American Presidents | Marathons | PragerU

everybody knows what happened on July 4th 1776 America was born but 3 days earlier on July 1st Independence hung in the balance there was a great case to be made not to seced from Great Britain the colonists had no Army no Navy and almost no money England had a lot of all three it would have made perfect sense to bend to the will of the crown pay some extra taxes and call it a day there were plenty of people in Philadelphia prepared to make that case they could have easily prevailed yet they didn't they didn't because of the words of one man John Adams at a key moment in the Congressional debate when the forces against Independence appeared to have the upper hand Adams Rose to his feet without notes and without any preparation he made the case for Independence by the time he sat down the case had been won we don't have a transcript of what he said if we did Adams might rank even higher than he does now among the founding fathers Thomas Jefferson said years later that the speech was so powerful in thought and expression that it moved us from our seats Adams was Jefferson said our Colossus on the floor if Washington was the sword of the American Revolution and Jefferson the pen then Adams was its engine brilliant demanding meticulous but often erasable he was not an easy man to love at some point in his life he irritated if not alienated everyone with whom he worked yet these same people would invariably come to appreciate him that included Washington and especially Jefferson with whom he sometimes fought bitterly ironically for all cantankerousness his marriage to Abigail Adams stands as one of the great love stories of American History their correspondence spanning five decades is a vibrant living history of the nation's early years Abigail frankly described her husband as short thick and fat but what he lacked in good looks and physical stature he made up in intellect personal integrity and Clarity of thought born in 1735 near Boston Adams relentlessly pushed himself to rise early work hard and live a moral life he strove in the language of the day for a life of virtue over Vice he first came to public attention in 1765 when he issued a stirring rebuke of the muchh hated Stamp Act for the next 18 years he fought unceasingly against British tyranny and for American Liberty dedicating his life his fortune and his sacred honor to the struggle these were not idle words in his 40s by the time of the Revolution he didn't fight in the war instead he crossed the Atlantic four times on diplomatic missions braving winter storms diseases such as pneumonia and dissenter and British warships capture would have meant summary execution in Europe as befit his character he was all business he helped Benjamin Franklin bring the French into the war on the American side and he arranged critical loans from Dutch Banks When The War ended it was Adams along with Franklin and John J Who negotiated the treaty in which England officially recognized the new United States for all these efforts Adams was paid virtually nothing but Fortune was never his aim creating a new better Freer country than the world had ever known was all that he cared about as one delegate to the Continental Congress said the man to whom the country is most indebted for the great measure of Independence is Mr John Adams following the war Adams served two terms as vice president under George Washington and then one term as the second President of the United States taking over for Washington was a thankless task everyone deferred to the great General to put it mildly Adams was not granted the same courtesy still the new president was able to distinguish his time in high office with two significant achievements one marked by something he did do the other by something he did not do what he did was convince the Congress to build a Navy given the strong opposition to any kind of standing military this was no mean feat but Adams was adamant that the United States could not become a great nation without a great Navy he pushed through the legislation that made it possible what he did not do was get the country involved in the war in Europe France insisted that America join it in its fight against England France had come to America's Aid during the fight for independence the French argued here was America's chance to repay the debt Adams firmly declined the infant nation was in no position to wage war for or against anyone as the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approached a 91-year-old Adams was asked to provide a toast for the upcoming celebration he offered two words Independence forever it turned out to be his last public utterance how fitting I'm Brad Thompson professor of political science at Clemson University and author of America's Revolutionary mind for Prager University do more that's what Americans demand of their presidents these days a real president democrat or republican knows how to use the office a real president makes things happen or so the conventional wisdom but actually there is another model a president can succeed through inaction by doing as little as possible one such president was Calvin kulage from the time he took office in 1923 to the time he left in 1929 kulage served a philosophy that was simple and Powerful don't do coolage was our great refrain the leadership style matched his personal style kulage did not waste words hence his nickname silent Cal he did not grandstand for these quiet ways the 30th President absorbed much abuse a Washington socialite Alice Longworth said that kulage looked like he had been weaned on a pickle kulage caught a sharp contrast to Alice's father Theodore Roosevelt who had served a decade and a half earlier and what a contrast coage provided with another Roosevelt Franklin who came just a few years later the refrain is worth getting to know because he got the kind of results men of action long for today especially economic results low unemployment often well below 5% low taxes higher wages fewer strikes new technology for the masses a new car or a phone or radio and