The Presidents: The Lives Behind the Legends: Christopher Leahy

Public | Feb, 9 2022 4:00PM - 5:15PM

The Presidents: The Lives Behind the Legends: Christopher Leahy

No figure looms as large in American history as the nation’s president. Our schools and our political traditions teach us that these larger-than-life men – almost mythic in the power and influence they wielded – uniquely embodied their eras and shaped the country’s destiny. But who are the presidents, the flesh-and-blood individuals who rose to the nation’s highest office? What motivated them? How did they achieve their successes and cope with failure? How did their experiences and personalities shape their presidencies? What legacies did they leave behind?

This program will explore such questions through lively discussion with eminent presidential biographers, authors who have delved beyond the pomp and ceremony of the office to uncover the complexities and nuances of presidential lives. Over six weeks, we will learn about towering figures like Thomas Jefferson and John F. Kennedy as well as lesser-known men such as John Tyler and Calvin Coolidge. And we will explore the evolution of the presidency itself, placing our own moment in the long flow of American history.

This series is co-hosted by the LBJ Presidential Library and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at The University of Texas at Austin.
 

Full schedule

January 12: John A. Farrell speaking on Richard Nixon

January 19: Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter Onuf speaking on Thomas Jefferson

January 26: Amity Shlaes speaking on Calvin Coolidge

February 2: Fredrik Logevall speaking on John F. Kennedy

February 9: Christopher Leahy speaking on John Tyler

February 16: Alexis Coe speaking on George Washington
 

Format

We will be using a Zoom webinar. Each session will begin with a moderated discussion led by LBJ Library Director Mark Lawrence but will allow ample time for questions from the audience.

Registration

Advance registration is required. You only need to register once for the series; you do not need to register for each week’s session. Once you register, you can expect to receive an email with a link to join the event. Questions about registration? Email utolli@austin.utexas.edu.

REGISTER NOW TO JOIN US

 

About the speaker

On February 9, 2022, Christopher Leahy will join us to talk about John Tyler.

Christopher Leahy is a nationally recognized expert on the U.S. presidency and eighteenth and nineteenth-century American politics. He is the author of President Without a Party: The Life of John Tyler (LSU Press, 2020), the first full-scale biography of America’s tenth president published in more than 80 years. Dr. Leahy has appeared on numerous podcasts discussing his work, including American POTUS, one of the most heavily subscribed podcasts in the nation. Dr. Leahy is also the author of numerous journal articles and reviews in scholarly publications, in addition to work on First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler that he has co-authored with his wife, Sharon Williams Leahy.

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