This is backstory. I'm Peter Onuf. More than 80 million people watched the first

presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, making the most

watched presidential debate in American history. But Americans have always loved a

good debate. In the late 18th century, debating clubs who were all the rage among

teenage boys and young men. Some kinds of questions that they would have debated

were should public brothels be tolerated or which is better for society and

vision or average. At an 1858 thousands of Americans flock to hear Abraham Lincoln

and Stephen Douglas as they sparred over slavery from the future of the Union.

Coming up on backstory, a history of political debates don't go away.

Major funding for backstory is provided by the ShiaCon Foundation, the National

Endowment for the Humanities, the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation,

and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. From the Virginia Foundation for the

Humanities, this is backstory with the American History Guys.

Welcome to the show. I'm Brian Bellow and I'm here with Peter Onuf. Here they are

Brian and it airs us with us. Hey guys, we're going to start the show today with a

marquee debate of 1936. I respectfully address myself to Mr. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

as a candidate for re-election to the presidency of the United States. This is

Senator Arthur Vandenberg, president Roosevelt's opponent in that radio debate.

For half an hour and aggressive and fiery Vandenberg challenged Roosevelt. He

pressed the president about his new deal policies to ease the Great Depression.

Why are we wrong in asserting that when all Americans are properly fed and

clothed and housed, there will be busy work for all. Defended business interests

...