Making the Presidency with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Prof. Joanne Freeman

Описание: JHC welcomed Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky, a presidential historian and the Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon on Sunday, November 3, 2024. She is the author of the new, acclaim-winning book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic. Dr. Chervinsky received her B.A. in history and political science from George Washington University, and completed her masters and Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. Previously, she was a historian at the White House Historical Association and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. She is also the author of the award-winning book, The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution, and co-editor of Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture. She regularly writes for public audiences in the Wall Street Journal, Ms. Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Bulwark, Time Magazine, USA Today, CNN, and the Washington Post. She has spoken most recently at Montpelier, Monticello, the National Archives and the Museum of the American Revolution. She’s made appearances on Morning Joe, PBS and CNN just to name a few.

Hamilton scholar Joanne B. Freeman, Class of 1954 Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University, returned to JHC to speak with Dr. Chervinsky. Prof. Freeman, is a leading expert on early American politics and culture. The author of the award-winning Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic, and editor of Alexander Hamilton: Writings and The Essential Hamilton, she is particularly well known for her expertise in dirty, nasty politics. Her most recent book, The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War was a Lincoln Prize finalist and New York Times “best book” — it explores the impact of physical violence in the U.S. Congress in the decades leading up to the Civil War. Freeman co-hosted the popular American history podcast Now & Then with Heather Cox Richardson, and hosts a weekly webcast, History Matters, that uses history to better understand our politics. A frequent commentator on PBS, NPR, and MSNBC, and contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Atlantic, among other outlets, she was president of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic from 2022-2023.

Distinguished lecturer Ted Widmer, author of “Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington” recently reviewed Dr. Chervinksy’s book for the New York Times Book Review calling it a “timely account.” He praised how she “deftly probes the way the second American president wielded power.” Adams was our nation’s first vice president and prevailed in his election race against Thomas Jefferson but not without difficulty. Both during and after his campaign and his transition to a new role, he was assailed by opponents who challenged his authority. Nonetheless his presidency was successful and he set numerous precedents. He survived pejoratives, diplomatic quagmires and attacks to his principles to complete a “term of confidence” and consequence. Witmer writes, “It is healthy to be reminded, in another precarious moment, just how fragile democracy felt during the twilight of Washington’s presidency.”