Past is Prologue
Clint Schemmer writes about history, heritage preservation and the American Civil War. On Facebook: Past is Prologue On Twitter: @prologuepast Contact: Email Clint or call 540/374-5424.
Tonight on CBS, David McCullough sizes up presidential elections
MORE: Read more news from Fredericksburg
Over the transom from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:
David McCullough on 60 Minutes 11/4/12, 7:30 EST
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough joined the Gilder Lehrman Institute board in 2012 because he feels strongly about the Institute’s focus on improving the level of historical literacy in our country.
The journal’s editor, Carol Berkin, writes: “If the campaigns have changed, the capacity of a presidential election to shape and reshape our national history has not. And this is why they are so important to us as history teachers and historians. Some, like FDR’s election to a fourth term, set critical precedents, leading to amendments to the constitution. Others, like the 1824 election, brought changes in the nomination process. And, in others, like the election of Abraham Lincoln, the very course of our national history was determined. In our own lifetimes, presidential campaigns have signaled major changes in our cultural norms and values.”
