The American President: The American Way

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.

“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.

Chapter Markers:
Thomas Jefferson - His "Empire Of Liberty" 1801-1809 (0:46)
Calvin Coolidge - Silent Cal 1923-1929 (12:28)
Herbert C. Hoover - American Individualist 1929-1933 (23:40)
Ronald Reagan - An American Dreamer 1981-1989 (36:17)

© Kunhardt Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

#TheAmericanPresident #kunhardtfilmfoundation

[cindymaceda]

Thank you, Messrs Kunhardt, for creating this amazing series. Wish our youth would watch this to learn about presidential history in order to make a good decision when they choose the next one.

[karandalgary]

Finally. I’ve wanted this show on YouTube for a minute

[CyberspacedLoner]

Please create a playlist with this series

[HorneATL]

2:57 Permit me as I weep with adoration here for having Amb. Young read this passage from the Declaration of Independence.

[MAlexanderZagorski]

Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743-July 4, 1826) served as the consummate polymath.🇺🇸

[cindymaceda]

Pres. Kennedy, in a welcome speech at a dinner he hosted for 49 (?) Nobel Prize winners at the White House, said, & I paraphrase, “There hasn’t been this much genius in one room since Thomas Jefferson dined here alone.”

[Rags]

As @JeffreyKB said, he was an actor, and that's about it and I have seen all his movies and didn't think much of him there either. Must have been nice to have a good pair of boots you could pull up by the straps. He was the exception not the rule for the average US citizen. All the big money folks liked him even more when he handed them the golden ticket on taxes!

[matthewrider]

You know... I think Goldwater would've been a lil disappointed w/what Reagan did to Conservatism... And Reagan would've been especially disgusted at what Trump did, proclaiming it to be Conservatism, & yet... Wow. Just, wow...

[Canadiantubemaster]

Nobody got their knickers in a knot when Reagan talked about making America great again! WTF?

[JeffreyKB]

Whether you agreed with his policies or not, you have to admit, the guy was very good at looking, acting, and being presidential. His confidence put everyone at ease.

[kimberleymurphy]

What's wrong with Coolidges face?

[kidmohair]

the dinner guest said she had taken a bet that she could get Silent Cal to say more than 3 words.
his response was 2.
she lost.

[jacqueashley]

Reagan's tax cuts were a direct hit to the middle class. At the time I worked for CPA and Lawyers, if you filed the long form, you could deduct every dime for all sales tax paid. He took all of this and other things away. I went from getting a refund to owing $1, 000.

[_marlene]

Love how they covered Iran Contra. So funny. Great historical propaganda piece for future review. Can't believe it was only year 2000 this was made. Such an ancient feel.

[thattimestampguy]

0:01
0:23 Episode 5: The American Way.

*Thomas Jefferson*
0:34 The First President to Define The American Way. Thomas Jefferson, 1801-1809
0:47 "The First object of my heart is my own country."
1:10 From His estate, Monticello.
1:24 Omnivorously curious.
1:47 Physically ackward, poor public speaker, uncanny ability to inspire those around him.
1:57 "He had a kind of magnetism." - Robert E. Neustadt.

*The Declaration of Independence*
2:23 A Gifted Writer, The Writer of The Declaration of Independence.
2:42/2:57 "We Hold These Truths to Be Self Evident.."
3:29 Liberty & Equality. And American Nationhood.
3:57 America was absent of A Feudal Tradition, absence of Serfdom.
4:09 "He meant it."
4:26 "Jefferson's Words are Bigger than Jefferson." - Robert E Neustadt.

*Jefferson's Retirement*
4:45 Retired to Monticello.

*Death of Martha Jefferson*
5:15 "A Single event wiped away all my plans." - Thomas Jefferson on the death of his wife Martha after she gave birth to a child.

*American Minister to France*
5:34
5:58 Critical of The Monarchical Style.

*The Revolution of 1800*
6:10 The Revolution of 1800, not by the sword, but by The Suffrage of The People.
6:49 Jefferson eliminated the state carriage.

