brian: john seigenthaler, author of "james k. polk," how'd they talk you into doing a biography on this president? john: arthur schlesinger called me on the phone and said, you're a tennessean. james k. polk was a tennessean. why don't you write a biography for this series that times books is doing on the presidents? and i said, arthur, i don't have time. i'm retired. he said, i want you to do one thing. he said alan nevins has done a paperback that excerpts his diary, his presidential diary. just take the weekend and read it and tell me no. and i read the excerpts from the diary, and i couldn't say no. i was fascinated by the man. brian: did you know much about him before you started on this? john: you know, i knew he was a tennessean. 'm a tennessean. i knew that his grave is behind the capitol. there is no marker in nashville, except a plaque on the side of a dirty motel wall. his old home place in columbia is preserved, and i'd been there many times and have been there since. but i knew virtually nothing about him and almost nothi

james k. polk failed to carry his home state of tennessee, which reminds us that in 2000, if al gore had carried his own state of tennessee, he would have been the president. everything that goes around comes around, i guess, brian. >> a quick question on the diaries. where do they keep them now, the actual diaries? >> the actual diaries are in the library of congress. the copies that cutler has and all of those documents that are in cutlers domain are copies, both the correspondence and the diaries. >> can you read the diaries online? >> you can read the diaries online, and that made my work much, much easier. you can read the diaries online and you can -- i say you can read them online. you can -- you can get a cd, and thats what i did. and got it from the university of tennessee. and to be able to do that, to sit at home and just sit in front of the computer and make notes, split the screen and make notes beside it as you go through, excerpt what you want, makes writing -- made writing for me a

james k. polk." how did they talk to into doing biographer on this. >> john schlesinger called me and said why don't you write a series of books on the presidents and i said, arthur, i don't have time. i'm retired. and he said i want you to do one thing. allen evans have done a paper back that excerpts his diary, his presidential diary. just take the weekend and read it and tell me no. and i read the excerpts from the diary and i couldn't say no. i was fascinated by the man. >> did you know much about him. >> i knew he was a tennesseean and i'm a tennesseean. i knew that his grave is behind the capitol. there is no marker in nashville except a plaque on the side of a dirty motel wall. his old homeplace in columbia is preserved and i had been there many times and have been there since. but i knew virtually nothing about him and almost nothing that was good. his reputation was the result of what was to him during his presidency over the mexican-american war. left him a bad reputation. a reputation as

james k. polk who conducted the 1846 to 1848 war against mexico. then presidential historian richard norton smith discussed his his biography of herbert hoover, an uncommon man. after that james mann discussed former president george w. bush. now here is john seigenthaler on the presidency of james k. polk. >> every saturday night american history tv takes you to college how. >> how did they talk you into doing a biography on this president. >> i was called on the phone, they said why don't you write a biography for the series of books on the president. i said arthur, i don't have time. i'm retired. and he said i want you to do one thing. allen evans have done a paper back that excerpts his diary, his presidential diary. just take the weekend and read it and tell me no. and i read the excerpts from the diary and i couldn't say no. i was fascinated by the man. >> did you know much about him. >> i knew he was a tennesseean and i'm a tennesseean. i knew that his grave is behind the capitol. there is n

brian: john seigenthaler, author of "james k. polkow'd they talk you into doing a biography on this president? john: arthur schlesinger called me on the phone and said, you're a tennessean. james k. polk was a tennessean. why don't you write a biography for this series that times books is doing on the presidents? and i said, arthur, i don't have time. i'm retired. he said, i want you to do one thing. he said alan nevins has done a

john seigenthaler talks about james k. polk who conducted the war against mexico.ory tv now and over the weekend on c-span3. >>> every saturday night, american history tv takes you to college classroom around the country for lectures in history. >> why too you all know who lizzie borden is and raise your hand if you ever heard of the jane harris trial? >> the deeper revolution took place in the minds of the american people. >> so we'll talk about both sides of the story here. the tools, the techniques of slave owner power and we'll also talk about the tools and techniques of power that were practiced by enslaved people. >> watch history professors lead discussions with their students on topics rangeling from the american revolution to september 11th. lectures in history on c-span3 every saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv and lectures in history is available as a podcast. find it where you listen to podcasts. >>> up next,

first, john seigenthaler on james k. polk who conducted the 1846 to 1848 war against mexico. then presidential historian richard norton smith discussed herbert hoover, an uncommon man. after that james mann discussed former president george w. bush. now here is john seigenthaler on the presidency of james k. polk. >> every saturday night american history tv takes you to college classrooms around the country for lectures in history. >> why do you all know who lizzy borden is and raise your hand if you ever heard of this murder, the jean harris murder trial before this class? >> a deepest cause where we'll find the true meaning of the revolution was in this transformation that took place in the minds of the american people. >> so we're going to talk about both of these sides of the story here, right. the tools, the techniques of slave owner power and we'll also talk about the tools and techniques of power that were practiced by enslaved people. >> watch history professors lead discussions with their students on topics ranging from the american revolution to september 11th. lectu

