Eventually, he would be elected to the House of Representatives from Atlanta, serving in Congress for more than three decades. Jon Ellis Meacham (/mitm/; born May 20, 1969) is an American writer, reviewer, historian and presidential biographer who is serving as the current Canon Historian of the Washington National Cathedral since November 7, 2021. "You have to believe that. The pundits the networks most prize, it seems, are precisely the ones who remain in the game orchestrating PACs, dishing out endorsements, consulting with key players, tweeting. Its not a partisan statement, its just true. Which Lewis was willing to do again and again and again. February 28, 2022. He is also a frequent guest on CBS This Morning, Face the Nation, MSNBCs Morning Joe, and Late Night alongside Stephen Colbert. Pulitzer Prizewinning biographer and #1New York Timesbestselling author Jon Meacham chronicles the life of Abraham Lincoln, charting howand whyhe confronted secession, threats to democracy, and the tragedy of slavery to expand the possibilities of America. hide caption. Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize-winner, contributing writer to The New York Times Book Review and contributing editor at Time magazine. 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. Lewis deserved the accolades, but elevating him to the status of national icon may obscure how much of his agenda remains to be accomplished, as thousands of Americans are reminding us each day. All Rights Reserved. He enrolled at the Highlander Folk School, an institution that trained activists for social justice causes, and soon after embarked on his first organized protest, a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter. Jons average salary is $73,581per year. He is also a frequent guest on CBS This Morning, Face the Nation, MSNBC's Morning Joe, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[17][18]. Distinguished visiting professor of history at, This page was last edited on 25 January 2023, at 08:58. His paternal grandparents, Ellis K. Meacham and Jean Austin Meacham,[3] raised him after his parents' divorce. Lewis loved church from an early age and practiced preaching to an audience of chickens. It was a rare appearance from a presidential historian, supporting a candidate for a president. (Meacham mentions that in 1961 Lewis applied for a grant from the American Friends Service Committee to visit Africa, but does not explain why.) Ultimately, we would get the 13th Amendment a few months later, but he was willing to go down politically for that principle. Jon Meacham is a renowned presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) 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 was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee by his parents. At once familiar and elusive, Lincoln tends to be seen as the greatest of American presidentsa remote iconor as a politician driven more by calculation than by conviction. He was thinking about Mikhali Gorbachev, who dealt with a hard-core right wing that included Vladimir Putin. He described the American Revolution as the most important shift in Western thought since Constantine converted to Christianity: recognizing that we were born with the capacity and reason to determine our own destinies. During a race for Congress in 1986, he unfairly denigrated his opponent, the civil rights veteran Julian Bond, for having done nothing more than put out news releases while I was on the front lines.. [6] He then went on to attend Sewanee: The University of the South where he graduated salutatorian and summa cum laude in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. As a former vestryman of both Trinity Church Wall Street and St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, Jon delves into that intersection of faith and history in this meditation on the seven phrases Jesus spoke from the cross. The couple happily shared wedding vows in front of their relatives and parents nonetheless, the date of their wedding hasn't revealed in the media yet. Jon supported Joe Biden, saying, history, which will surely be our judge, can also be our guide. He was born to fatherJere Ellis Meacham and mother Linda McBrayer Meacham. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Pulitzer Prizewinning author Jon Meacham explores the seven last sayings of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels, combining rich historical and theological insights to reflect on the true heart of the Christian story. Phones aimed at kids allow parents to set limits on texts, turn off the device during school hours or block calls from bullies. -His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope Aug 25, 2020 Afterward, Will appeared on ABC News with favorable commentary on Reagans showing. Jon Meacham completed his high school fromMcCallie School and later joined the College of South for his further studies. It was real.. When Jon was a child, his grandfather had discussions each morning with a group of men about local and national politics thus resulting in Jon to developed an interest in politics. He was beaten in Rock Hill, S.C., by a gang of white racists, never fighting back: "Repeatedly struck in the face and kicked in his sides as he fell to the ground, Lewis remembered the taste of blood in his mouth. Journalists. 