The Educational Path and Intellectual Development of Jon Meacham

Jon Ellis Meacham, born on May 20, 1969, is an American writer, reviewer, historian, and presidential biographer. He has distinguished himself as a Canon Historian of the Washington National Cathedral since November 7, 2021. Meacham's career includes roles such as a former executive editor and executive vice president at Random House, a contributing writer to The New York Times Book Review, a contributing editor for Time magazine, and a former editor-in-chief of Newsweek. He is the author of several critically acclaimed books, including American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, which won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. He holds the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Chair in the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University.

Early Life and Influences

Meacham was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Jere Ellis Meacham (1946-2008), a construction and labor-relations executive who was decorated for valor during the Vietnam War, and Linda (McBrayer) Brodie. His paternal grandparents, Ellis K. Meacham and Jean Austin Meacham, raised him after his parents' divorce. His early exposure to political discussions significantly shaped his intellectual development. When he was a child, his grandfather had discussions each morning with a group of men about local and national politics. As a result, Meacham developed an interest in politics.

Formal Education

Meacham's formal education laid the foundation for his successful career as a historian and writer. He was educated at St. Nicholas School and The McCallie School in Chattanooga.

The McCallie School

At The McCallie School, Meacham developed an interest in the civil rights movement.

University of the South

Meacham graduated summa cum laude in 1991 from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, with a degree in English Literature. He was salutatorian and elected to Phi Beta Kappa. The institution recognized his accomplishments with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 2010.

Early Career

Meacham began his career at The Chattanooga Times. After college, he worked at The Chattanooga Times, until he moved to Washington, D.C., in 1993 and became co-editor of Washington Monthly. In 1995, he worked for Newsweek as the national affairs editor, and became managing editor in late-1998.

Contributions to Literature and Historical Understanding

Meacham has made significant contributions to American literature and historical understanding through his extensive writings and editorial work. He is a highly regarded researcher. Presidents; his biography of Andrew Jackson, American Lion, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

Voices in Our Blood: America's Best on the Civil Rights Movement

He was the editor for Voices in Our Blood: America's Best on the Civil Rights Movement which was released in 2001. Spanning the period from 1941 to 1998, the book includes writings of noted civil-rights leaders, novelists, and journalists, like John Lewis, James Baldwin, William Faulkner, and David Halberstam.

Biographies and Historical Analyses

Meacham has explored America's leaders in such works as Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power as well as his biography of Andrew Jackson, American Lion, which won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. Jill Abramson writing in a book review in The New York Times states that Meacham's books are "well researched, drawing on new anecdotal material and up-to-date historiographical interpretations" and presents his "subjects as figures of heroic grandeur despite all-too-human shortcomings".

Selected by the Bush family to be the official biographer for George H. W. Bush, Meacham's book, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, was published in 2015. His New York Times bestsellers include: His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope; The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels; The Hope of Glory: Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross; Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music That Made a Nation (with Tim McGraw); Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush; and Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power. Meacham’s 2022 book, And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, spent 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and won multiple awards. He is also the editor of Voices in Our Blood: America’s Best on the Civil Rights Movement and In the Hands of the People, an anthology of Thomas Jefferson’s writings.

Academic and Editorial Roles

Meacham has held various academic and editorial positions that have allowed him to influence public discourse and mentor aspiring scholars.

Vanderbilt University

A contributing analyst on MSNBC, Meacham is a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University, where he holds the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Chair in the American Presidency. He is co-chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy. He taught history at his alma mater, the University of the South, in 2014. He was a visiting professor of political science at Vanderbilt University before being appointed to the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Chair in American Presidency.

Other Editorial Roles

He is a contributing writer to The New York Times Book Review, a contributing editor of Time, and has written for The New York Times op-ed page, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, and Garden & Gun. After serving as Managing Editor of Newsweek for eight years, Meacham was the Editor of the magazine from 2006 to 2010.

American Baptist College

Jon Meacham will serve as a Visiting Professor at American Baptist College for the Fall 2020 Semester. Meacham, a presidential historian and award-winning biographer, will teach on the Life and Legacy of Congressman John Lewis. Jon Meacham’s recent book, “His Truth is Marching On; John Lewis and the Power of Hope” will serve as the foundation for the discussion.

Recognition and Awards

Meacham's work has been widely recognized with numerous awards and honors.

Read also: Becoming a Neonatal Nurse

2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.
2013 Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award from the Fraunces Tavern Museum and the Sons of the American Revolution in the State of New York for Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power.
Colby Award of the William E. Colby Military Writers’ Symposium at Norwich University for Franklin and Winston.
2015 Nashville Public Library Literary Award.
2016 Sandra Day O’Connor Institute’s Spirit of Democracy Award.
National Humanities Medal.

Public Engagement and Commentary

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. From May 2010 to April 2011, Meacham was co-host with Alison Stewart of Need to Know on PBS. In 2014, Meacham appeared in Ken Burns' documentary series The Roosevelts: An Intimate History on PBS.

Meacham was asked to speak at the 2020 Democratic National Convention on the Soul of America. He endorsed Joe Biden, saying, "history, which will surely be our judge, can also be our guide. From Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall, we're at our best when we build bridges, not walls".

Personal Life and Community Involvement

As of 2014, Meacham resides in Belle Meade, Tennessee. He married Margaret Keith Smythe, called Keith, in 1996. At the time of their marriage, she was a teacher, having studied at the University of Virginia and the University of Provence. She taught in Metz, France under a Fulbright Scholarship.

A trustee of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the Smithsonian’s 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.

tags: #jon #meacham #education #background