most remarkable of all a shrinking federal budget if you remember just one fact about kage's presidency let it be this kulage left the federal budget lower than he had found it how did kulage do it first he resisted taking unnecessary action himself second he imposed the same discipline on Congress that wasn't easy in the early 1920s the progressive movement whose impulse was then as now always to do something was on the March Progressive plans included more aid for agriculture encouraging unions increasing taxes and nationalizing important industries such as railroads and utilities coolage blocked the progressives and thereby blocked their expansion of government he vetoed Farm subsidies twice even though he personally came from an area of poor Farmers rural Vermont who kage was sympathetic to Farmers but helping them wasn't the government's function kulage also vetoed aggressive versions of the great entitlement proposal of his day an entitlement that would have expanded the budget by billions pensions for veterans and he blocked the rise of militant labor unions wherever and whenever he could a habit he had begun while still governor of Massachusetts kulage made especially good use of the pocket veto the ability of the president to veto a bill by simply not returning it to Congress it is much more important to kill bad bills he said than to pass good ones in total coolage vetoed 50 times the legislation kulage did endorse was designed to meet the same minimalist end restrain the government together with his treasury secretary Andrew melon kulage lowered the top tax rate to 25% their goal was to shrink the public sector so that the private sector could expand and the policy worked the final example of the great refrain philosophy involves political sacrifice the country liked kage's Thrift the progressives won 177% of the vote in 1924 but kulage won the presidential election with more votes than the Democrats and progressives combined so everyone including the Republican Party thought kulage would surely run a second time in 19 28 but he declined typical of coolage he thought he had done enough yes it's possible to criticize coolage as much as he tried to avoid it coolage in the end signed bills he would have preferred not to and the president showed a misguided pension for protectionism never a sound Economic Policy some suggest that coolage was responsible for the stock market crash and the decade long depression that followed after he left office but my own research for my coolage biography coolage suggests that claim is inaccurate indeed researching another book The Forgotten man I found evidence that too much action by presidents Hoover and Roosevelt put the great in the phrase Great Depression it is ironic that a man of such personal modesty presided over the era known as The Roaring 20s but that was the Paradox coolage was a Scrooge Who begat plenty perhaps the day has come for a new politician to follow the great refrain guiding rule where others do don't and if you have to do do less I'm AMD schayes of the coolage foundation and the King's College for Prager University he was one of America's most popular presidents handsome charismatic a war hero he believed the strong military was the best guarantor of Peace he explained that cutting taxes was the best way to grow the economy he firmly opposed racial quotas and was horrified by the idea of unrestricted abortions can you name him here's one more clue he was not a republican the answer John F Kennedy when he was elected president in 1960 Kennedy's views were considered mainstream in the Democratic party but while the Kennedy name is still revered by the Democrats today the policies he espoused are not Ronald Reagan America's 40th president who was a Democrat much of his life famously said I didn't leave the Democratic Party The Party left me so if Kennedy were alive now which party would he belong to it's impossible to know of course but we can compare his political positions to those of today's Democratic party on Race JFK disliked the idea of using racial preferences and quotas to make up for historic racism and discrimination today affirmative action is Democratic party Orthodoxy but Kennedy thought such policies were counterproductive I don't think we can undo the past Kennedy said we have to do the best we can now I don't think quotas are a good idea we are too mixed this Society of ours to begin to divide ourselves on the basis of race or color on taxes Kennedy was an Ardent proponent of across the board tax cuts believing that more cash in the hands of all Americans including the so-called wealthy and a lighter footprint from the IRS would grow the economy a tax cut means higher family income and higher business profits Kennedy said in an address to the nation shortly before his death every taxpayer and his family will have more money left over after taxes for for a new car a new home new conveniences education and investment every businessman can keep a higher percentage of his profits in his cash register or put it to work expanding or improving his business on foreign policy Kennedy was very firm about his red lines when the Soviet Union built missile sites in Cuba leading to what is known as a Cuban Missile Crisis Kennedy threatened a decisive military response the Soviet Union back down JFK believed as Ronald Reagan did in peace through strength not strength through peace in his inaugural address Kennedy made the case for a strong US military he saw this as the only way to deter America's enemies only when our arms are sufficient Beyond doubt he said can we be certain Beyond doubt that they will never be employed on gun rights Kennedy was one of eight US presidents who is a lifetime member of the NRA here's what he said about the Second Amendment we need a nation of Minute Men citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms but citizens who regard the preservation of Freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom on abortion Kennedy was assassinated a decade before the landmark Supreme Court court case roie Wade abortion was