The American President
“The American President” is a series that aired on PBS in 2000 profiling 41 U.S. chief executives, using exclusive interviews with Presidents Clinton, Bush, Ford, and Carter. Well known figures lend their voice to presidents of the past who lived before sound recordings, including: Colin Powell, Bob Dole, Walter Cronkite, Ben Bradlee, John Glenn, James Carville, Andrew Young, and the Rev. Billy Graham. Narrated by Hugh Sidey.
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Cast
Seasons
“The American President” is a series that aired on PBS in 2000 profiling 41 U.S. chief executives, using exclusive interviews with Presidents Clinton, Bush, Ford, and Carter. Well known figures lend their voice to presidents of the past who lived before sound recordings, including: Colin Powell, Bob Dole, Walter Cronkite, Ben Bradlee, John Glenn, James Carville, Andrew Young, and the Rev. Billy Graham. Narrated by Hugh Sidey.
- Ep 1
1.Family Ties
09-04-200053mThe last thing that the Founding Fathers envisioned was a hereditary chief executive. After all, they had fought a war in part to rid themselves of a king. Yet power inevitably pas...
- Ep 2
2.Happenstance
09-04-200053mNearly one in six American presidents has died in office. The vice presidents who succeeded them were often chosen because they provided some electoral advantage (John Tyler, Milla...
- Ep 3
3.An Independent Cast of Mind
10-04-200053mIs an independent cast of mind the best approach to the presidency? The four men profiled in this hour (John Adams, Zachary Taylor, Rutherford B. Hayes and Jimmy Carter) pursued a...
- Ep 4
4.The Professional Politician
10-04-200053mIn our nation’s early years, taking part in political affairs was considered a duty and an honor, but not a way of life. It was not long, however, before the professional politicia...
- Ep 5
5.The American Way
11-04-200053mIt is often observed that American national identity is less a condition than an idea. What we have come to refer to as “the vision thing” is an expectation that our presidents wil...
- Ep 6
6.The World Stage
11-04-200053mThe president has no greater responsibility than representing the nation on the world stage. These four men (James Monroe; William McKinley; Woodrow Wilson; George H.W. Bush) enga...
- Ep 7
7.The Heroic Posture
12-04-200053mFrom the beginning, the presidential office has beckoned to national heroes renowned for their selfless service to their country (George Washington, William Henry Harrison, Ulysses...
- Ep 8
8.Compromise Choices
12-04-200053mWith the rise of political parties came the dawn of political compromise: nominees were selected because they were less offensive to some voters than those who might have been the...
- Ep 9
9.Expanding Power
13-04-200053mThough the powers of the presidency have expanded with the growth of the nation, the process has been anything but smooth. These four presidents are benchmarks in the development o...
- Ep 10
10.The Balance of Power
13-04-200053mThe final episode examines presidential leadership in an era of an increasingly divided government. The American presidency was conceived as one part of a larger system of institut...
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