4/12/2023 | 7 PM ET: New York, NY 92nd Street Y In conversation with David Rubenstein Website . His removal, Meacham writes, devastated Lewis. SNCC integrated the South. Meachams book is a welcome reminder of the heroic sacrifices and remarkable achievements of those young radicals 20th-century Americas greatest generation. Much of it relies on Lewiss 1998 memoir, Walking With the Wind. The emphasis on the spiritual origins of Lewiss commitment to social change leads to slighting the movements more secular catalysts, including the destabilization of the racial system during World War II and the rise of independent nations in Africa. Leaders are far more often mirrors of who we are rather than makers of who we are, and thats an uncomfortable reality.. That doesn't mean that's going to happen again. He received an invitation to Ronald Reagan's 1981 inauguration in Washington, D.C., in response to a letter that he sent to the president-elect. Her hair color is brown and has a hazel eye color. Jon Meacham (Podcast Episode 2020) Parents Guide and Certifications from around the world. He is 53 years old. Its about openness to changing circumstances and data. Jon Meacham, co-chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University, 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. Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Jon Meacham approaches Lincoln through his education and evolution as a thinker, setting those experiences in parallel with the practical work of politics, grounded by the reality that Lincoln, like all of us, was an imperfect human being. American presidents continue to lionize Lincoln as a role model, Meacham says and he would know, as a biographer of George H.W. -The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels May 8, 2018 The exact wording of the quote comes from Martin Luther King Jr., who was paraphrasing the thoughts of 19th century abolitionist Theodore Parker. The recent death of John Lewis, the most prominent surviving leader of the civil rights movement, produced an outpouring of adulation, from a funeral addressed by three former presidents to a prime-time mash-up of history and entertainment hosted by Oprah Winfrey. Jon is a proud son to Jere Ellis Meacham (19462008), working as a construction and labor-relations executive who was decorated for valor during the Vietnam War, and Linda (McBrayer) Brodie. Meacham's new Lincoln is not just a text; it is an event. There was no mention of his affiliation with MSNBC. Jon Meacham Is A Member Of . Jimmy Carter once remarked, If you want to understand the civil rights movement, remember this: Martin Luther King didnt integrate the South. A former vestryman of Trinity Church Wall Street and St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, Meacham delves into that intersection of faith and history in this meditation on the seven phrases Jesus spoke from the cross. He focused especially on the president's pivotal decision to prioritize emancipation measures above his own political future in the lead-up to the 1864 election. Jon Meacham Fans Also Viewed . Historian Jon Meacham, pictured during a discussion on Capitol Hill on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack, has authored a new book about the life and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln couldn't have known that summer that he or the Union would emerge victorious, as Meacham tells Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep. In 1716, Hannah Lincoln gave birth to John Lincoln, who continued the family's migration south and west when he and his wife, Rebecca Flowers Lincoln, settled on a large farm on Linville Creek in the Shenandoah Valley in 1766. But once again, America has bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice, said Biden. The Washington National Cathedral announced on March 10, 2021, that they had chosen Jon Meacham as its first canon historian, a role that is part of a cathedral initiative that will turn part of a long-empty building into the new College of both Faith and Culture. So religion was both a rallying cry it provided a predicate for the north, for the anti-slavery forces and let us be very clear, and this is resonant today: It also provided an intellectual prop to slave owners who wanted to believe that slavery was divinely ordained. "Lincoln was a politician, but he was a politician who ultimately was driven by conscience," Meacham says. Sign up for a weekly roundup of thought-provoking ideas and debates, People doubt her as a female roofer: Were proving them wrong every day, She rescues baby squirrels: Theyre quite destructive. In introducing himself to the virtual convention audience, Meacham said that he was a historian. READ MORE . Those folks are known as journalists. His PhD took 53 years. Coziness begets predictability and boredom. [36][37], Meacham has been strongly critical of President, Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, The Hope of Glory: Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross, And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, "Jon Meacham (C'91) returns to Sewanee as a history professor", "Journalist is topic for 21st Century Club", "Robert Remini, Exhaustive Andrew Jackson Biographer, Dies at 91", "University of the South marks 150 years", "Jon Meacham Becomes Time Contributing Editor", "Why Trump Is More Father Coughlin Than Franklin Roosevelt", "The 2009 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Biography", "Jon Meacham, Bush's Biographer, Will Also Deliver a Eulogy", "Joe: Donald Trump's hostile takeover of the Republican Party", "Meacham: Bush knew exactly what he was saying", "Haslam joining Vanderbilt faculty for leadership course", "Historian Goodwin Says Look to Past Presidents for Easing Current Political Divide", "Historian Jon Meacham Speaks On Final Night Of Democratic Convention", "The historian Jon Meacham, who wrote of 'the soul of America,' has been working on Biden's speeches", "Nancy Pelosi says she will not seek re-election as Democratic leader in House as