IamA Teacher/YouTuber who has made videos and written a book about every single presidential election in American history. AMA!

Hi Mr Beat! I love your videos, I used them for my CLEP to help me get on my teaching course.

I'm just wondering if you feel restricted in what you can teach living in Kansas? Is there ever a topic where the parents complain you're being too liberal even though you're just teaching History? (like the Tulsa Race Massacre, or a famous gay historical person?)

Well thank you and glad they help!

Yes. The high school where I teach is in a fairly conservative area, and I've had parents upset that we teach about other world religions in our geography and world history courses. We also apparently have some parents who are triggered by the 1619 Project. Overall, though, it's not too bad.

Hi Mr. Beat! Big fan of your channel.

With election day on the mind, do you see the electoral college being replaced in our lifetimes?

I do. I predict within a generation it's gone, or at least reformed. I see ranked choice voting gaining the most momentum as the preferred way to vote in the next few years. It will certainly help ease the painful partisanship the U.S. is experiencing right now.

Hi Mr Beat, I love learning about American history through your videos. I was wondering if you would be in favour of an amendment to the constitution that would allow naturalised citizens to run for president?

I'd be down with that. They used to nickname that "The Arnold Amendment" as many wanted to see Arnold Schwarzenegger become eligible to run for President.

Hi Mr. Beat! I’m a college student studying to become a social studies teacher, and your videos really inspire me. I have two questions; 1. What is your favorite specific topic to teach? And 2. If Medicare for All was passed in the US today, would the Supreme Court strike it down as unconstitutional?

Yay! Good luck to you, and you're absolutely going to love it.

1. I love teaching the Cold War. Specifically, the 1960s.
2. No, as if they try to take Medicare for All down, they'd have to try to take out Social Security and all of Medicare, too.

Thanks Mr. Beat! I appreciate the response. I also forgot to ask, do you have any tips for an aspiring teacher?

Remember it's all about relationships. You just gotta love people. If you can easily find the good in everyone, it will be easy for you.

Hi Mr. Beat, I love your videos and have been a subscriber for 5 years. Are we overdue for a great president? Yang or AOC are my likely favorite candidates for becoming great presidents.

We are very overdue for a great President, and yes I could see Yang filling that role for sure.

What’s up Mr. Beat I hope you and your family are doing well during these times. My question is: What is your stance on guns, are you pro gun or for gun control? Thanks

Same to you and yours.

I generally am a very pro-2nd Amendment person. I don't own guns, but letting Americans have some sort of self defense that scares off tyranny in any way I think is good. That said, there can still be reasonable gun control, and I do think some further restrictions are reasonable.

How are you handling teaching during COVID?

Surprisingly well. About 15% of our students are remote, and those are the ones I worry about the most, since it's hard to keep them engaged and motivated. At school, we have had few cases and the kids are excellent at wearing masks. That said, I have it better than most teachers since I have smaller class sizes and a large classroom. Plus, I had already designed my curriculum to be online-based years ago.

Hi Mr. Beat! Big fan. (I’ve seen all of your supreme court briefs and presidential election videos)

Do any of your students joke or talk about your videos in class?

Thank you!

No they do not. Most of them couldn't care less, although one the every day was impressed that the "Mr. Breast give me money" meme went kind of viral.

Hi Mr. Beat, i’m a fan of your videos. Are you going to update your book every four years?

Well thank you, and yes I am!

That sounds like fun, do you have any thoughts about the potential closeness of the senate race in Kansas?

I think Roger Marshall wins. The Republican Party has been ruthless with their attack ads against Bollier, and folks still believe a lot of those ads.

Fellow Kansan here! What kind of guitar do you have in that case back there?

It's a Johnson. And Kansas Represent!

