Annette Gordon-Reed

The Story of Our Founding, and Its Impact for Us Today

The story of our country’s founding continues to hold deep relevance for our lives, says Annette Gordon-Reed –– both in the present and into the future. The first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize for History, Annette is “one of the most important American historians of our time” (The New York Times). This MacArthur Genius is a highly sought-after expert on the American Revolution and the founding generation who brings fresh insight to the Constitution and the formation of the American government. She is the author of The Hemingses of Monticello, which won the National Book Award, as well as the New York Times bestseller On Juneteenth, and features prominently in Ken Burns’s six-part PBS docuseries, The American Revolution. As we enter our country’s 250th year, Annette offers powerful talks that blend a sweeping exploration of our history with an essential perspective on what it means for us today.

Annette Gordon-Reed is a Professor of History in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard Law School, the President of the Organization of American Historians, and the award-winning author of six books.

Her first New York Times bestselling book, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, won the Pulitzer Prize for history and the National Book Award for nonfiction — along with fourteen other awards. It explores the inconsistencies of Jefferson’s stance on slavery and his relationship with enslaved woman Sally Hemings, and “stands dramatically apart for its searching intelligence and breadth of humane vision” (Chicago Tribune).

Her memoir, On Juneteenth, sets out to capture the integral importance of the holiday to American history. A powerful, essential work of history that weaves together America’s past with personal stories, this New York Times bestseller was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times (which chose it as one of its five best non-fiction books of the year), The Washington Post, TIME, and NPR, among many others. When President Joe Biden finally signed into law a bill that established Juneteenth as a federal holiday — the culmination of a decades-long effort — Annette was among those invited to witness the historic moment.

Her other books include Jefferson on Race, a groundbreaking collection of Thomas Jefferson’s writings on slavery and race. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham writes that “There is no one on earth better equipped to take on the formidable subject of Thomas Jefferson and race than Annette Gordon-Reed. Wise, fearless, and brilliant, she has given us a vital collection of documents that repay our careful attention. Gordon-Reed is indispensable, and so is this book.” Her books also include Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy — a rich examination of scholarly writing on the relationships between Jefferson and Hemings, which exposes the possibility that scholars were misguided by their own biases and may even have contorted evidence to preserve their preexisting opinions of Jefferson — and “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs”: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination, a provocative character study of Jefferson that challenges much of the scholarly status quo on his portrayal throughout history.

Her honors include the National Humanities Medal (awarded by President Barack Obama), a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a MacArthur Fellowship. Annette was also elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a member of the Academy’s Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. In 2019, she was elected a Member of the American Philosophical Society. Annette was also the first Black student to enroll in an all-white school in her town in Texas. There is now a school named after her there.