Center for Presidential History

Center for Presidential History

The Center for Presidential History (CPH) at Southern Methodist University is dedicated to exploring and disseminating the history of the American presidency by sponsoring cutting-edge research on the presidency, delivering the fruits of that research in published academic and public forums, and by simultaneously adding to the rich archival record of the presidency through a wide-ranging Collective Memory Project. Learn more.

Upcoming Events


September 10, 2013

"A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation"
Featuring: Dr. Catherine Allgor, Nadine and Robert A Skotheim Director of Education at the Huntington Library, and Professor of History at the University of California at Riverside

September 26, 2013
"Faith, the White House, and the Public Square: A Conversation with the Former Directors of the Office of Faith-Based Programs"

A conversation about the relationship between the White House and faith-based social programs specifically, and between church and state broadly, featuring the former leaders and directors of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, established by President George W. Bush in 2001 and continued under President Barack Obama.

Featuring: John DiIulio, Jim Towey, Jay Hein, and Joshua DuBois


October 21, 2013
"Freedom Betrayed: Herbert Hoover's Secret History of the Second World War and its Aftermath
Featuring: Dr. George Nash, author of The Life of Herbert Hoover and The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America


November 7, 2013
"The Four Freedoms: FDR's Legacy of Liberty for the United States and the World"

An exploration of the diplomatic and human-rights legacy of FDR’s famous 1941 State of the Union address
Featuring: Drs. Frank Costigliola (UConn), Linda Eads (SMU), Jeffrey Engel (SMU), Matthew Jones (Nottingham), William Hitchcock (Virginia), and Tisa Wenger (Yale).

Four Freedoms Stone Text

 
December 5, 2013
"George Washington and the Problem of Slavery"

Featuring: Dr. Edward Countryman, University Distinguished Professor at Southern Methodist University