Would you live out of your office–and sleep under your desk like George Costanza–for nearly three months to keep your job? In this Dispatch, Dr. Deaton discusses the conflict between President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and the role he played in our nation’s first impeachment in 1868.
Category Archives: Politics
Podcast S4E5: To the Best of My Ability: Presidential Inaugurations, from Washington to Biden
Stan looks at the history of this quadrennial event that goes back 232 years, from the Bible Washington used to the only inauguration held on an airplane, the only president sworn in by a woman, two inaugurals almost cancelled by cold weather, and why there have been 9 “non-scheduled extraordinary” inaugurations.
Podcast S4E4: Georgia Politics, Past and Future: An Interview with Keith Mason
This week’s guest is Keith Mason, a Gwinnett County native who served as Governor Zell Miller’s Chief of Staff and in President Bill Clinton’s administration. He was instrumental in the passage of the Georgia Lottery and the Hope Scholarship. Keith discusses political figures past and future, including Zell Miller, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, James Carville, Paul Begala, Roy Barnes, Stacey Abrams, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and more.
Nixon v. Kennedy, 1960: The Closest Presidential Election in the 20th Century
In this Dispatch, Dr. Deaton takes a look at another hotly contested election in America’s history that included charges of voter fraud and threats of recounts and legal challenges: the presidential election of 1960 between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy.
Dispatches From Off the Deaton Path: The Presidential Election of 1876: A Second Civil War?
We all remember the contested presidential election of 2000, but the greatest Constitutional crisis we ever faced was the disputed election of 1876, decided four months after the election and just two days before the inauguration.