Good evening everybody. Welcome to the American Enterprise institute. Im yuval levin, director of constitutional studies at ai and it is my great pleasure to commute to a discussion of the land of hope, the new one volume history of our country by the Great American story and Wilfrid Mcclay area is a book that comes a time when questions of who we are as a people, whether we can have a unifying rather than a divisive story and of how to tell the story of our country in a way that neither some shorts our National Greatness north white washes our national sins, are really live questions in our politics and what may be on unusual way and this book is clearly intended to speak to just that moment though there could be a better time to hear from bill about his sense of howto approach these questions. Bill mcclay is a national treasure. Pure and simple. He is first and foremost a teacher. Behold the blankenship care and history of liberty at the history of oklahoma. He has admired and bowl of five scores of students past and present. Hes also one of the great writers of American History. He is his book the master was self solving society in modern america was judged the best book in American Intellectual history here was published by the organization of american historians and among his other wonderful books of American History are a student guide to us history , figures in the carpet, planning the human person in the american and why place matters, geography, identity and civic life in modern america. Hes also been a historian active in the service of his country. Bill served for 11 years on the National Council of the humanities is the Advisory Board of the National Endowment for thehumanities. The number of the us senate quinn Centennial Commission which i tell you in order to challenge myself to pronounce that word read the Commission Planning a commemoration of americas 250th anniversary in 2026, bill is a graduate of john college in annapolis, he received his phd in history from johnshopkins. And with this latest book he has made an extraordinary contribution to our capacity to understand ourselves. Land of hope describes itself as an invitation to the Great American story and exists to fill the kind. Theres not a shortage of books about American History but an accessible narrative accounts of the art of the american story but understand itself as an invitation to the american looking to become a polar citizen of this country is nothing that were certainly always in need of my format tonight will be simple. Bill will talk about the book for a bit. He and i will then chat about it briefly and we will invite all of you in that conversation through questions and answers so with that lets welcome bill mcclay. This is my first visit to the new and improved aei. Im finding my way around. Its wonderful to be here. This is an institution that i hold very dear and have for many years and i think the fact that they appointed yuval to this post is a good sign about the future so im going to stick this up here, i may not be using it. You call mentioned in the introduction some of what i was going to say about the reasons why i wrote the book because for someone in the academy do, to write a book like this is a pretty insane proposition. Certainly not anything thats going to help your career and i didnt see to use it to do that. But it did seem to me that are we okay . It didnt seem to me that we have a problem. That the profession, the historical profession of which im a part has made i think many advances. Im not here to track the historical profession although we may do that in the question and answer period but its made many advances, particularly in articulating the experiences of the inarticulate. Of the marginalized, of those who have been neglected by historical studies in the past. But the results which is not necessarily the intention, intended result but the result has been a fragmented, fractured incoherence is continuous understanding of our, one that fails to convey the young people the larger art of that history as you open it. Or it reflects the outlook of writers like howard finn who is somewhat questionably research and politically contentious peoples history of the United States as sole almost 30 million copies area i had to check on this, approaching 3 million. Has been treated as authoritative and some of the best public and private high schools and other respectable classrooms. So the gist of this, the process of it is that were losing a general grass on the Public Meeting of our own history. Professional american historiography has made many advances in the breadth and sophistication of its approaches to topics that have been neglected in the past, but what now is neglected is shared historical consciousness, Public Knowledge that we need to be able to think of ourselves as a coherent political entity, to think of ourselves as citizens, to prepare peoplefor citizenship. Not just in terms of the civic 101 understanding of citizenship as a set of particular Political Rights and responsibilities but in a sense of membership, being members of the society, members of the country, part of a great story of which america, american story is constituted. So this is the state of affairs that can go on without producing serious consequences. A great nation need and deserve a great narrative. It needs to convey that narrative to the rising generation, to do so effectively. If its to perpetuate itself and sustain itself. In face of the challenges that are inevitably drawn up in the present and future. It goes without saying that this story, this retelling cannot be a fairytale. It cant whitewash the past. It has to be fruitful to be convincing. But theres no necessary connection between a truthful account of poor excuse me, no necessary contradiction between a truthful account and anaspiring one , especially when the subject is americanhistory. And we see to provide that area either one, either truthful or convincing or inspiring