Conversations at the Washington Library

Chris Juergens is a Ph.D. candidate at Florida State University whose research explores the German auxiliaries of the Holy Roman Empire which served dual masters during the American War of Independence. He is particularly interested in military professionalism and innovation in the Age of Revolution. Chris was a member of the Washington Library's 2015-16 class of research fellows. 

Ricardo Herrera is an Associate Professor of Military History at the School of Advanced Military Studies, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. His teaching interests specifically include 18th and 19th Century American military history. He discusses his book "For Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775-1861. Mr. Herrera spoke at the George Washington Symposium on November 7, 2015. He also serves on the faculty of the George Washington Leadership Institute and assists with its excursion programs.

Francois Furstenberg is an Associate Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. His research interests include the relationship between slavery and nationalism in the post-revolutionary period, the meaning of consent and their relationship to slavery in the 19th Century, and U.S. history from an international perspective. He is the author of "In the Name of the Father: Washington's Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation" and "When the United States Spoke French: Five Refugees Who Shaped a Nation." Dr. Furstenberg spoke at a Ford Evening Book Talk at the Washington Library on September 18, 2014. 

Author David Preston discusses his book Braddock’s Defeat: the Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution, with Washington Library Founding Director Douglas Bradburn.

Paul Brandus is an author, independent member of the White House press corps, and founder of the Twitter page @WestWingReport. He is also a Washington columnist on economics and finance. He is a frequent speaker around the country before business groups and has also lectured at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism. In this episode he discusses his book "Under This Roof: A History of the White House and Presidency." Mr. Brandus spoke at a Ford Evening Book Talk at the Washington Library on November 12, 2015. 

Dr. Annette Gordon-Reed is an award-winning author and the Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School. Dr. Peter S. Onus is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia. They discuss in this episode their latest joint book, "'Most Blessed of the Patriarchs': Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination." Gordon-Reed and Onus spoke at the Washington Library's Michelle Smith Lecture Series on May 5, 2016.

Flora Fraser is professional writer and author of numerous historical  biographies. As a young woman she was employed as a researcher by her grandmother and mother. She co-founded the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography and served as a trustee of the London National Portrait Gallery for ten years. In this episode she discusses her latest book "The Washingtons: George and Martha: Join'd by Friendship, Crown'd by Love." Flora spoke at the Gay Hart Gaines Lecture Series on November 4th, 2015.

Dr. John Fea is Professor of American History and Chair of the History Department at Messiah College and was a fellow at the Washington Library during the 2015-16 academic year. He is the author or editor of four books, one of which - Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? - was a finalist for the George Washington book prize. Fea also blogs daily about his work at www.thewayofimprovement.com. In this episode he discusses the research he conducted while at the Library concerning religion during the colonial and Revolutionary eras. 

Dr. Trenton Cole Jones is an assistant professor of history at Purdue University and was the Amanda and Greg Gregory Family fellow at the Library during the 2013-14 academic year. In this episode he discusses his dissertation and forthcoming book, tentatively titled "Deprived of their Liberty: Enemy Prisoners and the Culture of War in Revolutionary America."

Dr. Laura Auricchio is the Dean of Bachelor’s Program for Adults and Transfer Students and of the School of Languages, and is an Associate Professor of Art History in the Parsons School of Design at The New School in New York City. In this episode she discusses her book "The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered." Dr. Auricchio spoke at the Michelle Smith Lecture Series on May 12, 2015.