The Historic Center in U.S. Politics
with H.W. Brands
Americans have long shouted from the fringes, but we've governed from the center. The Louisiana Purchase, the Thirteenth Amendment, Social Security, civil rights, environmental reforms: all eventually won bipartisan endorsement.
The center still exists. We simply have to find it again.
Details on Attending
Ford Presidential Museum
303 Pearl St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Thursday, December 10, 2026
Private Friends of Ford Reception: 5:30 p.m. (For those with Lieutenant Commander membership level and above.)
Program: 6:30 p.m.
Book signing to follow the event.
Program Supporters
In partnership with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation is proud to bring H.W. Brands to Grand Rapids. This program is underwritten by the Hilary and Connie Snell Liberty Fund.
Watch the Livestream
H.W. BRANDS holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin. He writes on American history and politics, with books including American Patriarch, Founding Partisans and The Man Who Saved the Union. Several of his books have been bestsellers; two, Traitor to His Class and The First American, were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. He publishes “A User’s Guide to History” at hwbrands.substack.com.
