Summary

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and writer David McCullough, who died earlier this month at the age of 89, was perhaps best known for his biographies of two often overlooked presidents: John Adams and Harry Truman. But his interests ranged far and wide, including in the arts. In this excerpt of a 2011 interview with NewsHour's Jeffrey Brown, McCullough reflects on his love of research and discovery. For a transcript of the story, click here .

Five Facts

• Who was David McCullough, and what was he best known for?


• What are the topics of some of his most famous books?


• Why did McCullough love the process of "research and discovery" according to this interview?


• How did most Americans come to know McCullough?


• Why does McCullough, a historian, say learning to paint was very important to him?

Focus Questions

What do you think McCullough means in the following quote? Why do you think the shift in focus McCullough describes might be important? What other aspects of the human experience do you think are too often left out of history?

I have felt for a very long time that history is more than politics and the military and social issues. Yes, it is politics and the military and social issues, but it's also art and music and architecture and ideas and science and medicine. It's the works. It's human.

Media literacy: Why do you think this memorial focused on the topics covered in the interview and not other aspects of McCullough's life and career?

For More

 

HBO's critically-acclaimed series John Adams was based on the 2001 book with the same name by David McCullough. The story takes place over the first 50 years of the United States. Credit: IMDb What students can do: Ask your current or former social studies teachers who are some of their favorite historians or experts in other fields of study, like science or art class. Historians like David McCullough, John Hope Franklin and Joanne Freeman often played a key role in why your teacher became a teacher. McCullough was adamant that if a teacher was passionate about their content area and really knew their stuff, they would have a much better chance of passing this knowledge and love of learning on to their students. Can you think of a teacher you have had (besides the one awesome enough to teach you this lesson) who was like that? What is a memory you have of their class? Teachers's note : When I taught 8th grade, we started off the year with a short excerpt by David McCullough from the interview “The Danger of Historical Amnesia.” Most students hadn’t heard of this theory, but its rather contentious name caught their eye. The discussion was always rich with some students disputing McCullough’s view as overly critical and other students pointing out how young people they’d met from other countries always seemed to know their history better. With the anniversary of 9/11 approaching, ask your students how they think Americans will remember Sept. 11th? Do any of them doubt that Americans will never forget it? —Vic Pasquantonio, NewsHour Classroom For a full obituary for David McCullough, click here .

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