not a major issue during his administration but we do know that he nominated Justice Byron white a Democrat to the Supreme Court White was one of two justices who dissented in roie Wade we also know that Kennedy abhor Japan's postor War II use of abortion as a means of population control saying on the question of limiting population as you know the Japanese have been doing it very vigorously through abortion which I think would be repugnant to all Americans today if a Democrat advocated the positions on Race taxes foreign policy guns and abortion that are 305th President once did he wouldn't be a Democrat he belonged to that other party I'm Larry ilder for Prager University name this president he created the Environmental Protection Agency and put real teeth in the Clean Air Act environmentalists called him the most environmentally conscious National figure since Teddy Roosevelt he was admired sometimes revered by civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King and Jackie Robinson he desegregated Southern schools and vigorously enforced civil rights laws often against his own political interests his grasp of Foreign Affairs was acknowledged by both friend and foe to be unmatched he open us relations with communist China signed the first nuclear disarmament agreement in history and ended the Vietnam War when the Peace Accords were signed it was clear that America was the Victor in the conflict did you guess our 37th president Richard Nixon if not don't feel bad most people only know one thing about him that he resigned from Office following the Watergate scandal looking back his offense covering up for overzealous subordinates who were caught trying to steal campaign secrets from the Democrats almost seems quain but at the time it royed the nation had he accepted responsibility apologized early on he almost certainly would have survived sadly he never considered the idea when he felt cornered his first reaction was to Counterattack not apologize Nixon was first and always a fighter everything he ever achieved he had to fight for he was born on January 9th 1913 in Yorbalinda California in a small house his father built from a mail order kit y Belinda is now a bustling suburb of Los Angeles but then it was basically a lemong Grove with a road running through it he grew up with no advantages if he wanted to escape he read he read a lot it's part of the Nixon legend that he attended a local College Whittier what isn't well known is that he was accepted to Harvard he didn't attend only because his parents couldn't afford to send him there after volunteering for service in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War III he returned home a small town law career not politics looked to be his future then fate took a hand the local Republican party was searching for a fresh face to oppose a popular Democrat Congressman Nixon passed the audition nobody expected him to win but nobody expected him to campaign as hard and as effectively as he did he quickly became a fast rising political star achieving national attention when he almost single-handedly exposed a major State Department official aler his as a s spy his was everything Nixon was not Sleek Orban ivy league educated he was welln and well-loved among the East Coast intellectual and media Elite no one in his social set believed the charges against him until Nixon forc them to the liberal Elites never forgave him for that or for beating the glamorous and very Progressive Hollywood actress Helen gagen Douglas in the 1950 California Senate race in 1952 Dwight Eisenhower tapped him to be his running mate in just six years Nixon rose from a small town lawyer to Vice President of the United States he was only 39 Ike sent his vice president on important diplomatic missions all over the globe it was on these missions that Nixon developed his Mastery of international Affairs after a heartbreaking loss to John F Kennedy in the presidential election of 1960 one of the closest and most disputed elections of the modern era Nixon returned to California there he lost another election an ill advised run for governor in 1962 he should have been done as a politician he wasn't in one of the most unlikely comebacks in American political history Nixon won the Republican nomination for president in 1968 and then defeated incumbent vice president Hubert Humphrey in the general election few presidents have ever walked into a more difficult situation the country was in turmoil Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King had both been assassinated within the year just weeks apart the Vietnam War war was raging student unrest was out of control and the economy was floundering Nixon expertly navigated the turbulent political Waters steering a Centrist course just what his devoted supporters the people he called the silent majority wanted him to do what he believed in a sense of Duty common decency hard work the inherent greatness of America they believed in the Press never liked Nixon but the majority of the American people loved him he was reelected in 19 72 in one of the biggest landslides in American history winning 49 of the 50 states he ended the military draft brought the Vietnam War to a close in early 1973 and later that year he saved Israel by airlifting military supplies during the so-called yam kapor war and then came Watergate now you know why Richard Nixon truly Shakespearean in both his attributes and his flaws may be America's most misunderstood and underap appreciated president I'm Hugh HT for Prager University President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is one of the most famous speeches ever given it is stunning in its brevity 10 sentences 272 words and delivered in just over 2 minutes few have said more with less Lincoln delivered the address on November 19 1863 he was in Gettysburg to dedicate a National military cemetery to the Union Soldiers who fell at the Battle of Gettysburg four months earlier the north Victory here was one of the pivotal battles of the American Civil War Lincoln begins this way four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal Lincoln goes back in time not to the signing of the Constitution but to the Declaration of Independence the constitution in forming our government was the product of many compromises most notably slavery in contrast the Declaration of Independence declares our enduring National values in one sentence Lincoln summarizes the American project Liberty for all and equality of all now we are engaged in a great civil war testing whether that Nation or any Nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure Lincoln's assertion is twofold first the United States is unique unque no nation was ever founded on a commitment to Liberty and equality and the Civil War was a trial to see if a nation based on such lofty ideals could survive we are met on a great battlefield of that war Gettysburg Pennsylvania was the site of the bloodiest battle of America's bloodiest war in 3 days of fighting 51,000 Americans on both sides Union and Confederate were killed wounded captured or Miss we have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that Nation might live it is all together fitting and proper that we should do this but in a larger sense we cannot dedicate we cannot consecrate we cannot hallow this ground the brave men living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or Detro tracked Lincoln is not in Gettysburg to celebrate the Union victory rather he explains that those who fought were the loyal Guardians of the American experiment with their blood they watered the tree of Liberty as Lincoln himself knew how could his words ever compare to that sacrifice he even speculates that the world will little note nor long remember what we say here but it can never forget what they did here ironically the world remembers what our 16th president said but do we remember the actions of those who fought at Gettysburg Lincoln answers that question with a challenge it is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to The Unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly Advanced it is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honored dead we take increased Devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion those who fought and died shouldered our nation's enduring values through the refining fire of Gettysburg and the Civil War Lincoln points to them and challenges the living are we prepared to heed their example to do what is necessary to advance the founding ideals of the Declaration of Independence remember the Gettysburg Address is a wartime speech Lincoln is stealing his contemporaries for the many battles burdens and responsibilities still ahead head but he's also looking to the future he is looking to us Lincoln concludes that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and the government of the People by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth the union won the Civil War slavery ended and with it the values of Liberty and equality were given a new birth however the struggle for Liberty and equality continued and persists today Lincoln forsaw this to remain a nation dedicated to the proposition that all men all people are created equal and the government of by and for the people shall not perish from the earth these are the unfinished work and the great task remaining of every generation ours is no exception are we up to President Lincoln's Challenge I'm professor dugouts of the army war college for Prager University it's hard to imagine there would have been a United States of America without George Washington he was there at the birth of the nation he successfully guided it through war and nurtured it in peace how did he do it not by being a great General a potent political theorist or even a clever politician he was none of those things and yet he was admired by generals political theorists and politicians why because he was a man great men trusted Thomas Jefferson John Adams Benjamin Franklin James Madison and so many others looked up to him literally he was one of the tallest men of his era at 6 feet3 add courage integrity and wisdom and you have a truly impressive figure let's start with his courage that was never in doubt if anything he had too much of it bold to the point of rashness as a young man he fought for the British against the French over control of the Ohio Valley then the westernmost point of the American wilderness throughout that conflict known as the French and Indian War and the American Revolution Washington was always in the thick of the action his AIDS often struggled to keep him from surging too far ahead of his own troops in one battle his coat was pierced four times by musket fire horses were shot out from under him amazingly some would say miraculously he was never wounded not so much as a flesh wound by the time the revolution broke out in April of 1775 Washington was firmly committed to the cause of American independence he arrived in Philadelphia in May of that year to offer his services to the Continental Congress he was quickly made commander of the new Rebel Army there was only one problem there was no Army to speak of there was just a ragtag collection of State militias how was Washington going to defeat the greatest military force in the world with that it was a problem the general struggled with for8 and a half years that he managed to hold the Army together organize it into a disciplined fight fighting force and guided to victory was Testament to his fortitude his patience and his personal bravery of his Integrity one need only look at what he did when the war ended exactly what he had promised to do when the War Began he resigned his military command and went home to Mount Vernon by stepping down Washington raised himself up as the embodiment of Republican heroism it is said that King George III asked the london-based American painter Benjamin West what Washington was likely to do when peace came West replied that Washington would probably return to his farm the King was astounded if he does that his majesty declared he will be the greatest man in the world this story may be apocryphal but the Newberg