Reagan on Policing the World: Aiding Freedom Fighters
In 1981, Reagan aided the Polish workers movement and in Afghanistan backed factions fighting a Soviet invasion.
Carter on the Economy: Energy Crisis
Carter asked the American people to cut down their energy usage during a fireside chat on February 2, 1977. "All of us must learn to waste less energy," Carter said.
Carter and Ending War: the Camp David Accords
President Carter's attempt at resolving the dispute between Israel and Egypt almost ended in failure. Egyptian President Sadat threatened to leave the talks at Camp David, but Carter used a personal approach to keep the talks going between Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Begin. The Camp David Accords would become Carter's greatest foreign policy achievement.
Truman on Ending a War: Atomic Bombs
When the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Truman understood the repercussions. "This places a terrible responsibility upon myself and upon the War Department," he said.
HW Bush on Policing the World: War in the Persian Gulf
HW Bush acted to initiate a war in Iraq instead of imposing economic sanctions, drawing criticism from the American people and members of Congress.
FDR on Policing the World: Hitler's Threat
In 1938, Roosevelt faced growing aggression from Hitler, and broadcast a personal appeal to the German leader, asking him to halt further assaults. In reply, Hitler ridiculed the president with withering sarcasm.
Carter and Military Service: Nuclear Submarine Officer
Jimmy Carter learned punctuality, discipline, and order from his time in the Navy. Six years of hard work earned him the position of Senior Officer of the U.S.S. Seawolf.
Truman on Military Service: Captain Harry
Captain Harry Truman's leadership during his first clash with the Germans made his men look at him in an entirely new light. "After a while they began to realize that this fellow with the eyeglasses and the bank clerk look about him was in fact a man of real determination," says David McCullough.
FDR on Lying: Creating a Reason to Go to War
President Roosevelt did not tell Congress or the American people the truth behind the Greer incident that led to US involvement in World War II. "I am perfectly willing to mislead and tell untruths if it will help win the war," FDR told a friend.
Carter on Lying: Campaigning on Honesty
Jimmy Carter campaigned on a platform on honesty at a time when the nation sorely needed it. "The country had been through a horrible time, and Jimmy Carter represented honesty and decency," said journalist John Farrell.
Reagan and Lying: Arms for Hostages
Despite his firm stand against dealing with terrorists, in November 1986 Reagan admitted that arms had been shipped to Iran but denied that the arms were a trade for hostages.
Reagan's First Lady: Nancy
Nancy Reagan made things difficult at times with her stubbornness. Nancy's importance to her husband "goes with the turf when you're dealing with the Reagans," says advisor Stuart K. Spencer.
Reagan on the Enemy: The Soviet Threat
The delegations of Communist leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Reagan met in Geneva in 1985. "The President, from the very start, started to speak in a kind of lecturing tone, as though I was a suspect, or maybe a student," says Gorbachev.
Bush on the Economy: a Sluggish Economy
In the early 1990s, George H.W. Bush was faced with growing economic insecurity. But Bush believed there was little he could do.
FDR on Crises: Depression Relief
Franklin Roosevelt used the power of the federal government to relieve the suffering caused by the Great Depression.
Nixon and Abusing Power: Nixon's Enemies List
President Nixon kept an "enemies list" of those who criticized him. He had these enemies targeted for tax audits or trailed by private detectives, and hired the "plumbers" to stop leaks.
LBJ on Crises: Johnson's War
Protests against the Vietnam War turned personal, with students blaming LBJ for the way the war was going. "He was frustrated because he couldn't end it and because he thought he couldn't win it," says John Connally.
Truman, FDR and Age: A Careful Choice for Vice President
The focus was on the Vice Presidency during the 1944 Democratic National Convention. "It was in the minds of many delegates that whoever was nominated for Vice President could very well become President within the next four years," said Senator Harry Byrd.
Truman on Crises: Crisis in Korea
President Truman interpreted the North Korean attack upon South Korea as direct aggression from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union's support for the invasion, however, was limited and not driven by the Soviet leader Stalin. "What the United States got involved with in 1950 was not aggression from the Soviet Union," says historian Walter LaFeber, but "an incredibly bloody Civil War in Korea."
Reagan and Crisis: Assassination Attempt
On March 30th, 1981, 70 days into his presidency, President Reagan was shot outside the Washington Hilton Hotel.
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