Events Detail

The recent publication of Ronald Reagan’s letters, speeches and radio transcriptions reveal a man who was far more intelligent, passionate, and sensitive than many critics give him credit for. Rather than a stooge of either his advisers or of corporate interests, Reagan’s writings show him to be a man driven by clearly defined political principles, an insightful reader who admired radicals like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas Paine. At this event, the noted historian John Patrick Diggins, author of Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History, will discuss how, contrary to public opinion, Reagan’s relationship with liberalism is actually more illuminating to modern America than his relationship with conservatism and will debunk many of the myths surrounding Reagan’s legacy. Diggins’ book also attempts to distance President Reagan from some of the ideas championed by neoconservatives claiming to be inspired by the Reagan legacy. Is today’s neoconservatism the intellectual heir of Reaganism or not?

John Patrick Diggins is also the author of The Rise and Fall of the American Left and The Proud Decades: 1941-1960, as well as biographies of John Adams and Max Weber. He is a Distinguished Professor of History at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Diggins will be joined in this discussion by Hudson Institute Adjunct Fellow Ronald Radosh, Professor Emeritus of History at CUNY and author of Divided They Fell: The Demise of the Democratic Party, 1964-1996. Hudson Senior Fellow John O’Sullivan, author of The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister: Three Who Changed the World, will moderate and comment as well. To RSVP call 202-974-2400 or email events@hudson.org.