in our schools today. So this combination of truthfulness and inspiration is what i was after in the land of hope which the title itself i think begins to convey. Im going to unpack that a little more as i go. I hope youll forgive me, im going to read some passages from the book beginning to get the flavor of it. The tone and direction of it because that was one of the hardest things about writing it was to find the right pitch that would be acceptable to High School Students because after all, they are ultimately, this is ultimately a high school textbook. Im happy, im delighted, im amazed at the reception that its gotten with general readers with the adult reading public for lack of a better term but its really meant for young people. Its meant to compete with not just howard zinn but with the larded up, glitzy and hyper expensive textbooks that are on offer. So the underlying aim to the book are clear in the house which is an app graph that i borrowed from and grabbed by john does passes who as you know, Great American writer for younger people but we havent encountered that name or ready read any of dos passos, i recommend him. It was a great radical in the 1920s and with the fullness of time he came to a more vivid appreciation of this country and a profound sense of connection to its past. And let me just read you from this essay. By the way, this passage, the title of the book was the first thing i wrote which is sort of unusual area ive never done that before and its usually the last thing i write but i thought this title mis what i want to achieve so i picked it up to my computer monitor and have that there in front of me and theother thing i added was this. And this required, sits on the side propped up by cardboard. This is dos passos. Every generation rewrites the past. In easy times, history is more or less of an ornamental art in times of danger we are driven to the written record by a pressing need to find answers to the riddlesof today. We need to know what kind of firm ground other men belonging to generations before us have found to stand on. In spite of changing conditions, of life, they were not very different from ourselves read their thoughts were the grandfathers of our thoughts. They managed to keep meat situations as difficult and those we have to face. To meet them sometimes lightheartedly and in some measure to make their hopes prevail. We need toknow how they did it. And this is continuing with those passages, this is a part im especially interested in. In times of change in danger, when theres a quick fear under reasoning, a sense of continuity generations going before can stretch like a lifeline. Across this scary present, get us past that idiot delusion of the exceptional now. That blocks good thinking. That is why in times like ours when old institutions are caving in and being replaced by new institutions, not necessarily in accord with most mens preconceived hopes , political thought have to look backwards aswell as forward. Thats quite appropriate, isnt it. To our moment. Note that passage that i kind of marked out area dos passos is arguing that a sense of living connection to the past can be steadying and reassuring, a source of sustenance even in times of great upheaval. And a sense, that sense, that sense of connection with the past can free us from the illusion that we live in a time so different from all other times as to be completely without evidence from the illusion that the past has nothingwhatsoever to teach us. All of us who teach in the humanities struggle again. We are prone to think of this way about our present times, the steady flow of dramatic and unsettling events in Technological Innovations render the past irrelevant. Young people i think especially tend to think this way. Because frankly they have less experience and that means they havenothing but the present as a point of comparison. But discourages this view as an idiot delusion. We will take idiotic but because of an idiot delusion. And recommends the counsel of the past is something necessary and not merely desirable. It should add to the weight of these observations to tell you the year in which he wrote these words. 1941. This was a truly frightening moment in the history of the world, history of the western world particularly. Hitler in control of the europeancontinent. The very face of european civilization seemed to hang by a thread. He could have been forgiven for thinking and this time that the past in the midst of this unprecedented war that the past had nothing to do such a moment but thats not what he said. Part of the point of looking backwards as he counsels us to do is that in doing so we not only recover a sense of where we came from but we learn to free ourselves from our mental imprisonment in the present. This provincial conviction that we have that what we are seeing and experiencing and believing today represents the pinnacle of Human Knowledge and human possibility. The natural or inevitable state of human beings. When we learn to incorporate the past and you are thinking we enrich our imaginations, even as we become far less susceptible to idiot delusions. We become better peopleand more appreciative citizens. So we need a different kind of textbook. One that does not condescend to the past but instead reaches back to it. Seeks to recover the roots of our great story and present that story in its fullness not merely in its coarseness, brutality and failure although not neglecting those things either but in its triumph and grandeur and World Historic exceptional importance. It needs to take into account the importance of history and is of a reservoir of shared memory that makes possible our cohesion as a people. Makes it possible for us to Work Together towards the achievement of common goals and common goods. It needs to teach us how to balance criticism with appreciation, an old word that i like very much. Taking into account the perennial challenges of statesmanship as well as the conditioning