Hi Mr. Beat! I really enjoy your videos. Watching your ranking of the US presidents, I was curious if your opinion of Obama has changed? I remember you saying that sometimes it depended on how you felt during that time and moment. I suppose I am mainly curious because I see a lot of people look up to Obama as one of the better presidents, so I thought it was interesting that you ranked him fairly low in the video.

Thanks, and keep making content!

Obama looks better and better as the years pass. I definitely would rank him a little higher now. I tend to value diplomacy so much more now, and Obama was good at that.

Would you move him one grade up in your tierlist?

Yeah I think so

Hey Mr Beat! I have been watching you for around a year! Am gonna get your book for Christmas! What was your favorite video that you made and what was your hardest video you made?

Thanks for supporting me!

My favorite video I made is probably the Kansas Nebraska comparison video, just because I've only lived in those two states. The hardest video to make might have been the Political Compass Test for every President video. I literally did lose a lot of sleep taking all those tests.

Hey, Mr. Beat! I love your channel, especially the Supreme Court Briefs. Everyone loves Presidents, but who are the most interesting Supremes? And which court case rulings in history were the biggest surprises to their comtemporary populace?

Groovy thank you.

Aretha Franklin was the most interesting Supreme. Ha!

But seriously I've always been fascinated by John Marshall, Antonin Scalia, and of course RBG.

Brown v. Board was probably the biggest surprise. I'm sorry if that's kind of a lame answer.

Do you typically vote Democrat? You've made comments in your awesome videos that you don't like tariffs and the war on drugs. You also said that the 2008 democratic primary was the first primary you ever voted in, so do you feel you typically vote democrat?

I typically vote third party actually, but mostly since I live in a red state.

Mr. Beat! You're videos are great! I'm currently a college sophomore who is minoring in education. Is an education minor enough to land a high school teaching job or do most states require a major in education?

A minor will get you a teaching license pending certain tests in some states. It helps if you teach math, science, or SPED.

Hi Mr Beat, your videos are amazing, I recently watched a whole bunch of your presidential election series videos. What would you say your favourite presidential election is?

Thank you!

It depends on the day, but as of right now my favorite presidential election is the Election of 1948 since it was so unpredictable, it was during a crazy time in American history, and featured three likeable candidates.

Hi Mr. Beat! Love your content on YouTube and bought your book.

For the sake of argument, let’s say the electoral college is here to stay. What kind of reforms to it do you think would be acceptable?

Holy crap thanks for buying my book!

I guess I would be fine with it if we kept the Electoral College and every state does what Nebraska and Maine does, with every state splitting up their electoral votes based on their districts. But only happy if each state then implemented ranked choice voting. Shout out to Maine for being so ahead of the curve with democracy btw.

wouldn't this just amplify the effects of gerrymandering?

It certainly wouldn't help to end gerrymandering much.

Hey Mr. Beat! I love your videos! Especially as a fellow history teacher in Kansas!

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If you could make your own custom elective with whatever curriculum you wanted what would it be? I'd personally love to do a history of video games class.

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Keep up the awesome videos!

Represent and thank you! Such a good freaking question. Pop Music History? But perhaps more importantly, I would make a Critical Thinking class, where we focused a lot on logical fallacies and analysis of interpretations of evidence and facts.

Hey Mr Beat! Huge fan of all your videos especially the Supreme Court and presidential election videos, making it so easy and fun to learn about history and politics. When do you think we can expect the latest addition to the Presidential elections in American history?

Keep up the great work!

Well thank you! Cool to see viewers already in the comments.

I aim to release the Election of 2020 video in February 2021.

Which zoo animal do you think you could take in a fight?

A red panda, maybe.

Hi, Mr. Beat! I'm a massive fan of yours. I was inspired by your stuff over the years to get really interested in the history of Presidents. I've played many of your videos 8 or 9 times over several years. A few years ago, my teacher showed your video on the presidential cabinet in class, and I think that drove me to get 100 both semesters for that class alone.