*Retiring Debt, Closing down The Army and Navy, *
7:36 Cutting back what he considered a bloated federal government.
- Cutting the debt
- Cutting the army
- Cutting the navy

*The Louisiana Purchase for $15 Million*
8:18 When an opportunity came, he saw it, he acted on it, he bought Louisiana.
+ Doubling America's size
8:36 Jefferson Purchased The Louisiana Territory.
9:03 Louisiana stretched America's horizons.

*Disastrous 2nd Term*
9:25 One of the most successful 1st terms, but in his 2nd term, it backfired.
- Embargo Act crippled the economy
9:59 - He became unpopular among the people
10:12 Feeling relief from "Shaking off the shackles of power."

*Back Home to Monticello*
10:25 March 4th, 1809, Thomas Jefferson returned home.
10:45 Family, Books, and a few friends.
11:03 Still a slaveholder.
11:22 A Man of Profound Contradictions.

11:40 "Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science..."

*Calvin Coolidge*
11:59 Expanding Liberty, Freedom, and Smaller Government.
12:39 "The Chief Business of the American People is Business."
13:12 Cold, Silent.
13:25 "Government which Governs Least, Governs Best."

13:50 Grew up on a family farm in Vermont.
14:20 Cautious and Frugal. Wasting nothing.
14:57 "Even talking itself could be a form of waste."
15:14 Law and then to Politics in Massachussets working slowly but steady up the ladder.
15:33 Governor Coolidge ended the Boston Police Strike during his time.

15:53 Vice President to Warren G. Harding.
16:10 Silent Cal
16:34 August 3rd, 1923. President Harding had just passed away.
17:12 A Father Ministered To His Son.
17:36 For the 6th Time in American History, A Vice-President found himself the new President.
18:14 Radio Broadcasts and Calvin Coolidge was in one of the very first Moving Pictures with Sound.
19:00 He was Grace's Husband. He must have had qualities he did not show.
19:25 The Charming Wife of Silent Cal, Grace Coolidge.
19:53 "You lose."
20:17 Calvin Coolidge's Son, Calvin Coolidge Jr., died of blood poisoning from a blister playing lawn tennis on the South Grounds.
21:04 Coolidge was elected to his own term in 1924. Prosperity.
21:35 Those In Poverty.
21:55 Jefferson and Calvin Coolidge were Strict Constructionists.
22:28 Coolidge did nothing to avert a looming financial crisis.
22:51 Herbert Hoover, The Great Depression.
23:03 "I am no longer fit for these times. We are in a new era, which I do not belong."

*Herbert Hoover* An American Individualist
23:22 Energetic and Competent, Herbert Hoover.

_Herbert Hoover: The Great Engineer, a Visionary_
24:16 "The Great Engineer." Problems existed to be solved.

*Herbert Hoover's Upbringing*
24:48 Herbert Clark Hoover, son of a blacksmith and a Quaker mother.
25:10 Being raised by an uncle.
25:25 Working in Gold Mines.
25:38 He was hired by a British Mining Firm and was sent to Australia.
25:54 Multi-Millionaire Herbert Hoover.

*World War One Food Tsar*

26:37 "This man is not to be stopped..." He's "The Food Tsar."
26:53 The Food Tsar

27:15 Freedom of The Spirit.

*Herbert Hoover's Presidency*
28:15 Herbert Hoover succeeds Calvin Coolidge.
28:31 Volunteerism. Child Welfare. Public Education. Rights of Native Americans.

*The Downfall of Herbert Hoover*
29:18 7 months into Herbert Hoover's Presidency. The STOCK MARKET CRASHED!
30:00 "He was totally unprepared for what had happened."
30:27 Unaccustomed to Failure, he became passive and distant.
30:55 "In time, his very name began to spell hate." Hoovervilles, Hooverwagons, a man out of touch with the American People.
31:32 America wanted someone else
31:46 Very Authoritative to "The Quintessential Stuffed Shirt" to Uncaring.
32:24 FDR Projected Warmth, Concern, and Caring.
32:57 Thousands of Unemployed Veterans "The Bonus Army" Death March around the capitol building. A Riot broke out. President Hoover authorized the US Army to intervene.
34:00 "This will elect me." - said Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
34:31 Herbert Hoover, He went fishing. His Faith in America never dimmed.
35:05 fisherman 🎣
35:27 "Within The Soul of America is Freedom of Mind and Spirit. Perhaps it's not perfect, but it is more full of it's realization here, than anywhere in the world."

