Mike Purdy, Author at Presidential History

Listen to me on WCGO Radio

by Mike Purdy | Oct 4, 2016 | Campaigns, Chester Arthur, Elections, Electoral College, James Garfield, John Adams, John F. Kennedy, Millard Fillmore, Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt, Vice-Presidents, William Henry Harrison, William McKinley

On September 27, 2016, I had a free-ranging 30 minute interview on Chicago-based WCGO radio (1590) on the presidents and vice-presidents, with comments about the tone of the current 2016 presidential campaign, including what president I thought would beat either...

George Washington as America’s First Spymaster

by Mike Purdy | Sep 20, 2016 | Books, George Washington

In today’s world, we hear a lot about espionage, with computer hacking being a daily occurrence, electronic surveillance, eavesdropping, and human ground intelligence in our increasingly complex and dangerous world. Spying is big business and governments use it...

Who Was the First Woman to Run for President?

by Mike Purdy | Aug 16, 2016 | Elections, Electoral College, Ulysses Grant

We’ve heard a lot in the media lately about Hillary Clinton being the first woman nominated to run for president on a major party ticket. It’s important to remember that her accomplishment relates to being the first for a major party. First woman to run...

3 Reasons Why the Vice-Presidency Matters

by Mike Purdy | Jul 13, 2016 | Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Assassinations, Campaigns, Chester Arthur, Deaths, Elections, Franklin Roosevelt, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Harry Truman, James Garfield, John Adams, Millard Fillmore, Richard Nixon, Theodore Roosevelt, Vice-Presidents, William Henry Harrison, William McKinley, Woodrow Wilson, Zachary Taylor

“My country,” a frustrated John Adams once wrote about the vice presidency, “has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.” He has not been alone throughout our...

What Voters & States Will Elect the Next President?

by Mike Purdy | May 9, 2016 | Andrew Jackson, Benjamin Harrison, Campaigns, Elections, Electoral College, George W. Bush, Grover Cleveland, John Quincy Adams, Rutherford Hayes, Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson

Winning the Presidency involves an understanding of changing demographics and identifying constituencies likely to support a candidate. But it also involves campaigning strategically in key battleground states in order to win the Electoral College, which ultimately...