With all that having been said, how are you going to get all of the information from this election into the next PEOAH video? It seems like there's an absolutely massive amount of stuff to include, and it may be difficult to fairly and non-biasedly cut it down.

Also, how many votes do you think Kanye West will get? (I made a bet it would be in the 5 digits whereas someone else bet 3 digits).

Thank you! Keep up making good videos!

Wow, that means a lot. Thank you!

I predict this will be another longer episode, but honestly the primary season was less long and there really wasn't that much drama on the Democratic Party side. Much of this episode will be framed around the pandemic and the polarized sentiments toward Trump.

Kanye will get 500,000 votes.

Thank you! Excited for it! It'll be interesting if Kanye gets that many votes because he may well get more than the Green Party at that rate.

I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen.

What's your favorite election to talk about?

If you're ever at a party and people inevitably ask you about some fun election facts, what's the first thing you tell them?

The Election of 1912. Teddy Roosevelt got shot right before a campaign speech. The 50-page text of his campaign speech folded over twice in Roosevelt's breast pocket and a metal glasses case slowed the bullet, saving his life. He gave the speech anyway and refused to go to the hospital.

That was very interesting to learn about, it was a 4-way race

I wish more elections had four contenders.

which president had the most scandalous secrets that were not known to the general public till years after leaving office?

Maybe Harding? Harding had multiple affairs and a bunch of shenanigans at the White House, and during the time hardly anyone knew.

Hello, Mr Beat

1. What is your favorite foreign culture?

2. Washington or Oregon, which one is better in your opinion?

1. I really dig Dutch and Swiss culture
2. Washington, although both are amazing

Hey Mr. Beat. Wondering if you use your videos as materials in your class and if so what do your students think of them?

Also, since you’ve been kinda teaching online via your videos for years I was wondering if that experience has helped or shaped how you conduct virtual classes as I know first hand a lot of teachers have struggled adjusting to the online format (assuming your school has been online)?

Yeah, I use my own videos often, and my real life students do get sick of them I think! Online teaching certainly has been easier for me compared to most of my colleagues, but thankfully they are mostly adapting well at my school.

Hi Mr. Beat, I love your videos and channel. I have some questions for you: 1. How are you handling the pandemic? 2. Who do you think will win the election? 3. Why do people confuse you for Mr. Beast?

P.S, If you reply to this, don't forget to also reply on twitter so I can be reminded that you replied. :)

Thanks for watching! 1. I am handling the pandemic well mostly since I still get a lot of family time in and am lucky to not lose any loved ones from the virus. 2. Biden I made a video explain why 3. Because he is my son.

Hi Mr. Beat First of all let me say, as others have, that im a big fan of your content, i really apreciate your channel and the effort you put on your videos, and hope you continue to have a lot of success with this project <3

Now my questions are

1-What are in your opinion the most valuable pieces of art, literature, music, etc in all american history?

2-Who has been in your opinion the best american Writer/Author?

3-Who has been the best american musician/composer?

4- Whats a piece of art, literature, pop culture, etc that you hate that most people associate with America.

Thanks in advance for reading my questions

I appreciate your kind words!

1. I honestly have no idea and would need to give that more serious thought before answering.

2. Mark Twain

3. Jimi Hendrix

4. Reality TV

Hey, I like your videos and I like trivia about the presidents. I'm not planning to be a historian but sometimes I read up on some things if they interest me. Which presidents do you think people should know more about? I know some of them aren't mentioned much in the mainstream.

James Garfield was pretty fascinating. I also think Calvin Coolidge is way underrated.

I know you'll get this question a lot, but I thought I'd ask you straight up:

Who do you think'll win?

I love your videos, they're incredibly informative and well made.

Well thank you so much!

I think Biden will win. I actually released a video explaining why last week.

Hello Mr. Beat! What era of history is the most interesting to you?

Definitely the Cold War, where there were times when it really did seem imminent that it could all end at any moment.

