Pardon Me?! A Presidential History Podcast

James Buchanan: The Queer One

S2E17 - Oh, how we wish the queerest president wasn’t one of our nation’s worst! So gay, so terrible, y’all. Trent and Marissa talk out Buchanan’s long-term relationship with Rufus King, the many scandals of his administration, and his chronic inaction in the lead up to the Civil War. Plus, gallons of oysters, Russian czarinas, slippery leather pumps, and a D.C. love shack! This is the end of Season Two, but we’ll be back in the spring with Lincoln and his (allegedly) beautiful thighs!  Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com [pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com] to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!   Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa Macy Original music by Noise of Approval [https://noiseofapproval.bandcamp.com/] Graphic design by Darcey Mckinney   Sources The Worst President – The Story of James Buchanan by Gary Boulard [https://www.amazon.com/Worst-President-Story-James-Buchanan/dp/1491759615] Bosom Friends: The Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King by Thomas J. Balcerski [https://bookshop.org/p/books/bosom-friends-the-intimate-world-of-james-buchanan-and-william-rufus-king-thomas-j-balcerski/18251167] https://open.spotify.com/episode/3xLd0ePyZ4m0SF2Kw6Nmym?si=ea13bea683c9451f [https://open.spotify.com/episode/3xLd0ePyZ4m0SF2Kw6Nmym?si=ea13bea683c9451f] https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/james-buchanan-why-is-he-considered-americas-worst-president#:~:text=Buchanan%20supported%20the%20theory%20that,wedge%20into%20the%20Democratic%20Party [https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/james-buchanan-why-is-he-considered-americas-worst-president#:~:text=Buchanan%20supported%20the%20theory%20that,wedge%20into%20the%20Democratic%20Party]. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/president-james-buchanan-directly-influenced-outcome-dred-scott-decision-180962329/ [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/president-james-buchanan-directly-influenced-outcome-dred-scott-decision-180962329/] https://www.battlefields.org/learn/topics/john-browns-harpers-ferry-raid [https://www.battlefields.org/learn/topics/john-browns-harpers-ferry-raid]

FLASHCARD: Bleeding Kansas

S2E16 - Tune in as Trent and Marissa break down the infamous Kansas-Nebraska Act and its bloody consequences.  Signed into law by hot loser Franklin Pierce in 1854, it allowed the people themselves to decide whether or not to allow slavery in the territories. What could possibly go wrong? Well, just voter fraud, the beating of a congressman, broadswords, fleeing governors, killing sprees, the death of a political party, the birth of a political party… and the inevitability of civil war.  Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com [pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com] to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!   Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa Macy Original music by Noise of Approval [https://noiseofapproval.bandcamp.com/] Graphic design by Darcey Mckinney   Sources Franklin Pierce by Michael F. Holt [https://bookshop.org/p/books/franklin-pierce-the-american-presidents-series-the-14th-president-1853-1857-michael-f-holt/11060281?ean=9780805087192&gclid=Cj0KCQjwy4KqBhD0ARIsAEbCt6gWbLHJpj-G31-8ypJtFcsXoT4JHSnSP6k7zeKFBwtX7oj3pxERHrIaAgcJEALw_wcB] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-law-that-ripped-america-in-two-99723670/ [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-law-that-ripped-america-in-two-99723670/] https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/kansas-nebraska-act [https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/kansas-nebraska-act] https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/caning-charles-sumner [https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/caning-charles-sumner] https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/bleeding-kansas [https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/bleeding-kansas]

Franklin Pierce: Tragically Hot

S2E15 - Known for being one of our hottest presidents but also one of the worst, the story of Franklin Pierce is full of tragedies, horse accidents, drinking, bad timing, and fainting. President during a time of deepening political divides, Pierce made all the wrong choices and hung out with all the wrong people. Trent and Marissa talk through it all, including the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Gadsden Purchase, why Nathaniel Hawthorne sucks, and more!    Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com [pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com] to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)! Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa Macy Original music by Noise of Approval [https://noiseofapproval.bandcamp.com/] Graphic design by Darcey Mckinney   Sources  Franklin Pierce by Michael F. Holt [https://bookshop.org/p/books/franklin-pierce-the-american-presidents-series-the-14th-president-1853-1857-michael-f-holt/11060281?ean=9780805087192&gclid=Cj0KCQjwy4KqBhD0ARIsAEbCt6gWbLHJpj-G31-8ypJtFcsXoT4JHSnSP6k7zeKFBwtX7oj3pxERHrIaAgcJEALw_wcB] https://millercenter.org/president/pierce/essays/king-1853-vicepresident#:~:text=In%20March%201853%2C%20King%20became,reaching%20his%20home%20in%20Alabama [https://millercenter.org/president/pierce/essays/king-1853-vicepresident#:~:text=In%20March%201853%2C%20King%20became,reaching%20his%20home%20in%20Alabama]. https://open.spotify.com/episode/36KKuLl9HvQkT1zhcbUOV1?si=d03545ccaced4933 [https://open.spotify.com/episode/36KKuLl9HvQkT1zhcbUOV1?si=d03545ccaced4933] https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=eXjhS8pjy6RXMIHH&v=2X6-eGSd0LA&feature=youtu.be [https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=eXjhS8pjy6RXMIHH&v=2X6-eGSd0LA&feature=youtu.be]

FLASHCARD: The Know Nothing Party

S2E14 - As the Whig Party dies and the Republican Party begins forming, a party based on bigotry and xenophobia surges in popularity. Trent and Marissa track the secret societies that end up creating the Know Nothing Party, profile its major players, and analyze the impact the party had on American History. Plus, a best-selling book that turns out to be a hoax, Martin Scorcese’s Gangs of New York, trains taking jobs, voter fraud, and more!  Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com [pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com] to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)! Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa Macy Original music by Noise of Approval [https://noiseofapproval.bandcamp.com/] Graphic design by Darcey Mckinney   Sources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA5i4AQ7lB8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA5i4AQ7lB8] https://www.jstor.org/stable/25012185?typeAccessWorkflow=login&seq=6 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25012185?typeAccessWorkflow=login&seq=6] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/immigrants-conspiracies-and-secret-society-launched-american-nativism-180961915/ [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/immigrants-conspiracies-and-secret-society-launched-american-nativism-180961915/]

Millard Fillmore: Silly Name, Serious Bigot

S2E13 - A political nobody, Fillmore rose to the presidency when Zachary Taylor died in office, and then promptly screwed everything up! Listen in as Trent and Marissa talk sh*t about this guy’s Nativist views, his whiny baby behavior, and his idiotic choices as president. This episode also features an explanation of the Compromise of 1850, appearances from Queen Victoria and the Pope, plus a scandalous spilling of the Masons’ secrets!!!   Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com [pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com] to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!   Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa Macy Original music by Noise of Approval [https://noiseofapproval.bandcamp.com/] Graphic design by Darcey McKinney   Sources  Millard Fillmore by Paul Finkelman [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780805087154/millardfillmore] https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-families/abigail-powers-fillmore/ [https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-families/abigail-powers-fillmore/] https://millercenter.org/president/fillmore [https://millercenter.org/president/fillmore]