presidents — Bunk History

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Donald Trump at a formal event.

Trump’s Imperial Fantasy: To Be Polk, McKinley, and Putin—All at Once

Trampling rights, imposing tariffs, gobbling up others’ territories. Trump is imitating his role models to a T.

by Thom Hartmann via The New Republic on March 17, 2025

Silhouettes of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, President Donald Trump, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in the Oval Office in the dark.

The Making of Emergencies

For centuries, theorists of liberal governance have worried about how emergencies can unfetter executive power. Trump has given those fears new urgency.

by Caroline Elkins via New York Review of Books on February 16, 2025

Gerald Ford signs Richard Nixon's pardon, superimposed over a smiling Nixon.

Blame Gerald Ford for Trump’s Unaccountability

In a new book, Jeffrey Toobin makes a convincing case that Ford’s pardon of President Nixon set the stage for unchecked presidential power.

by Franklin Foer via The Atlantic on February 11, 2025

Drawing of George Washington watching over a group of enslaved people working in a field at Mount Vernon.

Even George Washington Was a Tyrant

We don't need to find heroes in our past presidents. We need to try to understand that tyranny has always been part of American freedom.

by Karin Wulf via Made By History on November 18, 2024

Davy Crockett monument in Texas.

The Political Example of Davy Crockett

As a congressman, Davy Crockett found ways to navigate populist upheaval and maintain his own independence.

by Miles Smith IV via Law & Liberty on November 12, 2024

Aftermath of the explosions at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine.

How Congress Is Written Out of History

Congress's role in shaping policies like the Affordable Care Act and exonerating Port Chicago sailors is often overlooked, overshadowed by the president.

by John A. Lawrence via Perspectives on History on October 31, 2024

George Washington

Drink Like a Founding Father

Make one of President George Washington's favorite cocktails.

by Diana Hubbell via Atlas Obscura on October 21, 2024

Portrait of Martin Van Buren.

The Father of the Party System

Because Martin Van Buren was an unsuccessful president, his more significant contributions to the nation’s political life have also been obscured.

by James M. Bradley via OUPblog on October 18, 2024

George Washington

The Moment of Truth

The reelection of Donald Trump would mark the end of George Washington’s vision for the presidency—and the United States.

by Tom Nichols via The Atlantic on October 9, 2024

An illustration of Florence March, a White House maid, and the ghost of a boy inside the White House.

The Thing in the White House

The White House's most terrifying ghost and the maid who saw it.

by Howard Dorre via Plodding Through The Presidents on October 8, 2024

US President or American Caesar?

American democracy has been haunted by the spectre of a Caesar-type figure since the birth of the republic. Have such fears ever been justified?

by Ian McDaniel via History Today on September 25, 2024

Men stand around as John Quincy Adams dies in bed.

John Quincy Adams's America

Historians may never speak of an “Age of Adams” to rival Andrew Jackson, but Randall Woods’s new biography reveals the sixth president’s greatness.

by Daniel N. Gullotta via Law & Liberty on September 6, 2024

Autographed photo of Richard Nixon and Jerelle Kraus.

Two and a Half Hours Alone with Nixon, the Anti-Trump

When Nixon practiced law, he declined divorce cases because he disliked frank sexual talk from women. Trump asked Playboy to run a “Girls of Trump” feature.

by Jerelle Kraus via LA Progressive on August 6, 2024

William McKinley

Trump Is Right About McKinley

“The most underrated president” was a model of successful governance in a world in flux.

by Sean Durns via The American Conservative on August 1, 2024

Illustration of John Roberts, with face obscured by half of the presidential seal.

The Supreme Court Fools Itself

The Roberts Court has made the current crisis of American democracy perpetual.

by Adam Serwer via The Atlantic on July 24, 2024

Joe Biden sitting in the Oval Office.