role of circumstances and context, in the conduct of policy and the making of laws and politics. Above all it needs understand historical knowledge as an essential element in the life of a citizen. A knowledge not only of institutions and rights but a sense of membership, both belonging an obligation. In addition the book is unusual and the extent to which assets reader reflect on the meaning of the past. Tries to show them that they historically, how to understand that history is not just an inner account of indisputable and self explanatory details. Instead, as dos passos understood history is the firstselective humanity. Not tell us what you think about the past never morality play. Means learning to appreciate ,. The circumstances within which historical actors are constrained. It means asking questions and asking them again and again and again. And asking questions as the experience of life causes questions to arise in our minds. So let me talk now about some of the books more specific distinctives. First of all, theres the fact that its a book. Its a tangible, physical object rather than an intangible election of pixels on a flickering screen. Thanks to my publisher encounter books, wonderful books. They is a very handsome book. I do think for the cover art however. But its a handsome book, one that i if people continue to have personal libraries in the future it will make its wayinto their. And in family collections. By taking a stand with the permanence of the traditional printed and bound book, manifold and against the growing tendency of publishers and School Systems rely on digital materials only. And come find students experiences of reading the ever more omnipresent screen. As youll see this is a matter of no small social significance. Digital text can be altered in the linking of an eye. George orwell was thought about this. The permanence of a printed book is an expression of durability of the subject addresses. Also land of hope was not written by a committee or youre looking at the committee. With its pacing together like a hostage note. And to please different constituencies and Interest Groups and stakeholders and Political Action committees and all the other local interested parties. The book was written by me, all by myself, typing away in my without a gang of graduate students or Research Assistants assisting the process. Book reflects that fact. Readers will hear in its pages but human voice of an actual author. And not a false imitation of the voice of god with an echo chamber synthetically added. The writing has not been dumbed down although it has in some cases been simplified and i take pains to make it as lively and approachable as possible. Ill let you be the judgewhen i read some past. Many of the books the mac distinctives are hinted at in the title. As i mentioned the title is the first thing i was about the book and it does express the emphasis that i knew i wanted to huge you as i proceeded. First there is the word land. America is a land. Its not only an idea. True, it is in some respects the expression of an idea or a of ideas about liberty, the quality, self rule and other such things and the universal standards thus set out in our declaration of which in turn initiated the greater class for liberty equality etc. In the nations of the world. Not to discount the historical influence, the transplanted International Worldwide influence of the declaration even unto todays protests in hong kong. But america is also very particular nation, with a particular structure in a particular history. Which in turn means that its particular triumphs suffering , sacrifices and our memories of these things are important factors that draw and hold us together. This precisely they are the sacrifices and suffering victories of all humanity but ourselves, of us alone insome cases. Arlington National Cemetery is the place to manage our devotion only because of the nobility of the american idea but because the remains of our great country, some of whom are fathers and brothers and and relatives are entered there. Second there is the third work in the title, hope. The concept of hope. This is part of the arguments , from the outset that the entire western hemisphere came to be inhabited bypeople who came from somewhere else. Most willingly, but with great exceptions that people who came in bondage but most willingly, restless and exploratory. Unwilling to settle for the conditions in which they were born and drawn by the prospect ofa new beginning. The lower of freedom. The states to pursue their ambitions in ways the respective old world did not permit. Hope is a world, a very powerful word. Has both the logic and secular material meetings. As well as spiritual ones. All of these meetings that existed and still exist in abundance in america. And in fact nothing about america better defines the distinctive character that the ubiquity of hope. A sense that things as they are initially given to us in life cannot be the final word about them. That we can never settle for that. Few qualities are more american than this. And its the spiritual quality above. An aspirational quality, possibly the adequately accounted for in nearly material terms. Of course, hope and opportunity are notsynonymous with success. Being a land of hope sometimes means being a land of disappointment, of dashed hopes. This is unavoidable. A nation that professes such ideals takes itself vulnerable to searing criticism when it falls short of them. Sometimes very far short of them as we often have done. But we should not be surprised by this. Just as we should not be surprised to discover that many of our heroes turned out to be deeply flawed human beings. All human beings are flawed as are all human enterprises. To believe otherwise is to be 90 and much of what passes for cynicism in our time is a little more than nacvetc in the disguise. America hope is far too consistent and Compelling Force to be defeated for long by such passing sentiment. A