February 20, 2024

The death of a chief executive, regardless of the circumstances, is always a moment of reckoning and reflection. The book Mourning the Presidents offers a unique approach to understanding American culture and politics by uncovering parallels between different generations of mourners, highlighting distinct experiences, and examining what presidential deaths can tell us about societal fissures at various critical points in the nation’s history, right up to the present moment. In partnership with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum, we welcomed author and historian, Matthew Costello, to examine how different generations and communities of Americans have eulogized and remembered U.S. presidents since George Washington’s death in 1799.

gvsu.edu/hc/mourningthepresidents