james buchanan's resume is much more impressive than blinken's but he was considered one of the worst presidents in history and blinken the greatest. you can see from blinken's preparation can you see the greatness there? even at the time when blinken is elected president, esters for the plurality of the popular vote. it's not a landmark or landslide by any description calling him a cap and certainly the people around him are all thinking he's overmatched. his cabinet he thanks he's overmatched. blinken himself as late as 1864 think he's going to lose his reelection. at least for a while he thanks that. i think it's hard to look at the path east, think okay from this path we know he's going to emerge as may be the greatest in history. having said that, it's also true that the table is being laid in a sense at that time. he's got this big challenge. how is he going to rise to it? there are a couple different ways he could do it. and one way is of the great attributes. he is somebody who's willing to learn if he doesn't know it himself. that is not a bad trait to have in somebody who's

he would have beaten james buchanan -- i am related to james buchanan. distant cousin. hat there are four, they call them -- states. we would call them battleground states. there are four states that buchanan won. if fremont had won those, he would have been the president. that includes pennsylvania, new jersey, indiana, and illinois. keep that in mind. that is what they learned in 1856. the point to be made here is that the way we think about electing people now, you think of battleground states, who is going to win? that is important to consider. lincoln the messenger is not going to be as important as the national figure except that you had to have a solid support from his home base in illinois. because lincoln spent 30 years in illinois, even his enemies liked the man. the problem with the republican party, and illinois is a perfect example, the geography really set the tone of the type of views you would establish. you think about the distance between the northern tier where rockford in the chicago area, that area between the southern tip, 400 miles. you draw a line

james buchanan's resume was much more impressive than lincoln but james is considered one of the worst president in history and lincoln the greatest if you didn't already knowlincoln was going to be great and you see from lincoln's declaration that you find this , >> i think it's going to be high hard to find them. even at the time lincoln was erected elected president with a plurality ofthe popular vote , it's not landmark by any means. and the newspapers are largely critical of him. calling him a coward, a demon at worst and certainly the people around him are saying he's overmatched. and i assume you got a cabinet that thinks he's overmatched and lincoln himself as late as 1864 think he's going to lose his reelectionso at least for a while he thinks that . so i think it's hard to think , to look at that resume so to speak or look at the path and think from this path we know is going to emerge as may be the greatest president in history. having said that, it's also true that the table is being laid in a sense at that time. he's got this big challenge how is he going to rise to it? th

to james buchanan. one of the worst ones, and i am related. distant cousin. is that there were four -- what we would call -- we would call them caught theful states in the 1860s. we would call them battleground states. there are four states that buchanan won that if freemont had won he would have been president. that included pennsylvania, buchanan's home state, new jersey, indiana, and illinois. ding, ding, ding. keep that in mine. that's what they learned in 1856. all right? so the point to be made here is that they are going to think about the way we think about legging people now or at least people in political circles, you think of battle ground states. who going to win the battleground states. that's one important point to consider as well. lincoln the messenger is not going to be as important as the national figure except that you had to have a solid support from his home base in illinois. because wlinkon spent 30 years in illinois, even his enemies liked the man. okay? but the problem with the r

this is james buchanan. who is the only one of all the presidents to kind of be staring down if you look at the orientation of all their heads most all of them are staring? straight at you. he has this look. where the angle of his head is looking right down at you? and whether it's in the day or at night kind of imparts the super creepy feeling that makes me uneasy. someone else also once told me that he was the only of all of the presidents to never marry, which i thought was an interesting fact. the bearded presidents haze grant garfield they all to me look kind of similar you can tell that all of the neck wear from every sculptor is time specific, which is neat. you can see here that there's some military garb with grant where he's got some stars on his shoulders. and if you go down to george bush jr. you'll notice that he's got some elephants on his tie, which i thought was interesting. james garfield from what i've read? had an interesting talent where he could write a sentence. with one hand in latin w

this is james buchanan. we who is the only one of all the presidents, to be staring down. if you look at the orientation of all their heads, most of them are staring straight at you. and he has this look where the angle of his head, is looking right down to you. and whether it's at day or night, it kind of in parts this creepy feeling, that makes me an easy. someone also once told me, that he was the only of all of the presidents, to never marry. which i thought was an interesting fact. so the bearded presidents, hayes, grant, garfield they all to me, look kind of similar. you can tell that all of the neck where, from every sculpture it's time specific. you can see here that there is some military garb, with grant, where he has some stars on his shoulders. and if you go down to george bush junior, he's got some elephants on his tie, which i thought was interesting. james garfield, for want from when i read, we had an interesting talent where he could write a sentence, with one hand in latin, while simultaneous writing another sentence with his other hand, in greek. which i