There Has Been Nothing Like This in American History

Joe Biden is hardly the first president who has decided not to seek a second term—but the circumstances this time are unique.

by Fred Kaplan via Slate on July 21, 2024

"The President's House" (The White House), in the nineteenth century, print by Isidore Laurent Deroy after Augustus Kollner, 1848.

Can the Republic Survive Corrupt Presidents?

The Founders knew that executive power was vital but dangerous in any republic.

by Richard Samuelson via Law & Liberty on June 27, 2024

National Guard members deploy near the White House as peaceful protests are scheduled against police brutality and the death of George Floyd, on June 6, 2020 in Washington, D.C.

The Most Dangerous Law in America

The Insurrection Act is a nuclear bomb hidden in the United States code, giving presidents unimaginable emergency power. No President has abused it. Yet.

by Joseph Nunn via Democracy Journal on June 10, 2024

Then President Donald Trump, right, and Joe Biden, then the Democratic presidential nominee, during the U.S. presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 22, 2020.

The Biden-Trump Rematch May Mark the End of an Era

Over the course of U.S. history, presidential rematches have signaled momentous political upheavals.

by Bruce J. Schulman via Made By History on April 4, 2024

The radioactive plume from the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, dropped by a US B-29 superfortress Bockscar.

Slave to the Bomb

We don’t need to imagine a world ravaged by nuclear war – we’re already living in it.

by Erik Baker via The Saturday Evening Post on March 28, 2024

A presidential portrait of George Washington.

The Enduring Power of Purim

Since colonial times, the Book of Esther has proved a powerful metaphor in American politics.

by Stuart Halpern via Tablet on March 21, 2024

Lincoln being sworn in by Chief Justice Taney.

We Are Already Defying the Supreme Court

The risks of calling on politicians to push back against the court must be weighed against the present reality of a malign judicial dictatorship.

by Samuel Moyn, Ryan D. Doerfler via Dissent on January 22, 2024

A drawing of the exhumation of President Monroe's coffin.

Which States Have the Most Dead Presidents?

The answer reveals grave robbing problems for America’s deceased leaders.

by Frank Jacobs via Atlas Obscura on October 20, 2023

Illustration of Woodrow Wilson with Sigmund Freud peeking at him over his shoulder.

Pathologies of a President

A new book revisits Freud’s analysis of Woodrow Wilson to ask: how much do leaders’ psychologies shape our politics?

by Adam Hochschild via New Statesman on June 19, 2023

Anna Rosenberg talking to Lyndon B. Johnson.

One of the Most Important Women in American History Has Been Forgotten

Anna Rosenberg had massive influence in American politics for 40 years. Remembering her story offers a guide for solving problems today.

by Christopher C. Gorham via Made By History on May 30, 2023

Illustration of Freud emerging from Woodrow Wilson's head.

Should We Psychoanalyze Our Presidents?

Sigmund Freud once applied his Oedipal theory to the leader of the free world.

by Franklin Foer via The Atlantic on May 28, 2023

Founding Fathers sitting around a table

80 Is Different in 2023 Than in 1776 – But Even Back Then, a Grizzled Franklin Led

Americans have long nurtured mixed feelings about age and aged leaders. Yet during the country’s founding, a young America admired venerable old sages.

by Maurizio Valsania via The Conversation on April 25, 2023

Illustrated figure standing in front of a massive wall of classified documents.

The Cult of Secrecy

America’s classification crisis.

by Patrick Radden Keefe via Foreign Affairs on February 13, 2023

James K. Polk.

The President Who Did It All in One Term — and What Biden Could Learn From Him

James K. Polk is considered one of the most successful presidents, even though he did not seek reelection.

by Joshua Zeitz via Politico Magazine on December 2, 2022

President Jimmy Carter and Sen. Edward Kennedy shake hands at the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention

What Being Unpopular Does to a First-Term President

Some lessons for Joe Biden from the ’70s presidents who lived it.

by Alexis Coe via Slate on October 3, 2022

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