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presidential history

Trump indictment #3 is coming soon. How are people (including a few evangelicals) responding?

John Fea   |  July 18, 2023

This time the indictment is for January 6th. (Still waiting on Georgia). CNN has some good coverage. The indictment is probably coming, perhaps in days. It looks like Trump is going to spend most of 2024 in court. Here is […]

What is Bidenomics?

John Fea   |  June 30, 2023

E.J. Dionne explains: President Biden might not seem like a revolutionary, but he is presiding over a fundamental change in the nation’s approach to economics. Not only is he proposing a major break from the “trickle-down” policies of Ronald Reagan, […]

Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley suggests that Trump could die in prison

John Fea   |  June 16, 2023

Some you may remember Jonathan Turley as the George Washington University law professor who testified at Donald Trump first impeachment hearing in 2019. At that time he asked: “Will a slipshod impeachment make us less made or will it only […]

Trump is indicted. Historians weigh-in.

John Fea   |  June 9, 2023

Here is CNN: “The former president faces his first federal indictment for retention of classified documents and conspiracy with a top aide to hide them from the government and his own attorneys — a total of 37 counts.” Read an […]

Trump: “Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this!”

John Fea   |  June 9, 2023

Last night we learned that the Department of Justice will indict Donald Trump on Tuesday. At this point the DOJ has not released the indictment. This morning CNN is reporting that Trump admitted on tape that he didn’t declassify “secret […]

Trump indicted on seven counts in the Mar-a-Lago documents case

John Fea   |  June 8, 2023

No word yet from the Department of Justice, but Trump just wrote this on his “Truth Social” platform: No United States president has faced a federal indictment. Here is CNN: Former President Donald Trump has been indicted in the special counsel’s classified […]

President of South Korea sings “American Pie”

John Fea   |  April 27, 2023

Here is South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol performing the Don McClean classic last night in the White House:

The Avett Brothers’ bass player has started a podcast on John Quincy Adams

John Fea   |  April 14, 2023

Longtime listeners of the The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast will remember our interview with Bob Crawford, the bass player of the folk-rock band the Avett Brothers. Listen here. I have long appreciated Bob’s support for our work at […]

Democrats heading to Chicago in 2024

John Fea   |  April 11, 2023

The Democratic Party will return to Chicago in 2024. It will be held from August 19-22. You can get the details from any news website, but we thought we would call your attention to previous Chicago conventions. This will be […]

What we need to know about Donald Trump’s indictment

John Fea   |  March 30, 2023

Donald Trump becomes the first former president of the United States to face criminal charges. Fingerprints and a mugshot are coming next week. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney of Politico answer our questions. Here is a taste: While the precise […]

Joe Biden will deliver Jimmy Carter’s eulogy

John Fea   |  March 15, 2023

Here is Summer Concepcion at NBC News: President Joe Biden on Monday revealed that former President Jimmy Carter, who entered hospice care at home last month after a series of hospital stays, asked him to deliver his eulogy. During a fundraiser in […]

“His rotundity” versus a supposed atheist and anarchist

John Fea   |  March 7, 2023

Over at his Substack, historian William Hogeland is telling “lurid tales” of American elections. He begins his series with the presidential election of 1796. Here is a taste of his post: Jefferson supporters, labeling Adams “His Rotundity,” claimed that the […]

Jimmy Carter: Evangelical politician

John Fea   |  February 28, 2023

Here is Lori Amber Roessner at The Conversation: Carter continued to share his understanding of the gospel with journalists and their audiences in a plain-spoken manner, even though it was not always advantageous to his political fortunes. For instance, after […]

Jimmy Carter: “Niebuhrian Southern Baptist”

John Fea   |  February 22, 2023

As Carter moves into hospice care, biographer Kai Bird reflects on his presidency. Here is a taste of his New York Times piece, “Jimmy Carter’s Presidency Was Not What You Think“: Mr. Carter remains the most misunderstood president of the […]

There were three major investigations of Donald Trump’s presidency. What if we took them as a whole?

John Fea   |  February 10, 2023

There are three published investigations of Donald Trump and his presidency: The Mueller Report, the House Intelligence Committee Report on Trump and Ukraine, and the January 6th Report. Future historians will bring these reports into conversation with one another. Carlo […]

“We’re just getting started….Let’s finish the job”

John Fea   |  February 8, 2023

Joe Biden gave a strong speech last night. The Republicans heckled, but Biden did not back down. He actually seemed to enjoy engaging the hecklers and I think the back-and-forth worked to Biden’s favor. Who could disagree with these issues? […]

What to expect in the new JFK files

John Fea   |  December 15, 2022

New files will release today. Here is Philip Shenon, the author of a book on the JFK assassination, at Politico: For this nation’s army of conspiracy theorists, few long-secret government documents have whipped up so much suspicion in the 59 […]

Did George Washington fear he would be buried alive?

John Fea   |  December 14, 2022

I saw this tweet today from presidential historian Michael Beschloss: So I looked it up. Here is a taste of the entry on Washington’s death from the Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington, published by The Fred W. Smith National Library […]

Ex-presidents who ran again

John Fea   |  November 15, 2022

After tonight, Donald Trump will be the fifth former president on this list. As Joshua Zeitz reminds us at Politico, only four former presidents ran again after they were voted out of office. They are Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, […]

The Nixon Library has released another recording in which Billy Graham and Richard Nixon discuss Jews and the “Synagogue of Satan”

John Fea   |  October 27, 2022

Back in September we called your attention to a 1972 conversation between Billy Graham and Richard Nixon that was, according to researcher Mike Hertenstein, “quietly posted on the Nixon Library website.” The conversation reveals Graham talking about Jews as part […]

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