College Hosts Pulitzer Prize-Winning Historian

Acclaimed author Jon Meacham addresses “The Architecture of Endurance: Building a Republic that Stands the Test of Time” on Friday, November 6, from 12 pm to 1:30 pm in a special virtual event from Westmont. The live broadcast opens with remarks by Westmont President Gayle D. Beebe and includes a question-and-answer session with Meacham, presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize winner. The talk is free and open to the public thanks to the support of Westmont’s Mosher Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership. Watch the event at west
mont.edu/mosher-events. Meacham’s presentation will only be available as a live broadcast.

“We look forward to a conversation about things that matter with Jon Meacham after the November 3 election,” Beebe says. “Regardless of the outcome, it’s important for citizens to better understand their responsibilities in building an enduring republic. Jon’s unique ability to understand and translate current events through a historical lens allows us to learn from those who’ve gone before us.”

Meacham, who has spoken at Westmont twice before, wrote Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush and eulogized both President Bush and Barbara Bush when they died in 2018. He won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House and has published works on Thomas Jefferson and John Lewis. His 12 books include The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels and The Hope of Glory: Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross.

In addition to writing books, Meacham has produced two podcasts for the History Channel. The series “It Was Said” tells the story of landmark speeches in American history such as Ronald Reagan’s Farewell Address. “Hope Through History” examines how the people of the United States have responded to some of the most challenging times in their history. 

Named a “Global Leader for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum, Meacham is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a fellow of the Society of American Historians, and chairs the National Advisory Board of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University. Meacham is a distinguished visiting professor of history at the University of the South and a visiting distinguished professor at Vanderbilt. He is working on a biography of James and Dolley Madison.