The Who2 Blog

A Salute to the American Presidency Project

While researching our new profile of CIA nominee Leon Panetta, we came across this great resource from UC Santa Barbara:

It’s a monster collection of public papers of the presidents, plus assorted proclamations, remarks, press briefings, election notes, audio and video. (Want to hear Herbert Hoover address the Puerto Rican legislature? Now you can!)

It’s mostly a 20th-century affair — the heavy detail starts with Hoover — but there’s still plenty from earlier days. A dreary special message from President Monroe, for instance. (“I transmit to Congress a proclamation, dated the 22d of last month, of the convention made and concluded at Madrid between the plenipotentiaries of the United States and His Catholic Majesty…”)

Or, here’s Panetta at work in a 1996 press briefing, giving background on the choice of Madeleine Albright as the Secretary of State for Bill Clinton‘s second term.

TAPP has an almost overwhelming amount of material. It’s a great research tool. Highly recommended.

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