How America Survived Three Divisive Elections:

These three memorable audio episodes, written and narrated by Jim Weiss, make ideal listening for voters (and voters-to-be), lovers of history, and all concerned citizens.

This three-part audio series sheds light on the stormy present by exploring the turbulent past. Through the surprising tales of three divisive presidential elections, master storyteller Jim Weiss explores the flexibility of America's democratic system, and the resilience of its people.

Included:

Electoral Apocalypses, Episode 1: Poison Pens and Pistols at Dawn

Jefferson, Hamilton, Burr, and the Election of 1800 A brand-new nation faces its greatest crisis yet: as the beloved George Washington leaves the White House, rival factions try to set the course for America's future. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr get down and dirty, in an election that features one shocking moment after another. Will the American Revolution devour itself? Or will the young republic find a way through?

Electoral Apocalypses, Episode 2: A House Divided: The Election of 1860 and the Coming of the Civil War

Tumultuous political conventions, delegates who refuse to support official nominees, terrorist attacks, and confrontations in the streets as a nation searches its soul. It may sound all too contemporary, but this was the election of 1860. Storyteller Jim Weiss puts you right into the action as the United States, its political parties, and its ordinary citizens wrestle with the issue of slavery, using words, ballots, and finally bullets to settle their differences. Even listeners who think they know all about this era may learn some surprising information.

Episode 3: The Whole World is Watching: Riots, Radicals, and the Election of 1968

Peaceful demonstrations and cities on fire from riots; noble words cut short as assassins’ bullets strike down Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy; the Vietnam war overseas causing angry dissent and generational conflict back home; a stunning realignment of a century of U.S. politics; a political convention exploding into police brutality and rioting in Chicago, as millions of viewers watch it “live” on their television screens; and some of the most brilliant, but self-conflicted, leaders in U.S. history wrestling with personal ambition and cultural chaos. This is the story of the election that, more than any other, set today's political conditions in the U.S.A.