American Elections: Wicked Game

Today, we introduce the podcast Country Over Self: Defining Moments in American History - a short-form history podcast for Americans who want to understand the courageous decisions their Presidents ha...

With Biden out of the race, Trump must now face off against Vice President Kamala Harris. As Harris tries to seize the moment and appeal to the Silent Majority, Trump sticks with his signature brand o...

In the wake of the infamous events of January 6th, former President Donald Trump fights through a sea of legal troubles to secure his party’s nomination. Trump’s improbable rise is jeopardized when Pr...

President Donald Trump faces off with President Obama’s political wingman: Vice President Joe Biden. In a contest defined by partisan rancor, congressional investigations and a global pandemic, Donald...

Donald J. Trump returns to the political arena. First as a longshot candidate and then as an improbable frontrunner, Trump makes his way through a crowded Republican primary field to take on Democrati...

As Barack Obama fends off attacks on everything from his foreign policy to the color of his suits, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney defends his religion and fights his way through a crowded R...

New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton enters the 2008 election as the presumptive favorite to win the Democratic nomination. But Barack Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, crea...

As President George W. Bush navigates the challenges of his first year in office, he is confronted by one of the gravest, most horrific tragedies ever to reach American shores. But Bush’s response to ...

With Bill Clinton’s tenure as president coming to an end, Vice President Al Gore takes up the mantle for the Democrats. Gore tries to distance himself from the Clinton scandals while Republicans look ...

Bill Clinton bounces back from early problems in his presidency and looks to become the first two-term Democratic president since Franklin Roosevelt. To stop him, Republicans turn to Senator Bob Dole ...

President George H.W. Bush tries to shore up his Republican coalition and offer the American people a clear picture of what a second Bush term will look like. Meanwhile, in the South, a young saxophon...

Vice President George H. W. Bush is Ronald Reagan’s heir apparent. But in order to defeat Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, Bush must embrace Reagan’s conservatism, get the best of a respected prima...

With a Republican-controlled Senate and a clear mandate from the American people, Ronald Reagan sets out to show American strength abroad and to reduce the role of “big government” at home. The idea t...

President Jimmy Carter fights to keep the White House in a trial by fire of domestic recession and international turmoil. Carter defends his presidency against the rise of a softer, more approachable ...

When Nixon gets caught up in the biggest presidential scandal in American History, he enlists the help of a man with unimpeachable character: Gerald R. Ford Jr. In the wake of Watergate, Ford becomes ...

In a contest largely defined by the Vietnam War, Republican President Richard Nixon fights to keep the White House out of the hands of Democratic nominee Senator George McGovern. In order to give Nixo...

Against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, President Johnson declares his intention not to run in the 1968 contest, leaving the door open for former Vice President Richard ...

In the aftermath of JFK’s assassination, Lyndon Johnson fights to shed the mantle of accidental president. But as he strives to carry forward Kennedy’s legacy, he faces a barrage of opposition from a ...

Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard Nixon fight for the White House on new technological turf: the rise of television sets the stage for an unprecedented campaign defined by race, religion...

In the run up to the 1956 contest, Ike battles severe health issues, an intensifying Cold War and enemies in the Democratic party. But his greatest struggle during the campaign isn’t with Adlai Steven...

Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower takes on a determined Democratic party united behind the popular Illinois governor, Adlai Stevenson. But in the run up to the 1952 contest, Ike’s biggest cross to bear is not t...

In the wake of World War II, as President Truman fights to establish a new peace, Republican Governor Thomas Dewey gears up for a second run at the White House. As Truman strives to fulfill Franklin D...

As World War II rages on, FDR is in the political fight of his life against a young political newcomer, Republican Thomas Dewey. Riding the wave of Republican gains in the 1942 midterms, the youthful,...

Against the backdrop of World War II, FDR’s position of neutrality is threatened as he seeks to become the first president to serve three terms in office. To win the White House in the 1940 contest, F...

As FDR pushes his progressive agenda, Republicans turn to a progressive candidate of their own: Kansas Governor Al Landon. Landon and the Republicans fight to make the election a referendum on fiscal ...