it happened", "Dickinson College sends graduates into the world", "Sewanee announces honorary degree recipients", "Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham to address Loyola's centennial class", "Jon Meacham to Give Middlebury College Commencement Address", "Board of Trustees Approves Honorary Degree for Pulitzer Prize Writer Meacham", "Pulitzer Winner, Congresswoman to Address Class of 2018", "Millsaps announces honorary degree recipients: Jon Meacham, Jesmyn Ward, Dr. Lamar Weems", "House Tour: Is This The Chicest Home In Nashville? Jons book, Franklin and Winston, Partners of an Intimate Relationship about Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, was released in 2003. Black elders like Thurgood Marshall warned the young radicals that their militant tactics could be politically counterproductive. At the March on Washington, the organizers persuaded Lewis to remove incendiary language from his prepared remarks, including a reference to marching through the heart of Dixie, the way Sherman did (though he planned to add nonviolently). The book starts off with a brief look at Lewis' childhood in Pike County, Ala. His parents didn't share his activism: "Theirs was, as the Bible says, a straight and narrow way," Meacham quotes Lewis as saying. This shift found its fullest expression in what became the most important sentence in the English language: We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. I think that sentence has changed more lives around the world than any other. begins to fall apart without an empathetic understanding of each other. Meacham described how President George H.W. Anyone can read what you share. The Constitution is fundamentally a Calvinistic document its theological and assumes our sinfulness and that we will do the wrong thing far more often than the right thing. [35] He married Margaret Keith Smythe, called Keith, in 1996. Meacham was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. If he could do that at the pinnacle of power, why are so many of us so inflexibly disposed on much less significant questions? He is a former editor ofThe Washington Monthlyand began his career atThe Chattanooga Times. The fact that this sounds partisan is a sign of toxicity in the public square. Besides, he was a writer at The New York Times. Embed. [14], Over the years Meacham has been a frequent guest on various talk shows such as Charlie Rose, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, and Real Time with Bill Maher. Later on, Jon then went on to attend Sewanee: The University of the South where Jon graduated salutatorian and summa cum laude in 1991 earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in both English literature and was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa. For inquiries about lectures and speaking engagements, please contact Billy Hallock: billy.hallock@icmpartners.com. Lincoln's shadow hovered over Meacham's childhood, long before he became a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and biographer. MSNBC announced on Monday that, per network policy, presidential historian Jon Meacham would no longer be serving as a MSNBC contributor. Instead, he plowed ahead with his analysis. Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt University and the Vanderbilt logos are trademarks of The Vanderbilt University. Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. . Photograph: HBO "I suspect 90% of what I've heard Joe Biden say in private for years, he says in public . Jon Meacham on John Lewis, the Legend and the Man, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/books/review/his-truth-is-marching-on-jon-meacham.html, John Lewis with religious leaders, Montgomery, 1965, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC. Lincoln went on to win a second term (in an election that Meacham also notes included the first widespread use of absentee ballots). on the Business environment in China. 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 degreesumma cum laudein English Literature; he was salutatorian and elected to Phi Beta Kappa. The most interesting parts of Meacham's book are his observations about how Lewis' activism was inspired by his Christian faith: "Lewis did not doubt the Christian story to which he gave his heart and his mind and his spirit commands us to open our arms, not to clench our fists. But I'm fundamentally hopeful in this sense: We have stared into the abyss before, and just enough of us have decided to do the right thing. Jon was the winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize due to Biography or Autobiography for American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. On how that compares with the role of religion in American politics now: What is perennially frightening is that in American politics, in American culture people do claim divine sanction for what they want to do. Welcome to Reflections of History. When civil rights activist and U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia died last month, so did a big piece of America. When his mother cooked one of the chickens, the boy refused to eat ithis first act, he wryly recalled, of nonviolent protest. Many more would come, with Lewis always following the principle of nonviolence articulated by the Rev. -Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship Oct 14, 2003 He has been a frequent guest on different talk shows like Charlie Rose, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, and Real Time with Bill Maher. Jon was the editor for Voices in Our Blood: Americas Best on the Civil Rights Movement that was released in 2001. 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