Clinton, Bush, and Obama Reflect on Presidency, Trump Overlooked
WHO:
ABC News - Ex-presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama contributed to the In Pursuit project.
ABC News - Colleen Shogan is the U.S. archivist who curated the project.
ABC News - Contributors include Chief Justice John Roberts, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Karl Rove, Ken Burns, and Michael Beschloss.
WHAT:
AP News - The essays are being published chronologically and weekly into December.
AP News - Bush's essay, released Presidents Day as the first in the series on Substack, drove heavy engagement.
AP News - The essays frequently address presidents’ failures alongside their accomplishments, a contrast with Trump’s calls for federal cultural institutions to stick to patriotic interpretations of American history.
AP News - Shogan stated she has been overwhelmed with the public response to the series so far and figures that speaks to a hunger for history shorn of partisanship.
ABC News - The In Pursuit project is a 250th-anniversary series featuring essays about U.S. presidents and first ladies.
ABC News - The essays cover 43 presidents and 30 first ladies, excluding Joe Biden and Trump.
ABC News - The essays are being published chronologically and weekly into December.
ABC News - The essays have received more than 1 million cumulative views on Substack.
ABC News - Colleen Shogan's podcast related to the series has registered 160,000 audio downloads and nearly 64,000 YouTube views.
ABC News - A documentary about the series is scheduled to air on PBS in October.
WHERE:
ABC News - The project is based in Washington, D.C.
WHEN:
ABC News - The essays began publication on Presidents Day.
ABC News - The documentary about the series is scheduled to air in October.
WHY:
ABC News - The project aims to transcend current politics and provide lessons from 250 years of American history.
ABC News - Shogan stated the goal is for all Americans to feel welcome to read the essays and learn from them.
HOW:
AP News - The project is being staged by More Perfect, a nonpartisan alliance of dozens of presidential centers along with academics and organizations dedicated to advancing democracy.
ABC News - Contributors were instructed by Shogan to avoid partisanship and ideology in their essays.
(UPDATED August 8, 2026 22:11 UTC)
A new series of essays is being published weekly on Substack, with the first essay by Bush released on Presidents Day, which generated significant public interest. The essays explore both the failures and accomplishments of past presidents, contrasting with Trump’s emphasis on patriotic interpretations of American history. Shogan, involved in the project staged by More Perfect, a nonpartisan alliance, noted that the overwhelming public response indicates a strong desire for a more balanced view of history.
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(UPDATED August 8, 2026 16:27 UTC)
The In Pursuit project, a 250th-anniversary series featuring essays about U.S. presidents and first ladies, has contributions from notable figures including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Chief Justice John Roberts, among others. Curated by U.S. archivist Colleen Shogan, the essays are being published weekly and chronologically, with plans to continue through December, and they have already garnered over 1 million views on Substack. A documentary related to the series is set to air on PBS in October, aiming to provide lessons from 250 years of American history while encouraging all Americans to engage with the content.