This episode of Backstory is brought to you by Harvard University Press, publisher of The Cigarette, a political history by Sarah Milov.

The Cigarette charts the rise and fall of big tobacco and the evolution of America's most controversial consumer product.

Reflecting the current dialogue around vaping and e-cigarettes, My Law's fascinating history reveals the intersecting and competing

interests of business, government, and consumer advocacy. The cigarette is available now,

wherever books are sold. This episode was originally broadcast in 2014.

Major funding for backstory is provided by an anonymous donor, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.

From Virginia Humanities, this is Backstory.

Welcome the Backstory, the show that explains the history behind today's headlines.

I'm Brian Ballot.

I'm Nathan Connolly.

And I'm Joanne Freeman.

If you're new to the podcast, we're all historians, and each week we explore the history of one topic that's been in the news.

Speaking of the news, this week you may have seen two familiar faces in an unfamiliar style,

as the National Portrait Gallery unveiled the official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama.

Portraits are just one of the honors likely to head your way if you are a former president of the United States.

In fact, there's now a whole landscape for the modern post-presidency, taking in memoirs, speaking tours, presidential libraries, and charitable foundations that often serve to cement a president's legacy.

In today's show, we're going to be exploring the post-presidency and asking,

how did it take shape? To start, we're going to turn back to two early presidents, one sitting

in his study in Braintree, Massachusetts, and the other at home just down the road from our

studios here in Charlottesville. I'm talking about presidents John Adams and

Thomas Jefferson, of course, and perhaps I should be more correct and say ex-presidents,

because we're catching them in 1812 and both of these men have left office. Well, that certainly

...