rebellion and how Washington handled it as not with experience had come wisdom as the re Revolution wound down a group of officers refused to give up their arms until they were paid if they didn't get their money which Congress didn't have they would take control of the government it was not an idle threat no less a figure that Alexander Hamilton was in a panic Washington no great oror sought to diffuse their anger they had risked everything to create a republican Society he told the officers to abandon the cause now when true victory was so close would mean all their sacrifices would have been in vain however convincing the speech may have been it was a simple gesture that carried the day he concluded his remarks by reading to them a letter sent to him from a member of Congress suddenly he stopped from his pocket he pulled a pair of spectacles none of the officers had ever seen him wear them putting the glasses on Washington said gentle you must pardon me I have grown gray in the service of my country and now find myself going blind he finished reading the letter and left the hall without another word the gesture sincerely offered with just the Right Touch of stagecraft pierced the hearts of his men many were moved to tears they immediately passed a resolution declaring their loyalty to civilian government George Washington had saved the revolution once again it wouldn't be the last time during the writing of the Constitution and during his eight years as President Washington was repeatedly called upon to hold the fractious Young Nation together he never failed to do so we commonly refer to George Washington now as the father of our country it's hard to imagine Any Nation ever had a better one I'm John rad haml author of George Washington The Wonder of the age for Prager University the year was 1862 America was in the depths of the Civil War looking back it's easy to believe that a union victory was inevitable the North had more money more population more industry but no one thought that at the time in the first year of the war it looked as if the South would win a series of high-profile victories in the East convinced many that Confederates were better Fighters under better leaders where would President Lincoln find a battlefield General who could do for the Union what Robert E Lee was doing for the Confederacy lead it to Victory the man he found the man who saved the union was ulysis S Grant he wasn't Lincoln's first choice or second or third in fact when the war started in 1861 Lincoln had no idea who ulyses srant was hardly surprised since at the time Grant was selling hats to Farmers wives in a small town in Illinois his rise to glory is one of the most amazing stories in American history born in Ohio on April 27th 1822 Grant had no ambition to be a soldier his father pushed him into it thinking he wasn't suited for much else Grant's West Point career wasn't especially distinguished either but during the Mexican American War 1846 to 1848 Grant proved himself to be an officer of unusual usual ability he was cool Under Fire daring but rarely Reckless even more important the men under his command trusted him after that war Grant returned to St Louis to marry his fiance Julia Dent the daughter of a slave owning Missouri farmer Grant was never happier than when he was with Julia and he was never unhappier than when he was not unfortunately in this period Army life forced them to be separated sometimes for many months to assuage his loneliness Grant started to drink while in a distant posting in Northern California a thousand miles from Julia his drinking got the better of him he resigned his army commission to avoid an embarrassing Court Marshal it was downhill from there one business venture failing after another by 1860 thoroughly humiliated and with no money and no prospects he was back working for his father in the small town of Galina Illinois then the Civil War happened the union was in desperate need of experienced soldiers Grant volunteered his leadership skills were immediately obvious he quickly Advanced through the ranks in a little more than 6 months he scored two major victories at Fort Henry and Fort Donaldson along the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers he followed these up with victory in the largest battle in American history up to that time the Battle of Shiloh making him a true Union hero in a cause that was starved for Heroes there was nothing flashy about Grant's generalship all he did was win unlike the overly cautious generals that drove President Lincoln to distraction Grant's battle plan was to always move forward always put pressure on his foes any advantage the union had in technology or Manpower he employed to the fullest like Napoleon Grant was a superb reader of maps he could identify the enemy's vulnerabilities and exploit them as he did in His Brilliant 1863 campaign for Vicksburg a campaign that is still studied at War colleges in March 1864 Lincoln made Grant commander of all the union armies it took more than a year of the war's hardest fighting before Lee surrendered and the war finally came to an end by this point the president and his General had developed a close Bond shortly after Grant returned to Washington Lincoln invited the grants to join him and Mary Lincoln at Ford's Theater Grant accepted Julia however had developed an intense dislike for Mary Lincoln and insisted that her husband get out of the commitment embarrassed Grant did that night in that theater Lincoln was assassinated as the commander of all Union armies Grant was placed in a terrible bind having to walk a tight rope between new President Andrew Johnson's pro-s South agenda which favored the old white aristocracy and protecting as Lincoln intended the newly won rights of the freed slaves Grant had saved America once as a general could he save it again as a politician running as the Republican candidate for president Grant easily won election in 1868 and then again in 1872 during his tenure he fought to secure the passage of the 15th Amendment which guaranteed All American citizens the right to