Lindsay M. Chervinsky

An intro for news faces 👋! I'm a presidential historian, author of a couple of books including *Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic*, and Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library. And I have a four-legged sidekick who is my heart.

Just in case you were wondering, presidents don’t get to ignore constitutional amendments. That’s not how they work.

Happy George Washington’s Birthday!

On this month's Imperfect Union, I wrote a primer on cabinet appointments. Where the cabinet came from, how appointments have evolved, the good, and the very, very bad. lindsaychervinsky.pub/nov2024 Thank you in advance for sharing as we build up this new platform!

Ok deep cut for maybe like 3 people? I think Worthington Chauncey Ford understood JQA better than most historians combined, but he got Washington *way* wrong.

I received the loveliest email today from someone who did not have to send it to me. It made my evening. Just a reminder that it costs nothing to say something nice and might mean a great deal to the person who receives it.

Last week I wrote about George Washington's presidential pardons. There is bipartisan support for pardon reform and these principles offer a guide for how the pardon power was intended to be used. Check your inboxes or subscribe today! imperfectunion.substack.com/p/the-four-f...

I had an amazing time visiting McLennan Community College and Baylor Law School last week. MCC is doing incredible work with first generation students and it was a real honor to give the Kenneth Starr endowed lecture on all things 250. You can tell from the last picture that I really hate my work. 🥰

Despite everything that happened after 9/11, there was an important moment of presidential leadership first. Religious freedom matters and depends on all of our leaderes. Let me know what you think of my latest Imperfect Union: imperfectunion.substack.com/p/25-years-a...

For the first time since July 2024, I am at inbox zero in all three inboxes. I don't have enough swear words to describe my excitement.

Related: reach out to sites about book talks NOW. We book roughly 8 months out. If you email me about a book coming out next month, there is nothing I can do to help.

The National Book Festival with @librarycongress.bsky.social is the absolute best and I'm so thrilled to be on the program. I'll be speaking with Sarah Pearsall and Kevin Butterfield about the American Revolution around the world at 11 AM. See you there!

Part II of my series on civilian control of the military is live! I cover the Whiskey Rebellion to Ulysses S. Grant, then pose some questions for us to consider today. Check it out and let me know what you think. open.substack.com/pub/imperfec...

Such a fun week with @gliamericanhistory.bsky.social teaching George Washington and the Founding for 50 teachers. It was so energizing and a great reminder of the amazing teachers doing the incredible history work in classroom.