he wrote a beautiful times op-ed essay on the indirect number between james buchanan and abraham lincoln in 1860 and 1861. that op-ed was drawn from his new book lincoln on the verge 13 days to washington, which you i hope you see over one of my shoulders. i this one i'm not gonna try to guess which one that is. it's a riveting account of the great succession winter. focusing not only on lincoln but on his surroundings. kind of a railroad passenger. i view of the north as lincoln slowly made his way from springfield and washington to become the most looked at president in american history up to that time. so it ted i'm going to lead the conversation and then in around. at around 11 11 15. we will we will go to the q&a, but we'll have a good long tongue time to talk. and i guess the obvious question which we alluded to a few minutes ago is picture us in the midst of a presidential transition that feels different because a big block says the election is illegitimate. there are threats coming out from demonstrators. there's anger. those indignation and of course i'm talking about 1860. not

was his secretary of state, and we have a pretty good insight into how buchanan operated through james polk's diary and he was a man of low character. couldn't trust him with his only cared about himself. always maneuvering for his own self-interest and brazenly so. the become this buchanan that gets me most furious is he lied to the american people in his inaugural address because the dred scott decision was coming down the pike, and he announced to the american people upon the assuming the presidency that he would accept the outcome, whatever it was. what he didn't tell the american people he already knew what the outcome would be because he had an improper ex parte conversation with the chief justice, who told him exactly what the decision was going to be, and that is the action of somebody who is low character. so i really loathe the man and i'm happy to put him at the bottom. i don't think harding deserves to be as low also he often is because if you look at the record, what was happening in the country during his president si, it was all pretty good, including a get out of the wi

rabbi morris from temple and congregation in new york city born in sweden this is during 1860 as james buchanan became president in the america in the civil war and very lengthy prayer in invoked images of his brother and a lot of foreshadowing going on in his prayer about what america was about to say. to add some intrigue to the first rabbi there are scholars who studied then there are from the time in my story but there are people who followed the jewish tradition for jewish history and civil war and nobody had read about this position is a very different back then and it looks a lot different to he showed up in the new york times called it a costume and clinicals was a description very odd to see a jew from the house representatives praying, the other members were attentive to each other and said look at that. it was quite a sight to see that. >> did any of the christian pastors complain? >> no complaints it was a while before the next one came on the scene i think it was ten years until the next rabbi gave a prayer and congress so it was not a common occurrence. >> who chooses who gets to

charles james buchanan was president then. america was on the eve of the civil war and his very, very lengthy prayer invoked images of brother against brother. a lot of foreshadowing going nonhis prayer about what america was but to face. to add a little intrigue to the first rabbi, he was pro slavery, and there are scholars who -- i studied morris raffle but there are from the timeline of my store, there are people who follow the jewish tradition or the jewish history in the civil war and know him to have written about proslavery positions so very different back then. he looked different, too. shows up in his -- "the new york times" called it in costume, in his -- very odd to see a jew in front of the house of representatives praying. the other members were iterring to each other -- it titerring to each other and it wools quite a site to see. >> did any of the christian pastors complain? >> no complaints. it was a while before the next one came on the screen, about ten years so not a commonplace occurrence. >> who chooses who

. >> okay, so just for a comparison, lincoln succeeded james buchanan, widely regarded as one of theidents. biden faces different circumstances than lincoln, but both were tasked with healing a divided nation. what do you think of biden's approach so far? >> so far, so good. i think it's important with regard to lincoln, the complexity is important. it's true, he did arrive a t a much better place. but in his later years, he would have been perfectly happy for africans to go back to africa. he never got to where frederick douglass would have wanted him. but biden, there are people frustrated that he has not done more, that he's not committed to certain issues, but he's gotten to the right place overall. and what he's trying to do right now is incredibly difficult. to literally heal a nation. in a pandemic, after you've had an insurrection, and with an economy like this, you have to heal a nation. i think history may look kindly on biden's efforts, the same way we look at lincoln. >> and when you have mother nature slowing down the vaccines from getting into people's arms, that, too.

