Mount Vernon, VA, July 25, 2024—Five books published in 2023 and authored by some of the nation’s most respected historians are finalists for the 2024 George Washington Prize. This annual literary award recognizes the past year’s finest works focused on the nation’s founding era, especially works that help advance a broader public understanding of early American history.
Created by George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and Washington College, the $50,000 George Washington Prize is one of the nation’s largest and most notable literary awards.
The 2024 George Washington Prize finalists are (in alphabetical order):
- Michael A. Blaakman, Speculation Nation: Land Mania in the Revolutionary American Republic (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2023)
- Ned Blackhawk, The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2023)
- Cassandra A. Good, First Family: George Washington’s Heirs and the Making of America (Toronto, ON: Hanover Square Press, 2023)
- Cynthia A. Kierner, The Tory’s Wife: A Woman and Her Family in Revolutionary America (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2023)
- David Waldstreicher, The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys through American Slavery and Independence (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2023)
Mount Vernon President & CEO Doug Bradburn noted, “These are five worthy contenders for this extraordinary prize, demonstrating the great range and focus of historical writing as we enter the eve of America’s 250th year of independence.”
James Basker, President, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, said, "Each of these five books sheds new light on the Founding Era, transforming our understanding of American history. Focusing variously on Native Americans, African Americans, women, families, and the land they loved, these books remind us that the nation’s founders were many, and that innumerable stories remain to be told."
Adam Goodheart, Director of Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, said, “These books show that after almost two and a half centuries, the events, people, and ideas of the Revolutionary era continue to play major roles in our national conversation. Now more than ever, understanding this country’s past is essential to navigating through the present.”
Each year since the Prize was created in 2005, an independent jury evaluates 50 to 100 books published in the previous year that explore the history of the American Founding era. The five books named finalists for the 2024 Prize are outstanding examples of robust and thought-provoking explorations of America’s unique history.
The George Washington Prize winner will be announced at a gala dinner at Mount Vernon on September 21, 2024.
More information about the George Washington Prize is available at www.mountvernon.org/gwprize
About the Sponsors of the George Washington Prize
George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, the oldest national historic preservation organization in the United States. The estate is open to visitors and includes the Mansion, a museum, gardens, tombs, a working farm, a functioning distillery, and a gristmill. It also includes the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. Learn more at mountvernon.org.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History was founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, visionaries and lifelong supporters of American history education. The Institute is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 history education while also serving the general public. Its mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is supported through the generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Institute’s programs have been recognized by awards from the White House, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Organization of American Historians, and the Council of Independent Colleges, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Learn more at gilderlehrman.org.
Washington College was founded in 1782, the first institution of higher learning established in the new republic. George Washington was not only a principal donor to the college, but also a member of its original governing board. He received an honorary degree from the college in June 1789, two months after assuming the presidency. The college’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience explores the American experience in all its diversity and complexity, seeks creative approaches to illuminating the past, and inspires thoughtful conversation informed by history. Learn more at www.washcoll.edu.
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