American Presidents: Life Portraits is a series produced by C-SPAN in 1999. Each episode was aired live, and was a two- to three-hour look at the life and times of one particular president of the United States. Episodes were broadcast from locations of importance to the profiled president, featured interviews with historians and other experts, and incorporated calls from viewers. The series served as a commemoration of C-SPAN's 20th anniversary.

The first program aired on March 15, 1999, and profiled George Washington. Subsequent programs featured each president in succession, concluding with the then current president Bill Clinton on December 20, 1999. (Despite serving two non-consecutive terms, Grover Cleveland was only profiled on one program.)

Peabody Award American Presidents was awarded a George Foster Peabody Award in 1999. Excerpts of the official rationale for that award appear below:

...From the sites, noted biographers, presidential scholars, descendants, and other guests presented revealing information and assessments of the life, times and legacies of the presidents. The tone set by chairman and CEO (and reluctant air personality) Brian P. Lamb remains on point: good television often takes time, requires few special effects and demands (and rewards) good listening. While, like Mr. Lamb, they rarely seek the spotlight, especially deserving of mention are executive producer Mark Farkas, producers Maura Pierce, Paul Brown, Peter Slen and the more than 200 other unseen individuals who make the C-SPAN service increasingly indispensable...

...For creating a series that perfectly embodies the essence of public service in electronic communications, a Peabody Award is presented to C-SPAN for "American Presidents: Life Portraits."

Presidential portraits Artist Chas Fagan was commissioned by C-SPAN to paint portraits of each of the 41 men who had held the office of U.S. president through 1999. He was given a 90-day window from the time he agreed to the assignment until the time that the project needed to be complete. In September 1999, Union Station in Washington, D.C., hosted a display of Fagan's presidential portraits. Since then, Fagan has also painted portraits of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, and tours with exhibits of those portraits.

Programs Note: In addition to the interviewees listed, each program featured a variety of other experts, many of whom were employed by or volunteered for the historical sites from which the programs were being broadcast.

Original air datewith link to videoPresidentLocationFeatured intervieweesMarch 15, 1999George WashingtonMount Vernon Estate and Gardens,Alexandria, VirginiaRichard Norton SmithMarch 22, 1999John AdamsAdams National Historic Site,Quincy, MassachusettsDavid McCulloughApril 2, 1999Thomas JeffersonMonticello,Charlottesville, VirginiaAndrew Burstein, Annette Gordon-ReedApril 9, 1999James MadisonMontpelier,Montpelier Station, VirginiaJack Rakove, Holly ShulmanApril 12, 1999James MonroeJames Monroe Museum,Fredericksburg, Virginia April 18, 1999John Quincy AdamsMassachusetts Historical Society,Boston, MassachusettsLynn Hudson ParsonsApril 26, 1999Andrew JacksonThe Hermitage,Hermitage, TennesseeRobert ReminiMay 3, 1999Martin Van BurenMartin Van Buren National Historic Site,Kinderhook, New York May 10, 1999William Henry HarrisonTippecanoe Battlefield,Battle Ground, Indiana May 17, 1999John TylerSherwood Forest Plantation,Charles City, VirginiaEdward Crapol, Harrison Ruffin TylerMay 28, 1999James K. PolkPresident James K. Polk Home & Museum,Columbia, Tennessee May 31, 1999Zachary TaylorZachary Taylor National Cemetery,Louisville, Kentucky June 11, 1999Millard FillmoreFillmore House Museum,East Aurora, New York June 14, 1999Franklin PierceThe Pierce Manse,Concord, New HampshireBarry ParisJune 21, 1999James BuchananWheatland,Lancaster, Pennsylvania June 28, 1999Abraham LincolnLincoln Home National Historic Site,Springfield, Illinois July 9, 1999Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson National Historic Site,Greeneville, Tennessee July 12, 1999Ulysses S. GrantGeneral Grant National Memorial,New York City, New YorkJohn Y. Simon, Allan Ballard, Ulysses Grant DietzJuly 19, 1999Rutherford B. HayesRutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center,Spiegel Grove, Fremont, OhioAri HoogenboomJuly 26, 1999James A. GarfieldJames A. Garfield National Historic Site,Mentor, Ohio August 6, 1999Chester A. ArthurUnion College,Schenectady, New YorkThomas C. ReevesAugust 13, 1999Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland Birthplace,Caldwell, New Jersey August 20, 1999Benjamin HarrisonPresident Benjamin Harrison Home,Indianapolis, Indiana August 23, 1999William McKinleyMcKinley National Memorial and Museum,Canton, Ohio September 3, 1999Theodore RooseveltSagamore Hill National Historic Site,Oyster Bay, New YorkEdmund Morris, Sylvia Jukes MorrisSeptember 6, 1999William Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft National Historic Site,Cincinnati, Ohio David H. BurtonSeptember 13, 1999Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson Birthplace and Museum,Staunton, VirginiaJohn Milton Cooper, Jr., Nell Irvin PainterSeptember 20, 1999Warren G. HardingPresident Harding's Home,Marion, OhioRobert Ferrell, Eugene TraniSeptember 27, 1999Calvin CoolidgePresident Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site,Plymouth, Vermont October 4, 1999Herbert HooverHerbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum andHerbert Hoover National Historic Site,West Branch, IowaRichard Norton SmithOctober 11, 1999Franklin D. RooseveltHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site andFranklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum,Hyde Park, New YorkDavid Kennedy, Hugh Gregory Gallagher, Allida BlackOctober 18, 1999Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum,Independence, MissouriAlonzo Hamby, Margaret Truman DanielOctober 25, 1999Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. Eisenhower Center,Abilene, KansasGeoffrey PerretNovember 5, 1999John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy National Historic Site,Brookline, MassachusettsRobert Dallek, Thomas C. ReevesNovember 12, 1999Lyndon B. JohnsonLBJ Ranch,Stonewall, TexasJoseph Califano, Robert CaroNovember 19, 1999Richard NixonRichard M. Nixon Library and birthplace,Yorba Linda, CaliforniaMelvin Small, Joan HoffNovember 22, 1999Gerald FordGerald R. Ford Presidential Museum,Grand Rapids, MichiganJames M. Cannon, Richard Norton SmithDecember 3, 1999Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter National Historic Site,Plains, GeorgiaDouglas Brinkley, Leo RibuffoDecember 6, 1999Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan ranch,Santa Barbara, CaliforniaLou CannonDecember 13, 1999George H. W. BushGeorge Bush Presidential Library,College Station, TexasJohn Robert GreeneDecember 20, 1999Bill ClintonClinton Center and Birthplace,Hope, ArkansasDavid Maraniss

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