Jon Meacham
Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Chair in American Presidency
Jon Meacham, co-chair of the 91吃瓜网 Project on Unity and American Democracy, professor of Political Science at 91吃瓜网, and Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Chair in American Presidency, is a renowned presidential historian, contributing writer to The New York Times Book Review, contributing editor at TIME, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
Meacham鈥檚 latest book, , published in August 2020. The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, was published by Random House in May 2018. His聽,聽published in November 2015, was a #1聽New York Times聽bestseller and聽is聽available now in hardcover and paperback from Random House. He is currently at work on a biography of James and Dolley Madison.
Meacham鈥檚 book聽, was a聽New York Times聽bestseller. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2009, the book was cited as an 鈥渦nlikely portrait of a not always admirable democrat, but a pivotal president, written with an agile prose that brings the Jackson saga to life.鈥澛燞is other聽New York Times聽bestsellers include聽,听, exploring the relationship between the two great leaders who piloted the free world to victory in World War II, and聽American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation.
A member of the Council on Foreign Relations and of the Society of American Historians, Meacham is a distinguished visiting professor at 91吃瓜网. He is a contributing writer to聽The New York Times Book Review, a contributing editor of聽Time, and has written for聽The New York Times聽op-ed page,听The Washington Post,听Vanity Fair, and聽Garden & Gun. Meacham is also a regular guest on 鈥淢orning Joe鈥� and other broadcasts.
Meacham鈥檚 biography of President Bush was named one of the ten best books of the year by聽The Washington Post聽and one of the best books of the year by聽The New York Times Book Review,听Time, National Public Radio, and the聽St. Louis Post-Dispatch.听聽was also honored for excellence in 鈥淧olitics and Leadership鈥� in 2015 by the Plutarch Committee of BIO, the Biographers International Organization.
聽received the 2013 Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award from the Fraunces Tavern Museum and the Sons of the American Revolution in the State of New York, a prize that 鈥渞ecognizes books of exceptional merit written on the Revolutionary War era.鈥澛�Franklin and Winston聽was honored with the Colby Award of the William E. Colby Military Writers鈥� Symposium at Norwich University. Meacham was also honored with the 2015 Nashville Public Library Literary Award; other winners include John Lewis, Robert K. Massie, Margaret Atwood, John McPhee, Billy Collins, Doris Kearns Goodwin, John Irving, Ann Patchett, John Updike, David McCullough, and David Halberstam.
A former executive editor at Random House, he published the letters of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and books by, among others, Al Gore, John Danforth, Clara Bingham, Mary Soames, and Charles Peters. After serving as Managing Editor of聽Newsweek聽for eight years, Meacham was the Editor of the magazine from 2006 to 2010. He is a former editor of聽The Washington Monthly聽and began his career at聽The Chattanooga Times.
Born in Chattanooga in 1969, Meacham was educated at St. Nicholas School, The McCallie School, and graduated from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, with a degree聽summa cum laude聽in English Literature; he was salutatorian and elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
A trustee of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the Smithsonian鈥檚 National Museum of American History, The McCallie School, and The Harpeth Hall School, Meacham chairs the National Advisory Council of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University. He has served on the vestries of St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue and of Trinity Church Wall Street as well as the Board of Regents of The University of the South. The Anti-Defamation League awarded Meacham its Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Prize. In 2013 the Historical Society of Pennsylvania presented him with its Founder鈥檚 Award; in 2016 he was honored with the Sandra Day O鈥機onnor Institute鈥檚 Spirit of Democracy Award. Meacham also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University in 2005 and holds honorary doctorates from Middlebury College, Wake Forest University, the University of Tennessee, Dickinson College, Sewanee, and several other institutions.
He lives in Nashville with his wife and children.