National Press Club

RESCHEDULED: Historian, political influencer Heather Cox Richardson will join in Cocktails and Conversation Jan. 16

Peter Copeland

December 25, 2024

When talking about President-elect Donald Trump’s vision of government, few people immediately recall a book published by a Yale sociologist in 1883. Heather Cox Richardson is that person.

Richardson plans to share some of her signature insights at a Headliners Cocktails & Conversation at 6 p.m. on Jan. 16 in the Fourth Estate Room. The event is free to club members and their guests. Cocktails will be available for purchase. Credentialed press who would like to cover the talk should contact Cecily Scott Martin at [email protected]. Space is limited so registration is essential. If you have already registered, your registration will transfer to the new date.

The professor of history at Boston College says the book, What Social Classes Owe to Each Other, was used nearly 150 years ago to justify economic inequality and a runaway class of wealthy industrialists. In Richardson's view, today’s runaway industrialists are tech barons and corporations supporting and enabled by Trump. Just like in 1883, she says, the debate is whether the government should get out of the way or try to guide the market. Richardson ably explains both sides but favors intervening to “balance the playing field.”

Historian Heather Cox Richardson will speak at a Headliners event Jan. 7. Photo by Jetsy Reid.
Historian Heather Cox Richardson will speak at a Headliners event Jan. 7. Photo by Jetsy Reid.

Richardson is not the stodgy history prof stuck in 1812. And she has strong opinions. Most nights she analyzes breaking news in her newsletter, “Letters from an American,” which claims more than three million readers. She artfully uses the lessons of history to understand the present, and just as importantly, to guide her readers into the future. Her award-winning books have explored the Civil War, the Gilded Age, the American West, and the history of the Republican Party. Her most recent book, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, was a New York Times bestseller. The Washington Post called it “magisterial.”

To submit a question in advance for the speaker, put RICHARDSON in the subject line and email it to [email protected]. The deadline for submitting questions in advance is 10 a.m. on the day of the talk.