretary of State James A. Baker talks about how the voting process could be improved at polling places. "We should get rid of punch card ballots. Go optical scan ballots or even manually marked ballots, which are more accurate," Secretary B...
2000 Presidential Election, The
Former Secretary of State James A. Baker talks about the 2000 presidential election, and the impact the state of Florida had on that election. He reveals that a number of foreign ministers he once worked with as Secretary of State asked him what was...