Hello Mr. Beat, I'm a big fan of your channel and I really enjoy your election and supreme court brief videos.

My question is about the electoral college. Five presidents in American history have ascended to the presidency despite losing the popular vote. I'm aware throughout history the electoral college has been very unpopular at time, and there have been efforts to abolish it. Most recently in 1970 when an amendment to repeal it gained broad bipartisan support and was endorsed by Nixon and overwhelming passed by the house, although it ultimately fell short of it's needed support. However, half a century later support for the electoral college's abolition is largely divided upon party lines.

My question is how is, why do you think the electoral college was never abolished despite broad support; and why do you think it's become such a partisan issue?

Thanks for watching!

I think it's become a partisan issue because Republicans have gained so much from it in the last 20 years. Ultimately, those in power will go to great lengths to keep their power, even in a democratic republic.

Why do Republicans hate Democracy and high voter turnout so much?

Isn’t that the most scathing indictment you can make of them?

Republicans do worse when voter turnout is higher.

Hi Mr. Beat can you make videos about Canadian Elections and/or Canadian political parties, I know we are boring in comparison but I’m sure you will make it interesting.

Also what’s your favourite Canadian city?

I would love to, but first I'll try to talk J.J. McCullough into doing it. :)

My favorite Canadian city is probably Vancouver.

And what’s your second favourite Canadian city?😆

Maybe Quebec City?

What, if any, Supreme Court reform do you support?

What are your thoughts on social media regulation?

Term limits at 24 years

Social media giants have become as powerful as the government, and antitrust enforcement needs to apply to them.

Who do you vote?

Typically I vote for candidates from all types of political parties

Hi Mr. Beat!

1. Will Zanytime release an album?

2. Will any of the red states turn reliably blue in the next 10 years?

haha hi! 1. Did you mean Electric Needle Room? Zany Time is my secret channel. Please don't tell anyone about how horrible my sense of humor is. 2. Georgia will be reliably blue imho

Has your top ten list changed in the past 2+ years and do you still rank Coolidge and Washington highly?

Breaking news....I now rank Eisenhower higher than Washington. But Coolidge is still about the same spot. Check out his autobiography.

What do you think JFK would have done if he wasn’t killed?

Brought the troops home from Vietnam. Scale back CIA-backed foreign coups. Pushed for Civil Rights legislation.

So basically the best post World War II president?

He could have been yes. I rank Eisenhower above him.

Given with how all over your views are, would you consider yourself a swing voter or do you always have a general idea on who you'd vote for?

I'm typically a third party voter, but that's mostly since I'm in a reliably red state. But yeah, if I lived in Florida I'd be a swing voter.

Hello. Nice to meet you. I don’t know you, but I have an economic question.

Federal debt as a percentage of gdp just recently hit 135%. As far as economies go it’s very difficult for them to go backward after a cross of 130%. Do you think this is the beginning of the end for the US economy and will they most likely lose there reserve currency status in the near future? Is the US economy in serious trouble regardless of who wins the election or am I missing some other variable here?

They are in serious trouble if the trend continues, yes. The next ten years are critical in terms of reigning in deficits.

If I'm not too late, roughly when can we expect the new presidential elections in American history?

February!

Hi Mr. Beat!

I'm a college student who has always been so interested in U.S History, and specifically the presidents. I'll keep my question simple, since I have so many running through my head. Who do you think is the most overrated president that people seem to praise more then he really deserves? My personal opinion has shifted towards Reagan filling that role but what about you?

Abraham Lincoln. He was not the best we had, yet most historians say that.

What consequences are the most likely to come from ACB being confirmed?

I do think Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey are in danger of being overturned. Overall, however, I do think ACB won't be that much of an activist justice.

Do you think the United States has lost its world “superpower” status that it gained and maintained after WWII and the Cold War to China? Will the United States gain this status back?

No, at least not yet. It's still the top dog in terms of the military, but China is indeed making some stealthy moves.