vote regardless of race color or previous condition of servitude he created the Department of Justice broke up the Klux Clan and advocated for the rights of Indians he presided over the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad and a rapidly expanding industrial economy but Grant wasn't done one week before his death on July 23rd 1885 he completed his autobiography it became one of the bestselling books of the 19th century of Grant's Amazing Life Frederick Douglas wrote A fitting epithet in him the Negro found a protector the Indian a friend a vanquished foe a brother an imperal Nation a savior I'm Gary Adelman director of history and education at the Civil War trust for Prager University the most famous political scandal in American history is of course Watergate it's so famous that even now 50 years after it happened almost every Scandal of any kind comes with an obligatory gate after it if you ask most people to explain what Watergate was all about they draw blank if they know a bit of history or perhaps they lived through it they might say something like this it was about a bungled break-in that brought down a president that's true but the break-in is the least significant ific part of the story Watergate was first and foremost a political war between the president Richard Nixon and the media which in those pre-a days meant ABC CBS NBC The New York Times And The Washington Post the media's aim in the words of British historian Paul Johnson was to use publicity to reverse the Electoral verdict of 1972 why what did the media have against Nixon that's a complex question but we can essentially boil it down to three things one he was despised by the East Coast liberal Elite of which the Washington press Corps was a key component two he was a staunch anti-communist the media considered the Communist threat to be overblown three he refused to abandon South Vietnam Nixon insisted on a peace with honor the media was entirely anti-war even though Nixon spent most of his adult life in New York and Washington he never fit in born in a small town in California there were no I League degrees on his resume to make matters worse while not being a part of McCarthyism he made his reputation aggressively exposing Alger h a communist in the US state department in the late 1940s after serving as vice president under Dwight Eisenhower for eight years he ran against and nearly defeated John F Kennedy the Paragon of east coast elitism in 1960 then 8 years later and much to the media's dismay Nixon mounted an improbable political comeback to win that Year's presidential election and then as if rubbing the media's nose in it he won again in a 49 State landslide in 1972 something had to be done ironically Nixon's own people provided the opportunity the media had been waiting for on June 17th 1972 five men associated with the Nixon reelection campaign broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office building in Washington DC presumably they intended to gather information about the Democrats campaign strategy whatever their purpose it was a painfully dumb plan that turned catastrophic when the burglars were caught in the act and arrested by DC police Nixon found out about it like everyone else in the morning papers initially he didn't think it was a big deal I had been in politics too long he later wrote and had seen everything from dirty tricks to vote fraud I could not muster much moral outrage over a political bugging today most would conclude that if he had simply acknowledged his camp A's responsibility owned it as we say fired those responsible and apologized the whole sorry mess would have been rendered the minor incident it was but as historian Evan Thomas noted Nixon wasn't paying attention and when he was confronted with the problems below deck he didn't really engage by the time he did it was too late so the Scandal grew Beyond his control three men made sure of that a publicity seeking judge a revenge- seeking FBI official and a partisan special prosecutor the judge was John cka suspecting a vast conspiracy cka threatened the burglars with lifetime prison sentences if they didn't rat out the people who authorized the crime the media loves ca for a time he was the most famous jurist in the country the vengeful official was FBI deputy director Mark phel known by his code name deep throat felt thought that he deserved to become the head of the FBI but Nixon appointed someone else selt leaked a steady stream of tips to The Washington Post writing team of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein meeting secretly he told them where to look and what questions to ask without him the duo would have gotten nowhere because of him they became folk Heroes with CA applying pressure from the bench and felt from inside the FBI the White House defenses began to weaken then crack and then shatter special prosecutor archabald Cox piled on appointing 34 Democrat lawyers to investigate nearly every aspect of the Nixon Administration in April of 1973 White House Council John Dean the chief desk officer of the coverup turned on his boss testifying answer the president in Senate hearings before a huge National TV audience as the political Jeopardy grew Nixon naturally became more involved one biographer wrote to Nixon this was all routine Hardball but really this was quicksand the more he struggled the deeper he sank he was caught in the cover up when it emerged that many of Nixon's private conversations were recorded his fate was sealed citing executive privilege he tried to keep the tapes from CA and Congress on July 24 1974 the Supreme Court ruled against the president the support of Republican Senators far from assured and deeply concerned that an impeachment trial would paralyze the country in the middle of the Cold War Nixon was boxed in he resigned from office on August 9th the first and only president to do so the media had its Victory and a newfound sense of power the country has not been the same since I'm Hugh HT for Prager University mention the name Herbert Hoover the 31st president of the United States and