The In Pursuit project has drawn more than one million views as Bush, Obama and Clinton write presidential essays that echo today’s power fights.
Presidential essays from George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are drawing attention for a striking reason: the In Pursuit project never names Donald Trump, even as several of the writings echo the battles around his presidency. The 250th-anniversary series asks major figures to reflect on presidents and first ladies from American history, and its early installments have quickly become a marker for how past leadership lessons still collide with present-day politics.
Bush wrote about George Washington, Obama about Abraham Lincoln and Clinton about Theodore Roosevelt, joining historians, authors and public figures in the project. Colleen Shogan, the U.S. archivist who is curating the series, said contributors were told not to be partisan or ideological. “Everybody took those instructions and that guidance very seriously,” she said, adding that the aim was for Americans to “feel welcome” reading the essays and to learn from them. She described the effort as a way to pull lessons from 250 years of American history so the country can better face the present and future.
The essays are being released chronologically and weekly through December, covering 43 presidents and 30 first ladies. Joe Biden and Trump were left out because they were considered too recent for historical appraisal. Even so, the project has landed in the middle of the political climate that surrounds Trump’s return to power, with recurring questions over executive authority, loyalty, democratic norms and how history should be told by federal institutions.
Bush’s essay on Washington has stood out because it praises the original president for giving up power rather than clinging to it. Bush wrote that Washington could have stayed “all-powerful” but instead stepped aside after leading the Continental Army and later set the example of serving only two presidential terms. He called Washington’s decision to surrender power willingly one of the most important acts in American politics. The essay, released on Presidents’ Day as the first in the series on Substack, drew heavy engagement.
“The In Pursuit project has drawn more than one million views as Bush, Obama and Clinton write presidential essays that echo today’s power fights.”
Other essays have also prompted readers to think about the present. Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal wrote about Ulysses S. Grant as a leader committed to principles above personal ambition and as a military figure who resisted pressure to align with factions or be loyal to a person instead of the Constitution. He wrote that the temptation to bend institutions toward personal power is not limited to Grant’s time, and argued that the future depends on whether leaders choose law over loyalty. That theme has obvious resonance in an era when Trump has repeatedly demanded fealty from people in his administration.
Clinton’s essay on Theodore Roosevelt takes a more layered approach. He highlights Roosevelt’s effort to widen the circle of “we the people” while also confronting the former president’s exclusionary views toward Black and Indigenous Americans. That balance fits the project’s broader tone, which often pairs achievements with failures instead of presenting history as a simple parade of triumphs. It also runs against Trump’s calls for federal cultural institutions to emphasize patriotic readings of American history.
The contributor list includes Chief Justice John Roberts on William Howard Taft, Hillary Clinton on Eleanor Roosevelt, Michelle Obama on Jacqueline Kennedy, Karl Rove on William McKinley, Ken Burns on Franklin D. Roosevelt and historian Michael Beschloss on Lyndon Johnson. Barack Obama wrote about Abraham Lincoln, while Bush’s Washington essay and McChrystal’s Grant essay have generated some of the strongest response so far. The project is led by More Perfect, a nonpartisan alliance of presidential centers, academics and democracy-focused organizations.
Shogan said she has been surprised by the public appetite for the series and believes it reflects a desire for history that is not filtered through partisan conflict. The essays have drawn more than one million cumulative views on Substack, while the companion podcast has logged 160,000 audio downloads and nearly 64,000 YouTube views. A documentary about the project is scheduled to air on PBS in October. For Americans, the series is a reminder that the fight over power, loyalty and constitutional limits did not begin with the current moment — and the next wave of essays will show whether history can still offer common ground.
Frequently asked questions
What is the In Pursuit project?
It is a 250th-anniversary essay series featuring historians, authors and public figures writing about presidents or first ladies. The project is being curated by Colleen Shogan and is staged by More Perfect.
Why are Trump and Biden not included?
They were considered too recent to be appraised by history. The series instead focuses on 43 presidents and 30 first ladies.
Which essays have drawn the most attention?
Bush’s essay on George Washington and Stanley McChrystal’s essay on Ulysses S. Grant drew heavy engagement. Both touch on themes of power, loyalty and constitutional restraint.
How widely has the project been read so far?
The essays have received more than one million cumulative views on Substack. The podcast has also recorded 160,000 audio downloads and nearly 64,000 YouTube views.
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