Radio War Nerd EP #59—War & Elections
The War Nerd looks back at how wars have influenced US elections, from the election of 1800 during the "Quasi-War" with France, to the election of 1864 during the Civil War, and through the 20th C during Vietnam and the Global War On Terror . . .
Total Time: 2:35:40
Comments (16)
I’m late to this, it’s October 2023 but I’m listening to old episodes and I love it. I’m from Providence and wrote my college history thesis on RI before the revolution and I continue to investigate the seedy history to this day. Love the show but had to comment when I heard about RI…so many people here don’t know/understand any of that history. Cheers boys!
There was a quote from a speech given in the Democratic Party Convention to the effect that only in America could a decendent of slaves become president. Mexico has had several presidents of mixed indian - european descent (Guerrero, Diaz, Cardenas) and on who was pure indian (Benito Juarez). Not sure what this means if anything. Probably nothing in terms of social justice but a reflection of the notion that thos who come to office are those best able to surf the waves of power at the time.
The French revolution freed the slaves, Napoleon put them back in chains.
Mark, it might be nice for you to do a piece regarding spite in American elections where the left was able to harness that cultural force as opposed to the right. Also it would be cool to here about the Corsica republic paoli and the republican context napoleon was born into. Otherwise excellent as always!
This is perhaps a stupid question, but does the quasi anti-France stance have anything to do with the reason why the US never adopted the metric system?
nope, the Federalists went out of power pretty fast and America became pro-France thereafter
Further to your comments about the Versaille Treaty I have a dissenting view from the book "The Fall of Paris: The Siege and the Commune 1870-71" 1967 by Alistair Horne in which the author states that the French were only doing to the Germans what the Germans had done to them after the war of 1870, which was to impose reparations on them that were so drastic that the French would be forever unable to pay them off and thus pose no further threat to Germany. The French shocked the Germans by paying the whole lot off by 1890 - I assume by squeezing the colonies for every last centime.
Got a link to the Nixon Johnson heart attack story? That one sure is deep in the memory hole.
You should do a show on why the Central Powers should have won WWI, or WWI in general. You've touched on it a little in podcasts like the one about Cadorna in the Alps, but maybe a bit on Verdun or The Somme, maybe even a show about Versaille and how it basically guaranteed disaster. Other topics like the evolution of disaffected WWI veterans in Germany becoming the Freikorps becoming the NSDAP. Just a thought.
On a related note, I would like to hear a show about the strengths of Napoleon's army and the feasibility of an invasion of the UK, which you also called a preferable outcome (less colonization, early end to slavery, etc).
Link to mp3 in the e-mail is broken.
yes we know, fixed it after it was posted. check again
I appreciate your response in the podcast this week and was feeling stupid for what seemed like a coarse characterization of your comments and for putting "logic" in quotes. Then you followed up "Bush wasn't a wild card" with "At least there is a little mystery with Trump ... a little hope. He can be played as a wild card". Again- your parroting the Trump supporters- "go with the devil you don't know cause hey maybe it will turn out ok." Still, love the podcast
Loving the improved audio quality
I've always held The Day of the Locust in high regard, so I'm surprised to hear you call it a bad novel. It's been a few years, so now I'm going to have to go back and see if I missed something. I ended up re-reading Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail in '72, and it's eerily relevant to see how little things have changed, in no small part because the Silent Majority that emerged during that era hasn't died off yet.
Ha Ha you guys cleaarly have post election stress disorder