Videos

Several writers explored the American experience, historical fiction, and ideas of democracy through the lens of novels by the late Philip Roth, including American Pastoral, The Plot Against…

Historians Allida Black and Sean Wilentz talked about President Biden’s “Soul of the Nation” speech and threats to American democracy.

Scholars argued that the U.S. Constitution was an anti-slavery document rather than a pro-slavery one. The panelists explored how various political groups interpreted the Constitution during…

Princeton University American History Professor Sean Wilentz looked at the framers of the Constitution and slavery.

Historians Douglas Brinkley, Patricia O’Toole, and Sean Wilentz talked about Woodrow Wilson, including the 28th president’s time at Princeton University, as well as his family, intellectual …

Historians compared the first 100 days of previous presidents and talked about priorities for the new Trump administration. Some of the issues they spoke about included international policy,…

Professor Sean Wilentz talked about his book The Politicians and the Egalitarians: The Hidden History of American Politics, in which he looks at American political history through the lens o…

Authors and journalists talked about the possibility of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton running for president in 2016 and and some of the hurdles she might face in a second preside…

A panel examines the historical scholarship of David Reynolds, author of biographies of John Brown and Walt Whitman and histories of the mid-19th century. The panelists include Pulitzer Priz…

Professor Wilentz talked about his writings and books. He is the author of a recent Rolling Stone article, “The Worst President in History? One of America’s Leading Historians Assesses Georg…

Professor Burton chaired a panel discussion on the career of historian and author James McPherson. The panelists, including friends, colleagues, and former students of the noted Civil War hi…

James McPherson talked about his book, Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief, and responded to audience members questions. The book is a look at President Lincoln as a military…

Scholars participated in a panel discussion on the crisis of slavery leading up to and during President Lincoln’s administration and its impact on his presidency. Sean Wilentz spoke on “Abra…

Sean Wilentz, history professor at Princeton University, explores the historical and cultural influences that according to the author have played a significant role in Bob Dylan’s songwritin…

A panel discussion was held on James Madison and the U.S. Constitution. James Madison was a delegate to the Continental Congress, the Father of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, a fou…

A panel discussion on the American presidency was held featuring Gary May, author of John Tyler; William Leuchtenburg, author of Herbert Hoover; and Timothy Naftali, author of George H.W. Bu…

Four panelists talked about the biographies they wrote of American presidents. They answered a variety of questions from moderator Bill Thompson and from audience members about the lives, po…

Presidential biographers talked about the challenges faced by three very different presidencies. Topics included Jackson’s search for a broader democracy in the 1830s, Garfield’s post Civil …

Moderated by Mr. Wasserman, panel members discussed the topic, “History: The Old World in the New World.” They talked about the new ways of writing history and about their own books. Joyc…

Upon the re-publication of Barry Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative and John Kenneth Galbraith’s The New Industrial State, a panel of political and historical observers discussed t…