TALES FROM THE OVAL OFFICE:

The Men Behind the Myths

 

Americans have elected 44 men to serve in the nation's highest office. They range from:

•  The almost mythic George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to the virtually unknown Millard Fillmore, and Rutherford B. Hayes, F;

•  The scholarly Woodrow Wilson to the barely literate Andrew Johnson;

•  The ebullient Theodore Roosevelt to the taciturn Calvin Coolidge, and

•  The pious John Adams to the libidinous William Jefferson Clinton.

Taken as a group, the American Presidents have little in common – save the office in which they served.

These standalone lectures examine the men of the Oval Office – their lives and accomplishments, their peculiarities and peccadilloes. We will come to know the times in which they lived and the events that were often missing from the headlines.

 

Lectures (six):

  1. Jefferson and Adams: America's Most Famous Pen Pals: The nation's second and third Presidents. Two men who, despite mutual antipathy, ultimately formed a bond of breathtaking proportions.

  2. Jackson and Van Buren: The Frontiersman and the Dandy: Diametric opposites, Andy Jackson (the “frontiersman”) was actually an aristocrat, while Martin Van Buren (the “dandy”) was really the son of a saloon-keeper.

  3. Harrison, Polk and Taylor: Tippecanoe, Dark Horse and “Old Rough ‘n Ready:” Three Presidents who, despite compelling biographies, are now almost virtually unknown.

  4. Johnson and Grant: Lincoln's Sorry Successors: One was impeached, the other almost brought down by sensational scandal.

  5. Harding, Coolidge and Hoover: Snoozing in the Roaring Twenties: Arguably America's three weakest Presidents, the three oversaw a rowdy, often tempestuous decade.

  6. Truman, Johnson and Reagan: The Captain, the Texan and the Actor: Three amazingly successful Presidents – depending on who you talk to . . .