What makes a bad President? Who was the worst of all time? Don is joined by Professor Jeremi Suri, author of The Impossible Presidency and co-host of This Is Democracy.

Next week we'll be looking at who is the best President ever!

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

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'A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.'

The Second Amendment, included in the Bill of Rights, was ratified in 1791. It went largely unquestioned until the mid 20th century but is now one of the most contentious questions in US politics.

So what did the writers of the Second Amendment set out to protect? How has it been interpreted? And why has it become so controversial so many years later?

Jill Lepore joins Don once again for this episode. Jill is a staff writer for the New Yorker, David Woods Kemper '41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and author of multiple books. The most recent is 'We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution'.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Tim Arstall. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

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In the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s election, Southern leaders made a fateful choice: to break from the Union. Yet instead of plunging the country into war, what followed next was a tense standoff. There were, as we'll learn today, twists and turns on the path from Secession to all out Civil War.

Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.