like the niece of james buchanan, who served as a first lady. as that necessary female hostess. and you can see, just how compelling angelica van buren had been as a hostess. but hannah van buren, as she was very dear to her husband, and he mourn her passing for many years, and we believe that he probably kept this miniature, which is quite small, it's just a couple of inches, and he kept it in his pocket or on his person, as a way to remember his wife. and he never really spoke about her after she died, because it's such a sad story, but when one of their sons went to maine, a daughter who had been born, as i remember the name, i think it was an outdoor hanna, we cause his father would not speak about her, and the pleasure of doing this exhibition, has been for me is been learning about these relationships. very loving, very loving relationships that endured past death for some of these presidents and their wives we. julia tyler, she was the second wife of the president. of john tyler, and there is this beautiful painted portrait which was done after leaving the white house. pr

so just for a comparison, lincoln succeeded james buchanan, who is widely regarded as one of the nation'ssidents. biden now follows trump's tarnished legacies. both men tasked with healing a divided nation. what do you think of biden's approach so far? >> listen, you know, so far, so good. i do think it's important with regard to lincoln. the complexity is important. it's true he did arrive at a much better place. but even in his later years, you know, he would have been perfectly happy for africans to go back to africa. he never got to where a frederick douglass would have wanted him, and yet he did great good. and i would think that that same standard may well apply to biden. there are a lot of people who already are frustrated he hasn't done more, that he's not more committed to certain issues and causes. but i do think you're seeing somebody who has a complex road, but he's gotten to the right place overall. and what he is trying to do right now is incredibly difficult, to literally heal a nation. in a pandemic you got to heal a nation. after you've had an insurrection, you've got to

just fascinating biographies of james buchanan, of mary todd lincoln, of marcus anger. tonight she'll talk to us about her latest book "building america: the life of benjamin henry latrobe." dr. baker will be joined in conversation not by me tonight but by my esteemed colleague doctor susan schoelwer, mount vernon estate executive director of the stork preservation and collections and the robert smith curator. we will hand things off you and excited to watch to watch this and learn more about this. i'll put everything in advance. take care, have a great evening everyone. i will see you another time. susan, thanks so much. >> thank you, kevin, and thank you to all of those who are joining us. gene, it's wonderful to have you with us tonight. >> thank you. >> i'm really excited about this. i think benjamin henry latrobe is one of those important figure some early america that i have really know that much about and perhaps that's true of many of our audience as well. kevin mentioned several of the previous books you have written on a variety of topics and they don't necess

james buchanan and andrew johnson. still the nation survived. though he died, his ideals lived on to inspire future generations. he was determined to be a reconciler in chief. he was a man of peace in a time of war. and his leadership in politics kept emphasizing that. even at the height of the civil war he wouldn't team demonize h opponents. and those are some of the key leadership lessons from lincoln that lived on. i never met a man who combined such qualities of greatness with goodness. and indeed, in our best presidents and in america, our greatness and goodness should be combined. >> there's a reason steven douglas' greatest political rival literally held his hat at his first inauguration there. that's a lesson. john, terrific. good luck on the book. >> it's a great documentary. looking ford it. >> you can all watch the new cnn original series "lin "lincoln: divided we stand." it premieres sunday at 10:00 p.m. only on cnn. >>> lincoln freed the slaves. >> it's more complicated than that. ♪ >> a new president. a prairie lawyer. with no expe

them the relatives, the daughters, daughters-in-law, nieces, harriet lane johnson, the niece of james buchanan who served as first lady as that very necessary female hostess. and you can see just kind of how compelling angelica van buren would've been as a hostest. but hannah was very dear to her husband. and he mourned her passing for many years. and we believe that he probably kept this miniature which is quite small. it's just about 2 or 3 inches either in his pocket or on his person as a way to remember his wife. and he never really spoke about her after she died. it's such a sad story. but one of their sons went to name a daughter who had been born, he couldn't remember his name was anna or hannah because his father just would not speak about her. and one of the pleasures of doing this exhibition has been for me learning about these relationships, you know, very loving relationships that endured past death for some of these presidents and their wives. julia gardner tyler, another second wife of a president of john tyler. and we show her in this beautiful painted portrait from the white ho

our greatest president is bookended by two of our worst, james buchanan and andrew johnson.ts most in a president. and lincoln had that. for all his inexperience entering office, no military experience, no executive experience, character is ultimately what counted. and he was able to summon the better angels of our nature, to focus on what unites us, not what divides us, even in civil war. even his enemies admitted he was honest. and he never took the road of the politics of personal destruction. so, in many ways, he was made so central. but as a historian once said, as long as we have a politics of race in this country, we have a politics of civil war memory. and we still have not got out from under it. the lessons to learn of how we fell so short, especially after lincoln's death are ones we cannot learn enough. we need to keep it. >> in our mind as we face the future. >> i want to ask you more about those lessons learned or what can be applied to joe biden's presidency. because obviously it was such a divided time in american history under lincoln's administration. here w

