Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library

Dr. Mary Sarah Bilder is the Founders Professor of Law at Boston College Law School, where she teaches in the areas of property, trusts and estates, and American legal and constitutional history. She discusses her book "Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention," which was a finalist for the George Washington Book Prize. Dr. Bilder spoke at a Ford Evening Book Talk at Mount Vernon on September 15, 2016.

Dr. Bruce Ragsdale has served as director of the Federal Judicial History Office at the Federal Judicial Center and as an associate historian at the U.S. House of Representatives. He was also a fellow at the Washington Library during the 2014-15 academic year and was the recipient of the James C. Rees Entrepreneurship Fellowship. Dr. Ragsdale discusses his work studying George Washington’s agricultural entrepreneurship, including Washington’s interest in the continual improvement of his farms at Mount Vernon.

Dr. Edward Larson is a University Professor of history and holds the Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University. He is also a Senior Fellow of the University of Georgia’s Institute of Higher Education and a visiting professor at Stanford Law. In 1998 he received the Pulitzer Prize for History for his book "Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion." Dr. Larson spoke at the Supreme Court Lecture Series at the Washington Library on April 28, 2016.

Michael Blakeman is a Ph.D. candidate at Yale and was the Amanda and Greg Gregory Fellow at the Washington Library for the 2014-2015 academic year. During this Lunch and Fellowship Program, recorded on August 19, 2015, Michael discusses his doctoral dissertation, "Speculation Nation: Land and Mania in the Age of the American Revolution." Over the course of the discussion you’ll hear Michael explain how the market for land speculation grew in the 1780s and 90s, why speculators purchased such vast quantities of land, and how land speculators used the American Revolution to boost their sales.

Patrick K. O’Donnell is a combat historian, author, and public speaker who has written ten books recounting America’s wars. He is an expert on elite and special operations units and irregular warfare and expert on the Office of Strategic Services, America’s special operations forces during WWII and forerunner of the CIA. He discusses his latest book "Washington’s Immortals: The Untold Story of an Elite Regiment who Changed the Course of the Revolution." Mr. O'Donnell spoke at a Ford Evening Book Talk on July 5, 2016.

Dr. Stephen Brumwell is the author of numerous books and articles about early American History. He discusses his book "George Washington: Gentleman Warrior," which explores Washington's role as commander of the Continental Army. Highlights how Washington’s place in Virginia society influenced his ability to command, how important Lawrence Washington was to his brother George, and Washington’s place in history as a military commander.

Dr. Philip Levy is a Professor of History at the University of South Florida and was a member of the 2015-16 class of fellows at the Washington Library. In 2008 he won international attention for co-leading the team that found the remains of George Washington’s childhood home at Ferry Farm in Fredericksburg, Virginia — the saga of which he recounted in his 2013 book, Where the Cherry Tree Grew: The Story of Ferry Farm, George Washington’s Boyhood Home. His latest book, George Washington Written Upon the Land, explores the many retellings of Washington’s much-fabled childhood and covers themes ranging from biography to archaeology and environmental history to rabbinic thought.

Dr. Joshua Canale is an instructor of history at Jefferson Community College in Watertown, New York and was a member of the Washington Library's 2015-16 class of academic fellows. He discusses his dissertation topic "American Dictators: Committees for Public Safety during the American Revolution."

Nick Bunker is the author of "Making Haste From Babylon, a History of the Mayflower Pilgrims." A former investment banker and journalist for the Financial Times, he served for many years on the board of the Freud Museum, London. In this episode he discusses his book "An Empire on the Edge: How Britain Came to Fight America," for which he won the 2015 George Washington Book Prize. Mr. Bunker spoke at the Michelle Smith Lecture Series at the Washington Library on March 16, 2016.

C.L. Bragg is the author of "Distinction in Every Service: Brigadier General Marcellus A. Stovall, C.S.A." and coauthor of the critically acclaimed "Never for Want of Powder: The Confederate Powder Works in Augusta, Georgia," also published by the University of South Carolina Press. Bragg's interest in William Moultrie was sparked while researching his family's South Carolina heritage and his personal connection to the Revolutionary War. Bragg spoke at a Ford Evening Book Talk at the Washington Library on March 4, 2014.