Historian Joseph Ellis talked about the Founding Fathers in the Rotunda of the University of Virginia. This was the evening keynote address on the opening day of a four-day presidential conference. He also responded to a few questions from members of the audience.
Professor Ellis is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, published by Knopf.
The fifth Presidential Sites and Libraries Conference, “Renewing Ideals and Engaging the Public,” was hosted by The University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs. The other sponsors were the American Association for State and Local History; James Madison’s Montpelier; Monticello; the National Park Service; the National Archives and Records Administration; President Lincoln’s Cottage, a National Trust Historic Site; and the White House Historical Association.