In Pursuit with Colleen Shogan

What are the principles at the heart of the American experiment? How have those ideals guided us in the past? And how do they speak to us now as we commemorate 250 years of American independence? On this special live episode of In Pursuit recorded at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Colleen joined Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham, Harvard University Professor Danielle...

Why did Louisa Catherine Adams feel like a bird trapped in a cage during her time in the White House? Colleen Shogan talks with Louisa Thomas about Adams's dangerous journey from Russia to Paris during the Napoleonic Wars, her complicated marriage to John Quincy, and the freedom she found in writing.  Featuring Louisa Thomas, Staff Writer, New Yorker.  Read Thomas's essay on Louisa Catherine Adams...

What role did John Quincy Adams believe the United States should play on the world stage? Colleen Shogan talks with Lindsay Chervinsky about Adams the master diplomat, his life in Congress after his term as president, and a career that spanned from the Battle of Bunker Hill to the rise of Abraham Lincoln.  Featuring Lindsay Chervinsky, Ph. D., Executive Director of the George Washington Presidenti...

How did Dolley Madison create bipartisan possibilities under the glow of candle light? Colleen Shogan talks with Catherine Allgor about Mrs. Madison’s famous “Wednesday nights,” the turbulent politics of the early American republic, and the burning of the White House during the War of 1812.  Featuring Catherine Allgor, Ph. D., President Emerita, The Massachusetts Historical Society.  Read Catherin...

Should James Madison rightly be called the “Father of the Constitution”? Colleen Shogan talks with Jack Rakove about why we ought to see Madison as the Constitution’s chief strategist, how the diminutive politician got his start, and why he resisted a Bill of Rights.  Featuring Jack Rakove, Ph. D., William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies and professor of political science a...

What faith did Thomas Jefferson place in future Americans to accomplish what the revolutionary generation could not? Colleen Shogan talks with Andrew Davenport about Jefferson’s Virginia, the contradictions in the Declaration of Independence, and the Sage of Monticello’s abiding belief in the generations to come.  Featuring Andrew Davenport, Ph. D., Vice President for Research and Saunders Directo...

How did Martha Washington create an office before women could hold one? Colleen Shogan talks with Karin Wulf about the first First Lady, the struggle to throw off monarchy in the new republic, and the search for Martha Washington herself.  Karin Wulf, Ph. D., Librarian and Director, the John Carter Brown Library, and Professor of History at Brown University. Read Dr. Wulf's essay on Martha Washing...

Why did George Washington willingly give up power at the end of the Revolutionary War? Colleen Shogan talks with Douglas Bradburn to explore the man who would not be king, Washington’s extraordinary copy of the Constitution, and the formative moments that shaped the nation’s first president. Featuring Douglas Bradburn, Ph. D., President and CEO of George Washington’s Mount Vernon.  Read President...

We call it the American experiment, and over the last 250 years, we've learned a lot about what's worked .....and what hasn't. From George Washington's willingness to surrender power to Mary Lincoln's fight for her own independence, we've aspired to the highest ideals and sometimes fallen short of them.  So what can we learn from Americans' quest to form a more perfect union? Join Colleen Shogan,...