In honor of President's Day, A&E Home Entertainment is having a special on "The Presidents" documentary on iTunes! You can download all eight episodes of the documentary for only 99 cents each.The Presidents 3-DVD set is an eight-part survey of the personal lives and legacies of the remarkable men who have presided over the Oval Office.
From George Washington to George W. Bush, The Presidents gathers together vivid snapshots of all 43 Commanders in Chief who have guided America throughout its history--their powerful personalities, weaknesses, and major achievements or historical insignificance.
Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning book by James McPherson, The Presidents features rare and unseen photographs and footage, unexpected insight and trivia from journalists, scholars, and politicians such as Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Wesley Clark, Bob Dole, and former President Jimmy Carter. Viewed within the changing contexts of each administration, the Presidency has never seemed more compelling and human. Narrated by Edward Herrmann (The Aviator), this three-DVD set is a proud addition to the award-winning documentary tradition of THE HISTORY CHANNEL.
Link to The Presidents on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/
If you've got iTunes or an iPod or any other iProduct that could download the information, the entire set is yours for about $8 bucks until February 23. Each episode is about 45 minutes long, so that's a pretty good buy. If you don't want to shell out the money, I'm giving one away. A&E has agreed to send one to me, and one to one of my readers.
So here's the deal.
To enter into the Free DVD sweepstakes tell me which President you'd most like to spend a day with, and tell me what you'd do. I'm looking for historical accuracy and creativity.
Good luck.
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7 comments:
My choice would be James K. Polk. Although he is considered broodish and calculating, I would like to ask him about the achievements of his administration and, knowing that civil war would erupt eleven years after his term ended, whether he would still have gone to war with Mexico and acquired the Southwest.
I would especially like to see his relationship with his wife Sarah, whose opinions he considered in making decisions. I imagine theirs was a close relationship, as they were unable to have children.
I would like to talk with Woodrow Wilson. I would ask him how he could reconcile academics and politics. I love learning and want to know just about everything, but I feel a disillusion with the practical use of knowledge in public office and the politics that go with it. I would ask him how he could use political tools and rhetoric to apply his ideals. I feel he was a idealist with his agenda of "making the world safe for democracy", self-determination, and the international cooperative body of the League of Nations. I would ask him to look at our world today and tell me if these efforts were in vain, or if we should still hold onto these, and other, seemingly impossible ideals. I could use his advice there.
I would ask him about America's founding principle of property rights (life, liberty, property) that come from Locke. I would pull out Locke's Second Treatise and read him the section about no man having the right to have a slave or give their life to slavery. I would corner him on that one and ask him how he could feel racist toward African-Americans based in the nation's unjust history of slavery. I would ask him this, not to discredit him, but to see how an intellectual and idealist could possibly feel that way. I honestly want to know how that works because we do the same things with other issues. Seeing how it worked in an obvious case like racism might help me deal with other issues that I am being a hypocrite about.
I would probably have the interview take place in a library, so we could look up information and questions as we go.
If only that were possible...
It would have to be Harry S. Truman. President Truman was a feisty and get the point president. There are a plethora of questions that I would ask him. Obviously, the main one would be about his decision to drop the atomic bomb. I would have to deeply analyze his decision, given the enormous effects. Even though he was not aware of them, we would have contemplated the potential devastating impact it had on the people of Japan. There has never been a president that made such a threatening decision. Not only towards the innocent people, but also in regards to the issue of using nuclear weapons in general.
Secondly, we would have to explore the decision regarding his desire to end segregation in the military. He was one of the few presidents that actually took direct action regarding civil rights for all Americans. This is quite surprising, given the time period in which he was president. For all FDR meant for the people of society, changes in civil rights were not directly on his agenda. Yet, Truman went ahead and did so. Once you think about, this was a pivotal step toward future civil rights battles. Could he have imagined this? Was that his goal? Finally, we would definitely have to ponder on the issues of his educational background, his daughter's singing career and reasons he chose not to run for another term. He deliberately shocked America we he ran the 1st time. I would have to get his personal reaction on that one.
Totally going road-tripping across the South with William Jefferson Clinton (pre-heart issues). Catfish, hushpuppies, and Lane Cake.
This was a tough question…
I think the President I’d most like to have a chat with would be William Howard Taft. Often the history books treat him as a buffoon, the hand-picked – and traitorous – successor to TR’s progressive plans. Yet, as I read more about him, the more I have to admire this President.
Taft actually launched more antitrust suits (80) than “trust-buster” Roosevelt. He also supported two Constitutional amendments: one for a federal income tax, the other for the direct election of Senators. He also expanded the powers of the ICC, allowing them to set railroad rates.
Despite this, the Progressives tore him up over tariffs, and ignored his progressive successes. I’d like to know, among other things, how Taft felt about this – and his view on what (if he’d wanted to) he could have done differently to meet the political conditions of the day.
I find it interesting that he was the first President to actually own a car; to start the institute of ‘throwing out the first ball’ in baseball; and his wife was responsible for the planting of the cherry trees donated by the Japanese government.
He was also Supreme Court Chief Justice for over a decade – again, I’d like his perspective on how his decisions affected the history of this nation.
Thinking about Taft, I guess I need to find a good biography and have my own ‘chat’ with the President. Any suggestions?
Michael Ballard
If I had to choose a president to spend the day with, I would probably pick George Washington, but another U.S. historical figure that I would really like to spend time with is Benjamin Franklin. If you’re interested in learning more about this fascinating man, then I highly recommend checking out the large print edition of “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,” available on Amazon.
http://autobiographyofbenjaminfranklin.com/
If i would have a chance to spend even one day with the President, I would choose Barack Obama. We would have more important topics related to our world today to talk to.
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