you probably think Great Depression here's how the usual narrative goes the stock market crashes in October of 1929 Hoover a republican refuses to intervene instead he lets the free market deal with the problem and the economic downturn morphs into a catastrophic decline while the stock market did crash in 1929 and the economic downturn that followed did lead into the Great Depression but it wasn't because Hoover was a small government man like his predecessor Calvin kulage it was just the opposite my research shows that it was Hoover's incessant meddling not the mistaken view that he did nothing that provoked the Great Depression Hoover a good man with magnanimous instincts was was a successful mining engineer before he got into government he believed that almost anything could be engineered and he brought that philosophy to the economic crisis of 1929 as a result he was the wrong man for the job at exactly the wrong time for starters Hoover distrusted the free market he knew that unfettered competition forces companies to reduce prices but he believed lower prices lead to lower wages in November of 1929 shortly after the stock market swooned Hoover called a meeting with the CEOs of major American industry Henry Ford of Ford Motor Alfred Sloan of GM and Pierre Dupont of DuPont chemicals led the group that met with Hoover the president set down a very clear and unprecedented directive one despite the weakening economy keep wage rates at current levels two minimize layoffs if you must reduce Manpower do it through work sharing that is have two workers work half a day each or every other day in return for maintaining wage rates and sharing jobs Hoover promised the CEOs that he would convince workers to neither strike nor demand additional payer benefits he kept his promise labor agreed not to strike industry agreed not to cut wages in fact Henry Ford raised wages as a gesture of solidarity the engineer it seemed had engineered the perfect solution only it didn't work as 1929 moved into 1930 and 1931 prices for industrial goods declined one reason was the economy-wide deflation brought on by the federal reserves Tight money policy people simply didn't have money to buy Goods or invest in companies but another reason and a big one was the result of something else Hoover did his signing of the smooth Holly Tariff Act of 1930 that act which raised tariffs on Imports to the highest levels in 100 years LED America's trading partners to retaliate by placing tariffs on American Goods with American exports cut in half the prices of American industrial goods declined sharply as the depression deepened industry asked Hoover for permission to cut wages but Hoover refused if we cut wages there will be held to pay with unions he said by the end of 1931 with the economy and shambles industry broke their deal by cutting wages and increasing layoffs but it was too late to stop the freef fall business failure built on business failure unemployment soared from 3.2% in 1929 to 23.6% in 1932 Hoover countered by vastly increased in government spending offering a nine-point plan that included major public works projects like the Hoover Dam and the Los Angeles Aqueduct he raised taxes on the top income bracket from 25% to 63% he did everything he could think of to engineer the economy back to health except the one thing that might have worked let the free market heal itself what should have been a couple of hard years turned into a decade long disaster what have the commonly held view that Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt's economic policies were so different you can now see that views also inaccurate both Hoover and FDR believed in forceful government intervention into the economy I'm Lee ohanyan professor of Economics at UCLA for Prager University did President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal economic policies pull the country out of the Great Depression my research clearly suggests that the answer contrary to popular belief is No in fact the New Deal made matters worse let me explain the centerpiece of Roosevelt's New Deal plan to fix the economy was the national Industrial Recovery Act or n which the president announced with great Fanfare in June of 1933 FDR believed that he could use the government to artificially raise both prices and wages it would work like this higher prices would raise profits that makes business happy and higher wages would raise income that makes workers happy more profits for business mean more money to hire new workers higher wages for workers means more money to buy consumer goods a virtuous cycle is set in a motion and the economy improves rapidly but here is what FDR missed artificially raising wages also raises labor costs and when labor costs go up business hires fewer workers or no workers at all especially in a difficult economic environment meanwhile artificially raising prices reduces demand for the obvious reason that people buy less of something when its price goes higher so why did FDR do this FDR base is New Deal policy largely on what happened during World War I which had ended only 15 years earlier in 1918 during that War the government established planning boards to set wages and prices and economic activity increased if it worked during wartime FDR reasoned it should work during peace time but Roosevelt confused the increase in economic activity that was actually the result of inflated war demands as being due to government planning the government Roosevelt concluded could much better manage the economy in a time of Crisis than private Enterprise which in his worldview only considered its own selfish interests therefore government guidance not free enterprise was the citizens steadfast Ally contrary to what you might think big business including autos and steel were happy to go along with FDR's plan at least at first if the government was going to ensure their profits who are they to complain so instead of prohibiting monopolies something the government is actually supposed to do the Nira created monopolies on the condition that these favored Industries immediately