Richard Aldous's guest appearances

Richard Aldous

The Hard Shoulder Highlights

The Age of Jackson Podcast

"YOUR WELCOME" with Michael Malice

IR Talk

Sarah Polk

James Buchanan

Jay Cost

John Hughes

James Madison

Richard Bell

Alexander Hamilton

Joseph Smith

Calvin Schermerhorn

Mark Bell

Paul Kahan

William Bernstein

Andrew Jackson

Alan Taylor

Sarah Josepha Hale

OwlTail

Richard Aldous, expert in 20th Century British History joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to reflect on her 70 year reign thus far...

'It's been a remarkable reign' - Richard Aldous

Arthur Schlesinger

Professor Richard Aldous is the Eugene Meyer Professor of British History at Bard College. Prior to that, he taught for 15 years at University College Dublin, where he was the chair of the history department. He's the author of numerous books including works on Reagan and Thatcher's relationship, a dual biography of Disraeli and Gladstone and the subject of our conversation Schlesinger: The Imperial Historian. The following are books and articles pertinent to our conversation today: Schlesinger: The Imperial Historian Journals: 1952-2000 The Age of Jackson Orestes Brownson: A Pilgrim's Progress  The Age of Roosevelt A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House Perils of the Court Historian Patrick Geoghegan The Secret Life of the Savoy: and the D'Oyly Carte family Operation Moonglow: A Political History of Project Apollo The Fiume Crisis: Life in the Wake of the Habsburg Empire A Question of Leadership

Professor Richard Aldous is the Eugene Meyer Professor of British History at Bard College. Prior to that, he taught for 15 years at University College Dublin, where he was the chair of the history department. He's the author of numerous books including works on Reagan and Thatcher's relationship, a dual biography of Disraeli and Gladstone and the subject of our conversation Schlesinger: The Imperial Historian. The following are books and articles pertinent to our conversation today: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Schlesinger-Imperial-Historian-Richard-Aldous/dp/0393244709/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9Z3GM8UTNLZX&amp;keywords=schlesinger%3A+imperial+historian&amp;qid=1635021421&amp;qsid=132-4067690-5873425&amp;sprefix=schlesinger+imperial+historian%2Caps%2C110&amp;sr=8-1&amp;sres=0393244709&amp;srpt=ABIS_BOOK" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Schlesinger: The Imperial Historian</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Journals-1952-2000-Arthur-Schlesinger-Jr/dp/0143114352/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1P6FQ5EX9LN74&amp;dchild=1&amp;keywords=schlesinger+journals&amp;qid=1635021437&amp;qsid=132-4067690-5873425&amp;sprefix=schlesinger+journal%2Caps%2C82&amp;sr=8-2&amp;sres=B000W917VU%2CB09HJWKVH2%2C0375754210%2C1538745356%2CB001FA0JSM%2CB08P3QTLF7%2C0199399069%2CB06WGNTGXX%2CB008BW298U%2CB0034NSAQ6%2CB001ORJ39W%2CB001UFXP7E%2CB00FRNBT46%2CB005ECU6L2%2CB005ECU6IA%2CB005ECU6GM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Journals: 1952-2000</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Age-Jackson-Back-Bay-Books/dp/0316773433/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&amp;keywords=the+age+of+jackson+schlesinger&amp;qid=1635021460&amp;qsid=132-4067690-5873425&amp;sprefix=the+age+of+jacks%2Caps%2C159&amp;sr=8-2&amp;sres=0316773433%2CB001UQO4AK%2C0199399069%2C1469609738%2C1612346057%2C0807126098%2CB08CZVVD76%2C0820346810%2C142142598X%2CB0953VVVFK%2CB0877DHDM4%2C0837195454%2CB004ZM06KI%2C0807122920%2C0807114030%2C0967976901" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Age of Jackson</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Orestes-Brownson-Pilgrims-Progress-Schlesinger/dp/1297833651/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1635021485&amp;sr=8-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Orestes Brownson: A Pilgrim's Progress </a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078MLLC8S?searchxofy=true&amp;binding=kindle_edition&amp;ref_=dbs_s_aps_series_rwt_tkin&amp;qid=1635021517&amp;sr=8-3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Age of Roosevelt</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Days-Kennedy-White-House/dp/0618219277/ref=sr_1_1?crid=177DIY1PJ8F7D&amp;dchild=1&amp;keywords=1000+days+schlesinger&amp;qid=1635021567&amp;qsid=132-4067690-5873425&amp;sprefix=1000+days+schl%2Caps%2C96&amp;sr=8-1&amp;sres=B0089YAG6M%2CB000ZJYWTG%2CB0047HWH0I%2CB012YT81LY%2CB01CAUGN5S%2CB001RZ5XOK%2CB096PWN2PT%2CB0020PRXYO%2CB07HDFQVXP%2CB01K95QT32%2CB0085TJST2%2CB0085TKO04%2C0618340858%2CB08CZVTP6W%2C0395957931%2C0393318540" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House</a> <a href="https://warontherocks.com/2018/08/the-perils-of-the-court-historian/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Perils of the Court Historian</a> <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/varadkar-hires-trinity-historian-as-speechwriter-and-researcher-1.3125129" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patrick Geoghegan</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Savoy-DOyly-family/dp/1472269802/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=olivia+williams&amp;qid=1634590000&amp;sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Secret Life of the Savoy: and the D'Oyly Carte family</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Operation-Moonglow-Political-History-Project/dp/1541699874/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&amp;keywords=teasel+new+harmony&amp;qid=1634590030&amp;sr=8-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Operation Moonglow: A Political History of Project Apollo</a> <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674244245&amp;content=bios" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Fiume Crisis: Life in the Wake of the Habsburg Empire</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140284036/?coliid=I1VQOO9XTXU25V&amp;colid=29OTLCREFKU5G&amp;psc=0&amp;ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Question of Leadership</a>

