The Past, the Promise, the Presidency

SMU Center for Presidential History
  • 4.6 (55)
  • History
  • Series

Welcome to "The Past, the Promise, the Presidency," a podcast about the exciting, unexpected, and critically-important history of the office of the President of the United States. You'll find some seasons focused on one big topic across the history of the presidency (race, crises, rhetorical power), and you'll find seasons that feature conversations with historians who have written about all sorts of topics in American and Presidential History. In all of them, we hope you'll join us in exploring American History and its critical role in understanding who we are today.

  1. Episode 1

    Civics in the Classroom: Shilo Brooks and Jeffrey Engel

    This is Civics in the Classroom, a podcast series from the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Civics in the Classroom is part of the A250 Summer Teacher Seminar, America's First Principles. This program to promote innovative K-12 instruction in U.S. history and civics was designed by the Center for Presidential History with support from the U.S. Department of Education and in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. In the first year of this three-year project, our workshops and lectures will focus on the causes and context of the movement for U.S. independence and the production and legacy of its most famous document, the Declaration of Independence.   This episode features Dr. Shilo Brooks, president and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center and professor of practice in the Department of Political Science at SMU, in conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Engel, director of the Center for Presidential History. Together, they discuss their views of civics education, examine its relationship to history, and explain why understanding the country's foundational principles is crucial for developing informed and critical citizens. They'll both be joining us this June on campus for the first installment of our multi-year seminar series. In the meantime, stay tuned for more episodes of Civics in the Classroom and more conversations about the lessons that U.S. history holds for the present.   The music for this series comes from the album K2 by Blue Dot Sessions under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

  2. Episode 2

    Civics in the Classroom: Kate Carté, Brian Franklin, and Ronald Johnson

    This is Civics in the Classroom, a podcast series from the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Civics in the Classroom is part of the A250 Summer Teacher Seminar, America's First Principles. This program to promote innovative K-12 instruction in U.S. history and civics was designed by the Center for Presidential History with support from the U.S. Department of Education and in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. In the first year of this three-year project, our workshops and lectures will focus on the causes and context of the movement for U.S. independence and the production and legacy of its most famous document, the Declaration of Independence.   This episode features a conversation between Drs. Kate Carte, Brian Franklin, and Ron Johnson, all of whom will be giving lectures this June as part of our A250 Summer Teacher Seminar. Their lectures will look at specific sections of the Declaration of Independence, as well as some other primary documents from the period. They’ll hone in language and phrasing, and in doing so break down how it is that we have come to understand the Declaration today. In the meantime, stay tuned for more episodes of Civics in the Classroom and more conversations about the lessons that U.S. history holds for the present.   The music for this series comes from the album K2 by Blue Dot Sessions under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

  3. Episode 3

    Civics in the Classroom: Patience LeBlanc

    This is Civics in the Classroom, a podcast series from the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Civics in the Classroom is part of the A250 Summer Teacher Seminar, America's First Principles. This program to promote innovative K-12 instruction in U.S. history and civics was designed by the Center for Presidential History with support from the U.S. Department of Education and in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. In the first year of this three-year project, our workshops and lectures will focus on the causes and context of the movement for U.S. independence and the production and legacy of its most famous document, the Declaration of Independence.   This episode features a conversation with Patience LeBlanc, who will be joining us as master teacher this June for our summer teacher seminar. Patience earned her BA in history from Texas A&M and her MA in history from Texas Women's University, and has over 27 years of experience in teaching social studies. She’s taught at both the middle school and high school level, and has served as a consultant for many educational programs, including the Gilder Lerman Institute, where she's written curriculum and presented across the state and nation. We talked about her career as an educator and about the importance of teaching civics to K through 12 students.  The music for this series comes from the album K2 by Blue Dot Sessions under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

  4. Episode 4

    Civics in the Classroom: Pearl Ponce

    This is Civics in the Classroom, a podcast series from the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Civics in the Classroom is part of the A250 Summer Teacher Seminar, America's First Principles. This program to promote innovative K-12 instruction in U.S. history and civics was designed by the Center for Presidential History with support from the U.S. Department of Education and in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. In the first year of this three-year project, our workshops and lectures will focus on the causes and context of the movement for U.S. independence and the production and legacy of its most famous document, the Declaration of Independence.   This episode features a conversation with Dr. Pearl Ponce, who is the director of the George W. Bush Presidential Library. Before she stepped into that role, Pearl was a professor at Ithaca College, where she served as chair of the history department for six years. She’s a political and diplomatic historian with a specialty in the Civil War era — and the author of To Govern the Devil in Hell: The Political Crisis in Territorial Kansas as well as the editor of Kansas's War: The Civil War in Documents.  The music for this series comes from the album K2 by Blue Dot Sessions under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

  5. Episode 5

    Civics in the Classroom: Lindsay Chervinsky

    This is Civics in the Classroom, a podcast series from the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Civics in the Classroom is part of the A250 Summer Teacher Seminar, America's First Principles. This program to promote innovative K-12 instruction in U.S. history and civics was designed by the Center for Presidential History with support from the U.S. Department of Education and in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. In the first year of this three-year project, our workshops and lectures will focus on the causes and context of the movement for U.S. independence and the production and legacy of its most famous document, the Declaration of Independence.   This episode features a conversation with Dr. Lindsay Chervinksy. Lindsay is a presidential historian and the executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. She's the author of the award-winning book The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution and Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic. She regularly writes for public audiences in the Wall Street Journal, Ms., The Daily Beast, the Bulwark, Time, USA Today, CNN, and the Washington Post. She’s also a former CPH postdoctoral fellow! We talked about her work at Mount Vernon, why civics education matters, and how some memorable teachers shaped her career as a historian.  The music for this series comes from the album K2 by Blue Dot Sessions under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

  6. Episode 6

    Civics in the Classroom: Liz Covart

    This is Civics in the Classroom, a podcast series from the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Civics in the Classroom is part of the A250 Summer Teacher Seminar, America's First Principles. This program to promote innovative K-12 instruction in U.S. history and civics was designed by the Center for Presidential History with support from the U.S. Department of Education and in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. In the first year of this three-year project, our workshops and lectures will focus on the causes and context of the movement for U.S. independence and the production and legacy of its most famous document, the Declaration of Independence.   This episode is the last in our series, and features a conversation with Dr. Liz Covart. Liz is a historian of the American Revolution, and while she wears many hats, she's probably best known as the creator of the award-winning podcast, Ben Franklin's World: a podcast about early American history. She is also the founding director of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios, as well as co-founder of Clio Digital Media, a 501 C3 nonprofit that uses digital media to foster better, more robust understandings of history. And this year, she'll be launching Scholar DIY, a public benefit company that empowers scholars to transform their expertise into compelling digital stories.  The music for this series comes from the album K2 by Blue Dot Sessions under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

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About

Welcome to "The Past, the Promise, the Presidency," a podcast about the exciting, unexpected, and critically-important history of the office of the President of the United States. You'll find some seasons focused on one big topic across the history of the presidency (race, crises, rhetorical power), and you'll find seasons that feature conversations with historians who have written about all sorts of topics in American and Presidential History. In all of them, we hope you'll join us in exploring American History and its critical role in understanding who we are today.

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