*Ronald Reagan*
35:53
36:22 "Pay your way."

36:33 Ronald Reagan, a man of considerable intelligence.
37:11 Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover were presidents when Ronald Reagan was in high school.
37:53 1937 Warner Brothers. "The All-American Boy" Ronald Reagan, President of The Screen Actors Guild.
38:33 Host of General Electric Theater.
38:58 A Conservative Democratic, who wanted to protect liberties from government encroachment.
39:48 He was a magnetic public speaker, a Citizen Politician.
40:16 The Great Communicator, in a technical sense.
40:39 The Substance doesn't measure up to what Jefferson had written.
41:03 8 Years as California Governor.
41:25 President Jimmy Carter, and the stalling economy.
41:45 Teach The Americans How To Dream Again.
42:20 Not just 1 man, Having People Who Believe In Your Greatness and That YOU Along with US, 42:27 can Make America Great Again.
43:07 "The Revolution of 1980."
43:25
+ Strong Military
+ Turning The Economy Around
43:40 A DRAMATIC SCENE, President Attacked by John Hinckly Jr.
44:24 President Reagan showed Grace Under Fire. "He was a Martyr who recovered without Martyrdom."
44:43 Isolation, limited hours, falling asleep. Saving his energy for "The Big Picture."

45:07 The Soviet Union = The Focus of Evil
45:49 The Oldest President In American History (at the time).
46:27 1985 Iran Contra.
47:33 Popularity Plummited.
47:54 He acknowledged, he took responsibility. "Reagan was twice shy and worked his way out of that one."
48:45 Peace Talks with Mikhail Gorbachev.
49:14 5 US-USSR Peace Summits. The Beginning of The End of The Cold War.
49:52
- The National Debt Tripled.
- The Gap Between The Rich and The Poor had widened.
50:36 Individualism, Self-Reliance, Grit.
51:07 + Gave People a Sense that All Is Well In America.
51:17 A Considerable President.

*The American Way - Concluding Statements*
51:31 + Promising A Smaller, Simpler, Government, as a way to allow their Freedoms to Flourish
51:47 Thomas Jefferson, The Guiding Spirit
The American Way.
51:58 Lincoln, Roosevelt, building up Government, with Jefferson as their Guiding Spirit.

[johnnotrealname]

21:37 While there have been plenty of criticisms of President's failures, this is the first time someone has been condemned, @#£% Thomas Jefferson was not castigated for owning slaves (I doubt he fathered any children with them and there is proof that his equalitarian views extended to blacks as his time wore on.) even if John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was committedly for civil rights. Edit: Thomas Jefferson quite clearly was not writing about economics, you know given his very anti-governmemt economic policies, but politically hence why Ronald Wilson Reagan supported Abraham Lincoln (I mean it is a low bar.) and civil rights legislation (He initially supported Franklin Delano Roosevelt by the way.). Furthermore this documentary gives Reagan an oddly hands-off responsibility for Nuclear-Arms reduction when that was all him. Read about his zero-option for example. As for the gap between rich and poor, I could not care less as long as the poor are getting richer too. For example, Reagan supported land-reform (Capitalism arguably more so than communism supports land reform.), his tax policies mainly benefited the less well-off but he could not get his budgets through Congress unscathed. As for human-rights, Reagan did more for human-rights than any other President in history or was ending, at least shepherding, the Cold War another day's work? Under George Herbert Walker Bush there were more democratic regimes than ever thought possible.

[marcikrueger]

At the time the primary definition of the word “man” was human kind. Jefferson meant exactly what he said. ALL men are created equal.

[MAlexanderZagorski]

Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911-June 5, 2004) was ONE GREAT AMERICAN!🇺🇸

[crystalrogers]

But did he really go back to sleep after becoming president 😅

[JL]

I'd rank Hoover higher than Reagan in retrospect. I'm glad this didn't whitewash his presidency.