S2 E3: The Life and Times of Arthur Schlesinger Jr. with Richard Aldous

This podcast takes its name from the term popularized by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.'s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Age of Jackson (1945). While early Mormonism and the Second Great Awakening may have gotten me into American Religious History, it was Schlesinger's Age of Jackson that got me bit by the Jacksonian bug.Despite the picture of Andrew Jackson on its cover and the evocative title, The Age of Jackson is less a biography of Andrew Jackson and more study of democracy's expansion in early 19th century America. In fact, when Schlesinger does reference Jackson, he is typically viewed through others, coming across as a mythical being and a larger than life figure. Key to Schlesinger's thesis is Jacksonian white-male suffrage, in which he sees the origins of modern-day American egalitarianism. As one can imagine, casting Jacksonian Democracy has an egalitarian force is where the bulk of the criticism of The Age of Jackson comes from today. The weakness of The Age of Jackson is most glaring in its silences, as it does not mention Indian removal at all and only references slavery in passing. Because of these problematic features, the book has not aged well for many. Many find its thesis unconvincing, if not counterfactual, such as Daniel Walker Howe. Yet The Age of Jackson is not without its modern-day fans and champions, like Sean Wilentz.But what about the man behind the book? Who was Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. and how did he come to write The Age of Jackson? What is The Age of Jackson about and what insights can we glean from it? Does it have any value for us today?To help with this first historiographical reflection, I have asked Richard Aldous to join me on the podcast.Richard Aldous is a professor of history at Bard College,where he holds the Eugene Meyer Chair. He is the author and editor of eleven books, including the first biography of Schlesinger, Schlesinger: The Imperial Historian. Aldous’s writing appears regularly in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times Book Review, and The American Interest, where he is a contributing editor.

This podcast takes its name from the term popularized by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.'s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Age of Jackson (1945). While early Mormonism and the Second Great Awakening may have gotten me into American Religious History, it was Schlesinger's Age of Jackson that got me bit by the Jacksonian bug. Despite the picture of Andrew Jackson on its cover and the evocative title, The Age of Jackson is less a biography of Andrew Jackson and more study of democracy's expansion in early 19th century America. In fact, when Schlesinger does reference Jackson, he is typically viewed through others, coming across as a mythical being and a larger than life figure. Key to Schlesinger's thesis is Jacksonian white-male suffrage, in which he sees the origins of modern-day American egalitarianism. As one can imagine, casting Jacksonian Democracy has an egalitarian force is where the bulk of the criticism of The Age of Jackson comes from today. The weakness of The Age of Jackson is most glaring in its silences, as it does not mention Indian removal at all and only references slavery in passing. Because of these problematic features, the book has not aged well for many. Many find its thesis unconvincing, if not counterfactual, such as Daniel Walker Howe. Yet The Age of Jackson is not without its modern-day fans and champions, like Sean Wilentz. But what about the man behind the book? Who was Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. and how did he come to write The Age of Jackson? What is The Age of Jackson about and what insights can we glean from it? Does it have any value for us today? To help with this first historiographical reflection, I have asked Richard Aldous to join me on the podcast. Richard Aldous is a professor of history at Bard College,where he holds the Eugene Meyer Chair. He is the author and editor of eleven books, including the first biography of Schlesinger, Schlesinger: The Imperial Historian. Aldous’s writing appears regularly in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times Book Review, and The American Interest, where he is a contributing editor.

002 Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.'s The Age of Jackson [1945] with Richard Aldous (History of History 1)