AMERICAN LION: JON MEACHAM ON ANDREW JACKSON
MONDAY, November 24, 2008, 6:30 p.m.
Free. Reservations Required. Please call 215.409.6700 or order online.
Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, Kirby Auditorium
National Constitution Center
Independence Mall
525 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA
At a moment when the American public is focused on the presidency and how presidents lead the nation, the National Constitution Center welcomes back Newsweek editor Jon Meacham for a discussion about his remarkable biography of President Andrew Jackson. Orphan, battle-hardened warrior, founder of the Democratic Party, and architect of the modern presidency, Jackson rose from nothing to the pinnacle of power. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House is an exciting portrait of one of our most important, yet least remembered presidents. Richard Beeman, professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, moderates.
Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Jackson had a mystical connection to ordinary people and gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad. He moved the White House from the periphery of government to the center of national action, and influenced some of the greatest presidents who followed, from Abraham Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt to Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Meacham, according to Publisher's Weekly, exhibits a "writer's flair and the ability to relate his story without the incrustations of ideology and position taking that often disfigure more scholarly studies of Jackson."
Jon Meacham is the editor of Newsweek and author of the New York Times bestsellers Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship and American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation. He lives in New York City with his wife and children.
Dr. Richard R. Beeman has been on the faculty of the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania for thirty-six years. He is an historian of the American Revolutionary Era, and has written five books and several dozen articles on aspects of America 's political and constitutional history in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In March 2009, Random House publishes his latest book, Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution.
A book sale and signing will follow the program courtesy of Joseph Fox Bookshop. Parking for this event is available for $7.50 at the National Constitution Center garage located at the rear of the building on Race Street between 5th and 6th Streets. Parking availability is subject to change, so please call the Constitution Center on the day of the program or check our web site for more information. Please also see our directions by public transportation. http://www.constitutioncenter.org/visiting/VisitorInformation/index.shtml#Map
For reservations please call 215.409.6700 or order online. Programs at the National Constitution Center begin promptly and latecomers may not be admitted to the program. Please note that this program is subject to change.
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Jon Meacham
American Lion