The American President

Morley Safer

John Adams

Andrew Young

Thomas Jefferson

Robert MacNeil

James Monroe

George Will

John Quincy Adams

James Carville

Andrew Jackson

Mario Cuomo

Martin Van Buren

Lloyd Bentsen

William H. Harrison

Charlie Rose

John Tyler

Tim Russert

Millard Filmore

David Gergen

James Buchanan

Norman Schwarzkopf

Ulysses S. Grant

John Glenn

Rutherford B. Hayes

Billy Graham

James Garfield

Lowell Weicker

Grover Cleveland

Alexander Haig

Benjamin Harrison

William F. Buckley Jr.

Theodore Roosevelt

Colin Powell

William H. Taft

Seasons

Season 1

10 episodes

Premiered Apr 9, 2000

Episodes

1–6 of 10

Ep 1

Family Ties

Apr 9, 2000

The 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 passes from generation to generation, and several families have returned to the White House as though born to it. The stories of these four men profiled in this episode (John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Harrison, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy) reveal both the blessings and the curses of inherited power. Two of them were ill-at-ease with their lofty legacies and struggled as president, while the remaining two flourished in the exercise of power.

Ep 2

Happenstance

Apr 9, 2000

Nearly 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, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur, Harry Truman). What happens when such a man takes office – frequently facing widespread conviction that he is unworthy of the powers he inherits?

Ep 3

An Independent Cast of Mind

Apr 10, 2000

Is 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 course that took little account of political affiliation, becoming presidents, in essence, without being politicians. Taken together, they present a cautionary tale: all had difficult presidencies, and neither of the two who sought a second term was granted one.

Ep 4

The Professional Politician

Apr 10, 2000

In 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 politicians, and the parties they represented, began to find their way to the White House (Martin Van Buren, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Lyndon B. Johnson). While the skills necessary for political success can be helpful to a president, they are not sufficient to guarantee success in the office.

Ep 5

The American Way

Apr 11, 2000

It 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 will bring to the office a particularly strong sense of national mission. The four chronicled here (Thomas Jefferson, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Ronald Reagan) may have understood the special character of America in different ways, but in all cases a belief that there was a distinctly American way of doing things guided their decisions.

Ep 6

The World Stage

Apr 11, 2000