American Lessons | In Pursuit

Lesson #

Democracy flourishes through shared civic culture

John Bridgeland

Helen Herron Taft

Lesson #

Maintain your dignity and principles through defeat

Chief Justice

Chief Justice Roberts

William Howard Taft

Lesson #

To know a leader, know who they listen to

Ed O'Keefe

Progressive Upheaval

Edith Roosevelt

Lesson #

An ever more perfect union requires an ever wider “we”

President

Bill Clinton

Progressive Upheaval

Theodore Roosevelt

Lesson #

Being visible while vulnerable is a form of courage

Michelle Gullion

Progressive Upheaval

Ida McKinley

Lesson #

Ease division by giving respect, even across deep divides

Karl Rove

Progressive Upheaval

William McKinley

Lesson #

Leaders shape the institutions others inherit

Nancy Kegan Smith

The Gilded Age

Caroline Harrison

Lesson #

Charisma gets attention, competence gets results

Evan Thomas

The Gilded Age

benjamin harrison

Lesson #

Public attention is a public trust

Andrew Mangino

The Gilded Age

Frances Folsom Cleveland

Lesson #

Moral clarity inspires both trust and opposition

Troy Senik

The Gilded Age

Grover Cleveland

Lesson #

Even accidental leaders can grow into their positions

H.W. Brands

The Gilded Age

Chester A. Arthur

Lesson #

Strive to be a “poor hater”

CW Goodyear

The Gilded Age

James A. Garfield

Lesson #

Leadership means knowing how to play the long game

Stephen Skowronek

Reconstruction & Its Unraveling

Rutherford B. Hayes

Lesson #

Reconciliation requires empathy without surrendering principle

Yuval Levin

Reconstruction & Its Unraveling

Julia Grant

Lesson #

Loyalty to principle is harder and more vital than to power

Stanley McChyrstal

Reconstruction & Its Unraveling

Ulysses S. Grant

Lesson #

Institutions are only as strong as their occupants

Annette Gordon-Reed

Reconstruction & Its Unraveling

Andrew Johnson

Lesson #

Public service demands resilience—not perfection

Lois Romano

Crisis & Civil War

Mary Todd Lincoln

Lesson #

Individual liberty is served by pursuit of the common good

President

Barack Obama

Crisis & Civil War

Abraham Lincoln

Lesson #

Compromise that betrays values alienates all sides

Drew Gilpin Faust

Crisis & Civil War

James Buchanan

Lesson #

Grief can narrow a life – or deepen moral resolve

Diana Carlin

Jane Pierce

Lesson #

Misreading a nation’s morals can Turn catastrophic

David Blight

Crisis & Civil War

Franklin Pierce

Lesson #

Avoiding conflict can precipitate a worse one

Steve Israel

Crisis & Civil War

Millard Fillmore

Lesson #

Leaders must choose: public duty or private convictions

Michael Cohen

Crisis & Civil War

Zachary Taylor

Lesson #

Power can be exercised through proximity and trust

Amy Greenberg

Jacksonian America

Sarah Polk

Lesson #

Power is limited, consequences are not

Matt Costello

Jacksonian America

James K. Polk

Lesson #

Ambiguity demands decisive leadership

Christopher Leahy

Jacksonian America

John Tyler

Lesson #

Republics demand loyalty to principles, not party

Sharon McMahon

Jacksonian America

William Henry Harrison

Lesson #

Coalitions can postpone conflict, not prevent it

Lonnie G. Bunch III

Jacksonian America

Martin Van Buren

Lesson #

Democracy depends as much on restraint as on strength

Jon Meacham

Jacksonian America

Andrew Jackson

Lesson #

True strength begins with self-knowledge and reflection

Louisa Thomas

The Age of Expansion

Louisa Catherine Adams

Lesson #

Short-term defeat Does not end long-term influence

Lindsay Chervinsky

The Age of Expansion

John Quincy Adams

Lesson #

The hardest work of leadership comes after victory

Stewart McLaurin

The Age of Expansion

James Monroe

Lesson #

Democracy works best when rivals can reconcile

Catherine Allgor

The Early Republic

Dolley Payne Todd Madison

Lesson #

Process Over Perfection

Jack Rakove

The Early Republic

James Madison

Lesson #

Dream of the future!

Andrew Davenport

The Early Republic

Thomas Jefferson

Lesson #

A Courageous Voice Can Echo Across History

Joseph Ellis

The Early Republic

Abigail Adams

Lesson #

Great leaders succeed by choosing who ELSE leads

Danielle Allen

The Early Republic

John Adams

Lesson #

Before women could hold office, she created one

Karin Wulf

The Early Republic

Martha Washington

Lesson #

For a leader, humility is the ultimate strength

President

George W. Bush

The Early Republic

George Washington

An initiative of

Lessons

Inspiring words can win power. Then what?

Democracy flourishes through shared civic culture

Maintain your dignity and principles through defeat

To know a leader, know who they listen to

An ever more perfect union requires an ever wider “we”

Being visible while vulnerable is a form of courage

Ease division by giving respect, even across deep divides

Leaders shape the institutions others inherit

Charisma gets attention, competence gets results

Public attention is a public trust

Moral clarity inspires both trust and opposition

Even accidental leaders can grow into their positions

Strive to be a “poor hater”

Leadership means knowing how to play the long game

Reconciliation requires empathy without surrendering principle

Loyalty to principle is harder and more vital than to power

Institutions are only as strong as their occupants

Public service demands resilience—not perfection

Individual liberty is served by pursuit of the common good

Compromise that betrays values alienates all sides

Grief can narrow a life – or deepen moral resolve

Misreading a nation’s morals can Turn catastrophic

Avoiding conflict can precipitate a worse one

Leaders must choose: public duty or private convictions

Power can be exercised through proximity and trust

Power is limited, consequences are not

Ambiguity demands decisive leadership

Republics demand loyalty to principles, not party

Coalitions can postpone conflict, not prevent it

Democracy depends as much on restraint as on strength

True strength begins with self-knowledge and reflection

Short-term defeat Does not end long-term influence

The hardest work of leadership comes after victory

Democracy works best when rivals can reconcile

Process Over Perfection

Dream of the future!

A Courageous Voice Can Echo Across History

Great leaders succeed by choosing who ELSE leads

Before women could hold office, she created one

For a leader, humility is the ultimate strength

Created with 70+ of the American experiment’s most insightful students.