raised wages significantly and bargained collectively with labor not surprisingly the Supreme Court declared the NRA unconstitutional in May 1935 stating that FDR violated constitutional separation of powers he had meddled in an area private business where he had no constitutional right but the decision had little practical effect because the government simply ignored it meanwhile the wage side of the equation Rose faster than expected because of the passage of another New Deal law the 1935 Wagner Act the Wagner Act provided unions with new collective bargaining rights and as the labor unions grew in size and power so did workers wages the result was that between 1933 and 1939 these government policies the nir and the Wagner Act increase prices and wages by about 20% these artificial pric and wage increases impeded what should have been a strong recovery from the depression they prevented the natural forces of competition from pushing prices down and pushing worker productivity up instead artificially High wages LED industry to hire fewer workers and high prices reduce demand for products if these policy IES had not been adopted my research as well as research by other economists indicates the economy would have returned to its normal level of employment and output by 1936 in other words the policies that were supposed to restore Prosperity actually prolong the depression I'm Lee ohanyan professor of Economics at UCLA for Prager University I took America to war in Iraq it was all me okay it was mostly me I had some help from a clueless President George W bush and his neoconservative puppet master Vice President Dick Cheney senior White House fanatic spoonfed reporters like me cherry-picked intelligence about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction so that America could invade Iraq and sees its oil none of this is true but many Americans continue to believe it people died it was a war but President Bush didn't lie us into it the false narrative that he did is itself a lie and deserves to be at last retired there was no shortage of mistakes about Iraq and some of the media's pre-war wmd stories were wrong including some of mine but so is the enduring pernicious accusation that the Bush Administration fabricated wmd intelligence to take the country to war before the 2003 Invasion President Bush and other senior officials cited the intelligence community's incorrect conclusions about saddam's wmd capabilities and on occasion went beyond them but relying on the mistakes of others completely understandable mistakes given saddam's horrendous record and making errors of judgment are not the same as lies American and European Arms Control experts counterterrorism agents and analysts who studied Iraq and briefed White House officials and journalists were the same people who gave me and my fellow reporters at the New York Times accurate information for years about Osama Bin Laden and al-qaeda's growing threat to America in fact eight months before 911 the times published a series of articles on that threat a series from which the time staff including me want to pullit her prize the members of the intelligence Community with whom I dealt were overwhelmingly reliable hardworking and honest but they were also human and in the aftermath of 911 they were very wary of ever again underestimating a terrorist threat there's an enduring myth that policy makers pressured intelligence analysts into altering their estimates to suit the bush administration's push to war yet several thorough bipartisan inquiries found no evidence of such pressure what they reveal instead is that bad intelligence led to bad policy decisions the 2005 commission headed by former Democratic senator Charles Rob and Republican judge Lawrence Silverman called the intelligence community's estimates on Iraq dead wrong a year earlier the Senate select committee on intelligence denounced such intelligence failures as the product of group think rooted in a fear of underestimating grave threats to National Security in the wake of 911 will Toby a former Deputy Administrator for the national nuclear Security Administration still fumes about the failure to see problems in the cia's intelligence that supported Secretary of State colen Powell's pre-war speech at the United Nations about Iraq's wmd based partly on the cia's assurances of strong evidence for each claim Mr Powell was persuaded that the case against Saddam was in his words Rock Solid why wouldn't he over the previous 15 years none of the congressional committees routinely briefed on Iraq's wmd assessments expressed concern about bias or error the decision to go to war in Iraq received broad support in Congress from both Republicans and Democrats and again for good reason even if the intelligence Community overestimated Saddam Hussein's wmd capability it didn't create it out of thin air Saddam had used chemical weapons on his own people killing thousands he had invaded his neighbors repeatedly no President Bush did not take America into a war because he was strong armed by a neoconservative cabal as President Bush himself famously asserted he was the decider and no he didn't go to war for oil if we wanted saddam's oil we could have bought it President Bush's decision to go to war was based on the information that he and his team relied on information that was collected by the world's top agents and analyzed by the world's top analysts including cluding the intelligence agencies of France Germany and Russia countries whose leaders did not support going to war but they all agreed on one thing Saddam had and was continuing to develop wmd our intelligence professionals and those of major European countries overestimated saddam's capabilities mistakes like that filter through the system from the White House to Congress to journalists to the public and those mistakes impact policy but here's the key thing to remember they were mistakes not lies I'm Judith Miller contributing editor of City journal for Prager University to subscribe to our YouTube channel click here to help keep our videos free donate here