American History TV continues to reair C-SPAN's history series “The Contenders,” which features profiles of key figures who ran for president and lost, but changed political history. This week, we focus on the election of 1916 and explore the life, legacy, and relevance today of Charles Evans Hughes, the Republican Party nominee in 1916, who served two terms on the Supreme Court, the second time as Chief Justice, two terms as Republican Governor of New York, and Secretary of State in the Harding and Coolidge administrations.

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American History TV continues to reair C-SPAN's history series “The Contenders,” which features profiles of key figures who ran for president and lost, but changed political history.

More Info »

American History TV continues to reair C-SPAN's history series “The Contenders,” which features profiles of key figures who ran for president and lost, but changed political history.

More Info »

American History TV continues to reair C-SPAN's history series “The Contenders,” which features profiles of key figures who ran for president and lost, but changed political history.

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Historians discuss the role of Henry Clay (1777-1852) in American politics. Known as the "Great Compromiser" but also as "The Dictator," he ran five unsuccessful presidential campaigns. Perhaps the most powerful politician of his time, he served as speaker of the House, U.S. senator, and secretary of state. This is the first of our 14-week series called "The Contenders: They Ran & Lost but Changed Political History."

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George McGovern died Sunday, October 21st, 2012, at the age of 90. In 1972, he ran for president as the Democratic Party nominee on an anti-Vietnam war platform and lost in a historic landslide to President Richard Nixon, garnering only 37.5% of the popular vote and even dropping his home-state of South Dakota.

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American History TV continues to reair C-SPAN's history series “The Contenders,” which features profiles of key figures who ran for president and lost, but changed political history. This week, we focus on the life and career of Hubert H. Humphrey.

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How is slavery interpreted at historic sites – and how has that interpretation evolved over the last quarter century? Those were among the questions addressed at a conference convened at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello to consider the history of slavery scholarship and how it makes its way to the American public.

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These are unedited excerpts from a 1995 conversation with President Eisenhower’s son, John. A retired U.S. Army Brigadier General, he talks about his father’s role as Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He also discusses Ike’s relationships with American and British generals and how he compromised with Allied nations to bring World War II in Europe to an end. Independent producer George Colburn conducted this interview as part of a documentary series on Dwight D. Eisenhower’s military and political career – a period covering from 1941 to 1961.  His latest project –  “Eisenhower’s Secret War” – debuts on public television stations nation-wide in May. Hosted by Evan Thomas, author of “Ike’s Bluff," Mr. Colburn’s two-part program focuses on Ike’s campaign to wage peace in the aftermath of World War II.

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In this program from our 1999 "American Presidents: Life Portraits" series we focused on James Garfield's life and career. Historians discussed Garfield's military service, his election as president and assassination shortly after his inauguration. Suzanne Miller, the site manager at Garfield's home in Mentor, Ohio, talked about several of the artifacts and documents that Garfield left behind. 

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