As President Hoover and the Republicans scramble to rescue the country from the Great Depression, Democratic nominee Franklin Delano Roosevelt strives to take the country in a bold new direction on th...

In the wake of an unprecedented natural disaster, Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover lives up to his reputation as a Master of Emergencies and solidifies his status as the presumptive Republican nomine...

After the death of Warren G Harding, Vice President Calvin Coolidge inherits a booming economy, but he also inherits one of the biggest political scandals in American history. To win his party’s nomin...

In the aftermath of a bloody world war and a catastrophic global pandemic, the Democrats shun President Woodrow Wilson and dash his hopes to be the first American president to serve three terms. While...

As war brews overseas in Europe, Democratic President Woodrow Wilson strives to keep America out of the war and to keep his prospects for a second term alive. To keep the White House, Wilson goes toe ...

Teddy Roosevelt comes out of retirement and returns to the political fold to unseat his longtime political friend and ally, President William Howard Taft. As both parties struggle to hold their progre...

Teddy Roosevelt’s hand-picked successor, Republican William Howard Taft, faces off against Democrat William Jennings Bryan. In his third and final presidential campaign, Bryan preaches the gospel of p...

In the aftermath of President McKinley’s assassination at the hands of an anarchist, Vice President Teddy Roosevelt, a man known for his physical and mental strength, rises to power and to the occasio...

In a tumultuous period defined by change, innovation, expansion and war, the stage is set for a rematch between incumbent Republican William McKinley and Democrat William Jennings Bryan. After McKinle...

In the wake of the greatest economic depression in the country’s history so far, the Democrats battle it out over the future of monetary policy. In the midst of the debate, former Nebraska congressman...

Benjamin Harrison, the Centennial President, survives a deadly strike, an international conflict, and the massacre at Wounded Knee. On the campaign trail, Harrison fights to overcome these obstacles a...

Social unrest rocks the nation as labor riots, economic anxiety and widespread racial violence threaten Grover Cleveland’s chances for a second term. In the midst of the turmoil, President Cleveland f...

In an era known for corruption in politics, two presidential candidates strive for honesty and transparency: Republican James Blaine and Democrat Grover Cleveland. But as Cleveland and Blaine each adv...

After Rutherford B Hayes steps aside, James Garfield rises to become the Republican nominee. To win the White House, Garfield fights to unite his party at the Republican Convention and get the best of...

Fed up with the scandals of the Grant Administration, Republicans find a new leader in Rutherford B Hayes. To keep the White House Republican, Hayes will have to get the best of a do-gooder Democrat f...

As President Grant seeks to protect the rights of the Freedmen, the forces of opposition inside the Democratic party zero in on his administration. In the run up to the 1872 election Grant battles his...

The death of Abraham Lincoln sets the stage for one of the greatest political showdowns in American history. On one side stands President Andrew Johnson, a notorious drunk and bigot who was sympatheti...

While President Lincoln battles the Confederacy down South, he fights to keep the White House from the clutches of the Democratic Party. In the midst of the Civil War, Lincoln faces off against a disg...

With the nation on the brink of disunion, two Illinois politicians battle it out for the soul of the country: Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln and Democrat candidate Stephen Douglass. Lincoln’s de...

The issue of slavery takes a bloody turn as sectional tensions turn violent in the West. “Bloody Kansas” deprives President Pierce of his party’s nomination and leaves the door open for Democrat Candi...

In the wake of President Zachary Taylor’s sudden death, Millard Fillmore signs into law the Compromise of 1850, the so called “final settlement” on the issue of slavery. But the Compromise has uninten...

In the wake of the Mexican-American war, the US gains two new territories: California and New Mexico. The victory over Mexico once again puts slavery at the center of the national political dialogue a...

After President Harrison passes away just one month into his term, Vice President John Tyler becomes the first accidental president in US History. While Tyler fights for the legitimacy of his presiden...

The Whigs seek to deny President Martin Van Buren a second term by taking a page out of the Republican playbook, and run a war hero candidate of their own: General William Henry Harrison; the hero of ...

As Jackson’s Vice President Martin Van Buren struggles to secure his place as Jackson’s Heir Apparent, the newly formed Whig party struggles to form a national identity. The Whigs unite against Van Bu...