Michael Gerhardt, author of the new book FDR’s Mentors: Navigating the Path to Greatness, and Andrew Busch, author of Reagan's Victory: The Presidential Election of 1980 and the Rise of the Right, join Jeffrey Rosen to explore the pivotal elections of 1932 and 1980. They compare the transformative presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, and trace how founding-era debates between Hamilton and Jefferson over the scope of federal and executive power re-emerged during the New Deal and Reagan Revolution. This program originally streamed live on April 16, 2024.
Please subscribe to We the People and Live at the National Constitution Center on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.
Today’s episode was produced by Tanaya Tauber, Lana Ulrich, and Bill Pollock. It was engineered by Kevin Kilbourne and Bill Pollock. Research was provided by Samson Mostashari, Cooper Smith, and Yara Daraiseh.
Participants
Andrew E. Busch is the Crown Professor of Government and George R. Roberts Fellow at Claremont McKenna College. He is the author or co-author of more than three dozen scholarly chapters and articles as well as more than 20 books on topics involving the Constitution, American presidents, and political campaigns. Among his many books are Ronald Reagan and the Politics of Freedom, Reagan’s Victory: The Presidential Election of 1980 and the Rise of the Right, The Constitution on the Campaign Trail: The Surprising Political Career of America’s Founding Document, and the forthcoming Ronald Reagan and the Firing of the Air Traffic Controllers.
Michael Gerhardt is the Burton Craige Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of North Carolina. The author numerous leading treatises on impeachment, appointments, presidential power, Supreme Court precedent, and separation of powers, he is also the author of several books, including The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy, Lincoln’s Mentors: The Education of a Leader, The Law of Presidential Impeachment: A Guide for the Engaged Citizen, and most recently, FDR’s Mentors: Navigating the Path to Greatness.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also a professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
- Michael J. Gerhardt, FDR’s Mentors: Navigating the Path to Greatness (2024)
- Andrew E. Busch, Ronald Reagan and the Politics of Freedom (2001)
- Andrew E. Busch, Reagan's Victory: The Presidential Election of 1980 and the Rise of the Right (2005)
- Andrew E. Busch, The Constitution on the Campaign Trail: The Surprising Political Career of America’s Founding Document (2007)
- Friedrich Hayek, "The Road to Serfdom," Teaching American History (May 21, 2020)
- Ronald Reagan, Remarks to Commonwealth Club members on March 4, 1983, Reagan Library (July 19, 2018)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, Undelivered Address Prepared for Jefferson Day, The American Presidency Project
Stay Connected and Learn More
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].
Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #WeThePeoplePodcast.
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.