eastern with a 2003 program from c-span's "booknotes" series john siegenthaler talks about james k. polkducted the 1846 to 1848 war against mexico. enjoy american history tv now and over the weekend on c-span 3. >> this weekend on american history tv, saturday at 2:30 p.m. on oral histories. >> well, about 5:00 on d-day afternoon this huge explosion occurred and it was blown up and at that point i lifted my head out of my fox hole to see what was going on and suddenly i heard a huge noise and felt a shock and realized i had been hit. >> then at 6:00 p.m. on the civil war, scott mingus on the importance of the cumberland valley railroad. >> in stunning example of mcclellan's generalship in those days, he doesn't need the ammunition. he doesn't, even though these railroaders have risked their lives and have set a new speed record for the fastest route they have ever or will ever run during the civil war, not a single one of these ammunition rounds is fired. >> sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern on "reel america" the 1945 u.s. navy film about the battle of okinawa. >> it was desperation. it was su

first, john seigenthaler on james k. polk who conducted the 1846 to 1848 war against mexico. then presidential historian richard norton smith discussed his his biography of herbert hoover, an uncommon man. after that james mann discussed former president george w. bush. now here is john seigenthaler on the presidency of james k. polk. >> every saturday night american history tv takes you to college how. >> how did they talk you into doing a biography on this president. >> i was called on the phone, they said why don

john seeing enthraller talked about james k. polk who conducted the war against mexico.merican history tv, now and over the weekend on c-span 3. >> every saturday night american history tv takes you to college classrooms around the country for lectures in history. >> why do you all know who lizzy borden is and raise your hand if you ever heard of this murder, the jean harris murder trial before this class. >> a deepest cause where we'll find the true meaning of the revolution was in this transformation that took place in the minds of the american people. >> so we're going to talk about both of these sides of the story here, right. the tools, the techniques of slave owner power and we'll also talk about the tools and techniques of power that were practiced by enslaved people. >> watch history professors lead discussions with their students on topics ranging from the american revolution to september 11th, lectures in history on c-span 3 every saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv and lectures in history is available as a podcast. find it where you listen t

he talks about james k. polk that conducted the 1846 to 1848 war. enjoy american history tv now and over the weekend on cspan 3. so we're going to talk about the sides of the story. the tools and technique of slave owner power and the tools of techniques of power that were practiced by enslaved people. >> watch history professors lead discussions with their students on topics from the american revolution to september 11th. lectures in history on cspan 3 every saturday on american history tv. and putting on the road great images that norman rockwell painted that really created a national concept of the four freedoms that made visible, tangible and real the ideological concepts that president roosevelt expressed in the state of the union address in 1941. >> first is freedom of speech and expression. everywhere in the world. the second is freedom of every person to worship god in his own way. everywhere in the world. and translated in the world terms means economic understanding which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabit

it's about james k. polk who conducted the 1846 to 1848 war against mexico. enjoy american history tv now and over the weekend on c-span 3. >> every saturday night american history tv takes you to college classrooms around the country for lectures in history. >> why do you all know who lizzie borden is and raise your hand if you ever heard of this murder, the gene harris murder trial, before this class. >> the deepest cause where we'll find the true meaning of the revolution was in this transformation that took place in the minds of the american people. we'll talk about both sides of the story here, right? the tools and techniques of slave owner power and also talk about the tools and techniques of power that were practiced by enslaved people. >> watch history professors lead discussions with their students on topics ranging from the american revolution to september 11th. lectures in history on c-span 3 every saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv and lectures in history is available

he was granted clemency by the president, james k polk because he was a national hero, but resigned as point of principle anyway. returned to california in 1849 in time for the gold rush. and that was the moment in which he encountered the group of mexicans and had his land prospected for gold and made himself very rich. and there's a period where he's just continuously going back and forth and they spent 1849 in california and then by the end. california is chosen for state confusion and he's chosen as one of the senators. then they get on a ship to go back toward the east. by the end of 1850 he's going back to california again. he's this bicoastal guy and it's not a six-hour flight, people. and he continues going back and forth after the defeat in the election of 1856. jessie decided to remain in new york and john, who had difficulty staying in one place, decided to return to california and they went back and forth again. and i'll mention even one more thing, later in life, he blew their money in railroad investmen investments. they were really broke, one of the ways that they suppor

president james k polk had just been elected and wanted california and want today buy california frommexico, was in the process of provoking an actual war against mexico, but the war hadn't started yet. nevertheless, fremont was going in that direction and president polk, according to the documentary evidence, his diary knew fremont was going there. it's unclear with polk had quietly told him take over if you get a chance. i think, it seems a little more likely that the plans were a little more vague. polk thought he was going to get california one way or another. wanted to make really sure that some european colonial power didn't capture is first and so fremont was out there to be available and useful if he possibly could and fremont, when he got to california didn't act like anybody with any great strategic purpose he. thrashed around the state and gradually irritated the mexican authorities. he should have left california to go up to oregon which what he told the mexicans he was going to do. he gave various explanations why he didn't go away. later in life the explanation why he di

james k. polk was a tennessean.hy don't you write a biography for this series that times books is doing on the presidents? and i said, arthur, i don't have time. i'm retired.

in this 2003 program from c-span's book notes series, they talk by james k polk, who conducted the 1846-1848 war against mexico. this interview was included in -span's 2019 book, the presidents, with historians. mr. polk ranked 14th in presidential leadership. brian: john seigenthaler, author of "james k. polk," how'd they