freighty company of alexander, randal and they had contracted with our government because president james buchanan was trying to take the spotlight off tensions between the north and the south by having a war against the mormons out in utah who weren't obeying the government quite as well as they need to, and majors and russell provided the supply wagons to keep that army going. on this trip, during the so-called mormon war of 1857, a young cody struck up a conversation with wild bill hickok and when russell majors had the short lived pony expression cody worked as a rider and also worked for the pony expression. with the outbreak of the civil war cody quit the express company and joined a band of kansas jayhawkers preying upon neighboring missourians. he was anxious to avenge his father's murder and anxious to get some free horses from missouri. they have got horses over there. they had no conscious of stealing from missourians which they would. i don't know what is the matter with me. it's very well. code i readily admitted that these are not his best days. i entered on a dislult and reckless li

just fascinating biographies of james buchanan, of mary todd lincoln, of marcus anger.t she'll talk to us about her latest book "building america: the life of benjamin henry latrobe." dr. baker will be joined in converon

. >> host: in your book you make it very clear that you were not a fan of james buchanan and you mentionedresearch in the 1850s and do you agree with him being on the bottom of every list? >> guest: i don't like him at all. he was the secretary of state and president pull kept an amazing diary throughout the presidency although i'm not sure he would have been elected. he was a man of low character you couldn't trust him with anything all he cared about was himself. and f brazenly so but the thing that gets me the most furious is that he liedd to the american people in his inaugural address because of the dred scott decision coming down the pike and announced he would accept the outcome. he already knew what the outcome was going to be because he had an improper conversation with the chief justice who told him exactly what the decision was going to be, and that's the action of somebody that is a very low character. i'm happy to put him at the bottom. i don't think harding deserves to be as low as he is because if you look at the record of what was happening, it was all pretty good including

james buchanan, 1%. sample size, about 1500 adults. that was done recently.he poll finds obama named the best u.s. president and trump the worst. that is our question for you on this president's day. this is a different take on that. it is from usa today. kennedy leaves the field in modern presidents. how americans ranked presidents from 1960's will be viewed by history. they looked at recent presidents going back to kennedy. kennedy is at the top. the blue shade means outstanding. the red is below average or poor. kennedy with the most outstanding, least amount of poor ratings. a lot of outstanding, above average ratings. barack obama, a lot in the outstanding. a little worse than ronald reagan in the area of poor. that was a gallup poll done january 14, just before the inauguration. your choice for the best and worst u.s. presidents, broken by party. (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats. others, (202) 748-8002. we will look at other news as well and some of the aftermath of the acquittal of the impeachment. this is the headline this

james buchanan, 1%. sample size, about 1500 adults. that was done recently.he poll finds obama named the best u.s. president and trump the worst. that is our question for you on this president's day. this is a different take on that. it is from usa today. kennedy leaves the field in modern presidents. how americans ranked presidents from 1960's will be viewed by history. they looked at recent presidents going back to kennedy. kennedy is at the top. the blue shade means outstanding. the red is below average or poor. kennedy with the most outstanding, least amount of poor ratings. a lot of outstanding, above average ratings. barack obama, a lot in the outstanding. a little worse than ronald reagan in the area of poor. that was a gallup poll done january 14, just before the inauguration. your choice for the best and worst u.s. presidents, broken by party. (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats. others, (202) 748-8002. we will look at other news as well and some of the aftermath of the acquittal of the impeachment. this is the headline this

capitol and fighting the war but buchanan was his secretary of state have good insight into how buchanan operated jamesiary and he was a man of low character. couldn't trust him with anything. he only cared about himself and maneuvering for his self interest, brazenly so but the thing about buchanan that gets me most serious, he lied to the american people in his inaugural address because he was decision was coming down the pike and announced the americann people, assume the presidency to accept the outcome, whatever it was, and dell was a reliable vision. he already knew what it would be because is it conversation with chief justice who told him exactly what the decision would be in fact the action of somebody who is of low character. w and i am happy to put him at the bottom. d if you look at the record of what was happening during his presidency, is a pretty good including getting out of the wilson recession in a zooming way that he's never gotten for so i have to say, george w. bush deserves to be down there pretty low in the low registers because presided over an awful war that was very destructiv