Image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies Association
George Washington Prize medal
Five books published in 2024 by nationally acclaimed historians have been named finalists for the prestigious 2025 George Washington Prize. This annual award honors the year’s most outstanding works on America’s founding era, particularly those that deepen public understanding of early American history.
Created by George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and Washington College, the $50,000 George Washington Prize is one of the nation’s largest and most notable literary awards.
The 2025 George Washington Prize finalists are (in alphabetical order):
- Jane E. Calvert, Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson (Oxford University Press, 2024)
- Francis D. Cogliano, A Revolutionary Friendship: Washington, Jefferson, and the American Republic(Harvard University Press, 2024)
- Michael D. Hattem, The Memory of ’76: The Revolution in American History (Yale University Press, 2024)
- Tyson Reeder, Serpent in Eden: Foreign Meddling and Partisan Politics in James Madison’s America(Oxford University Press, 2024)
- Cara Rogers Stevens, Thomas Jefferson and the Fight against Slavery (University Press of Kansas, 2024)
Lindsay Chervinsky, executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library, said, “The finalists are the best of rigorous and thoughtful history, written with delightful prose, compelling storytelling, and an eye to why history matters today. These books give us a better understanding of the founding era and our current moment, as only the best history can do."
James Basker, president and CEO of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, said, “These insightful and thought-provoking works highlight the complexities of America’s founding and the struggles of its key figures. From John Dickinson’s foundational role in the Revolution to Thomas Jefferson’s contradictory stance on slavery, each book offers a fresh, nuanced perspective on the moral, political, and social challenges that shaped the early republic.”
Adam Goodheart, Hodson Trust-Griswold director of the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College, said, “In the two decades since the first George Washington Prize was conferred in 2005, the award has honored an extraordinary range of works that shed new light on previously neglected histories. The 2025 roster of nominees shows that we are still experiencing a golden age of original scholarship on our nation’s founding era.”
Each year since the Prize was created in 2005, an independent jury has evaluated 50 to 100 books published in the previous year that explore the history of the American founding era. The five books named finalists for the 2025 Prize are outstanding examples of robust and thought-provoking explorations of America’s unique history.
The finalists will discuss their books at an event at George Washington’s Mount Vernon on Wednesday, August 12, 2025. The authors will be available for book signings immediately following the conversation. Learn more.
The George Washington Prize winner will be announced at a gala dinner in New York City Oct. 8, 2025.
More information about the George Washington Prize is available at www.mountvernon.org/gwprize.
About the Sponsors of the George Washington Prize
Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, the oldest national historic preservation organization in the United States. The estate is open to visitors and includes the Mansion, a museum and education center, gardens, tombs, a working farm, a functioning distillery, and a gristmill. It also includes the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. Learn more at mountvernon.org.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History was founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, visionaries and lifelong supporters of American history education. The Institute is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 history education while also serving the general public. Its mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is supported through the generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Institute’s programs have been recognized by awards from the White House, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Organization of American Historians, the Council of Independent Colleges, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Learn more at gilderlehrman.org.
Washington College was founded in 1782, the first institution of higher learning established in the new republic. George Washington was not only a principal donor to the college, but also a member of its original governing board. He received an honorary degree from the college in June 1789, two months after assuming the presidency. The college’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience explores the American experience in all its diversity and complexity, seeks creative approaches to illuminating the past, and inspires thoughtful conversation informed by history. Learn more at www.washcoll.edu.
