A Presidency is defined by the decisions that a person makes while serving as Executive, but a Presidential legacy is about much more than that. In Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture, (UVA Press, 2023)Lindsay Chervinsky and Matthew Costello have brought together a collection of chapters that explore the ways that mourning ceremonies, causes of death, and moments of passing impact the way that we remember a President at the time they die, and how new research and a more inclusive understanding of US history have reshaped Presidential legacies in the years that follow. In this episode, Lindsay joins Ben and Bob for a conversation about some of the fascinating stories crafted by the book’s contributing authors and how Presidential legacies might tell us more about ourselves than the individuals who have served in the Oval Office.

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky is a historian of the American Presidency who is currently a fellow at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. Her first book, The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution (Belknap Press, 2020) won multiple awards and was the topic of our conversation for her first appearance on The Road to Now in episode 184. You can learn more about Lindsay and her work at her website: LindsayChervinsky.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll probably also like our conversation with Jeffrey Engle on the history of Presidential impeachment (RTN episode 109).

This episode originally aired as episode 263 on February 20, 2023. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.

The war between the US Army and the Native American confederation during the war of 1812 is a buried story in an often-overlooked event, yet its impact on the history of North America is profound. The leading figures on both sides of the war, Shawnee Chief Tecumseh and US Army General William Henry Harrison, had come of age in the struggles over what is today called the Midwest United States, and both understood that losing the war would mean losing the future they imagined for their people. In this episode, Ben & Bob do a deep dive on the story behind that war with Peter Stark, author of the incredibly accessible book, Gallop Toward The Sun: Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison’s Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation (Random House, 2023).

Peter Stark is an adventure and exploration writer and historian who was previously a correspondent for Outsidemagazine. His previous book, Young Washington: How Wilderness and War Forged America’s Founding Father, was named a finalist for the George Washington Book Prize in 2019. You can follow him on Instagram at @peterstark_adventure_historian.

This is a rebroadcast of episode #383, which originally aired on August 28, 2023. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.

The affordable housing shortage in many American cities is making urban life more difficult for all of us. But the problem of housing is not a new one, and history has some valuable lessons for those looking for solutions. In this episode, historian Tom Hanchett joins us to talk about his new book, Affordable Housing in Charlotte: What One City’s History Tells Us About America’s Pressing Problem and the truths, myths, and ironies of government subsidized housing in the United States.

If you enjoy this episode, check out Tom’s previous appearances on our show in episode 159 and episode 4.

This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.