From Washington to Trump: The US Presidency and America at 250
The power of the presidency has defined centuries of Americans, and as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky and Chris Whipple look back at how presidents have left their marks.
Chervinsky is a presidential historian and executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. Previously, she was a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University, a historian at the White House Historical Association, and a fellow at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. Her newest book, "Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic," was published in 2024 and examines how Adams' leadership left a legacy for decades to come. She is also the author of the award winning book "The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution." She is also an editor and a regular name in national news outlets.
Joining her is Chris Whipple, an author, documentary filmmaker, and political analyst. He has been called "an indispensable observer of American power." His most recent book, "Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest
Campaign in History," chronicles the 2024 presidential campaign, tackling the more modern end of presidential power. He also takes a less direct approach to analyzing past presidents, keeping a close eye on those around them. Whipple wrote the critically acclaimed New York Times best-seller "The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency" and "The Spymasters: How the CIA Directors Shape History and the Future." As a journalist, he lent his skills as a producer to CBS News' "60 Minutes" and is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning executive producer of documentaries for Discovery and Showtime. He has written for national outlets and appears frequently on MSNBC, CNN, and NPR.
Date/Time: Monday, October 20, 2025 7:00-8:30PM
Location: Gannon University, Yehl Ballroom, Waldron Campus Center, 628 Peach St, Erie, PA 16501
Admission:
- General Admission (Early Bird Pricing) $25.00
- Preferred Seating (Early Bird Pricing) $50.00 (Closest Section Near the Stage)
- Additional Fees: Amusement Tax, Processing Fee
Parking: TBD
Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky is a presidential historian and Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. Previously, she was a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University, a historian at the White House Historical Association, and a fellow at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. Lindsay's newest book, MAKING THE PRESIDENCY: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic, was published in September 2024 by Oxford University Press. She is also the author of the award-winning book The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution and co-editor of Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture. Dr. Chervinsky has been published in the Washington Post, TIME, USA Today, CNN.com, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, The Daily Beast, and many others; she is a regular resource for outlets like CBS News, Face the Nation, CNN, The BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, and CBC News
Chris Whipple is an author, documentary filmmaker, and political analyst. He’s been called “an indispensable observer of American power.” His most recent book, Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History, chronicles the 2024 presidential campaign. Whipple wrote the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller, The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, and The Spymasters: How the CIA Directors Shape History and the Future. Peter Baker, Chief White House Correspondent of The New York Times, calls him “a premier journalist and historian of the White House as well as the intelligence community.” A former producer for CBS News 60 Minutes, Whipple is also an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning executive producer of documentaries for Discovery and Showtime. He has written for The New York Times, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Politico, and the Daily Beast, and has spoken at the Harvard Kennedy School and Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. He appears frequently on MSNBC, CNN, and NPR. Whipple was educated at Deerfield Academy and received a BA in history from Yale. He lives in Clinton, Connecticut with his wife Cary.
