The Forgotten Presidents' Sons Their Own Fathers Couldn't SAVE

The Presidents' Sons Who Broke Under the Name, and the Families Who HID How They Died The sons of American presidents were supposed to be the luckiest boys in the country. The best schools, the best introductions, a surname that opened every door. But in October 1799, a sitting president sat down at a desk in a farmhouse north of New York and ended a letter to his wife with three words about his own son. I renounce him. Thirty years later, a former president's eldest son disappeared from a steamboat on Long Island Sound, leaving his hat and cloak on the deck. In 1869, a president's private secretary died in the family home six weeks after his father left the White House. And in 1943, one of the most famous mothers in America was told her favorite son had died in his sleep. Four sons, four fathers, and four families who each made a choice about what the country would be told. It all started with a letter. Chapters: 00:00 — The letter 02:39 — ACT I — THE RENOUNCED SON 06:49 — ACT II — THE STEAMBOAT 11:34 — ACT III — THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 16:06 — ACT IV — THE RIVER OF DOUBT 20:48 — ACT V — THE AFTERMATH Source Material Visual material used in this production is obtained from publicly accessible archives, including Wikimedia Commons. Copyright & Fair Use Notice This channel incorporates copyrighted material under the principles of Fair Use as recognized by U.S. law. Under Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act, certain uses of copyrighted works such as for analysis, commentary, educational purposes, research, and reporting are permitted without prior authorization from the copyright holder. Sources John Adams to Abigail Adams, October 12, 1799, Massachusetts Historical Society — https://www.masshist.org/digitaladams... Adams Biographical Sketches, Massachusetts Historical Society — https://www.masshist.org/adams/biogra... George Washington Adams, body washed ashore in Pelham, 1829 — http://historicpelham.blogspot.com/20... Andrew Johnson's Family, National Park Service — https://www.nps.gov/anjo/andrew-johns... Kermit Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt Center — https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.o... #documentary #history #presidents #WhiteHouse