Get to Know the 2017 History Scholars: Jacob Bruggeman

Jacob Bruggeman is a 2017 Gilder Lehrman History Scholar. These 15 exceptional college students were in New York City, June 4–9, learning from eminent historians and exploring New York City through a historical lens. Here Jacob describes highlights from the program.

In early June, I was honored to be one of fifteen undergraduate participants in the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s 2016-2017 History Scholar Program, through which I was flown out to New York City and housed at New York University with the fourteen other participants in the program. The program’s length is just short of a week, and each day we engaged with several preeminent American historians, whose myriad specialties ranged from women’s roles in the War for Independence and Lincoln’s life, to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s naval policies.

Representing universities, public and private, from all over the United States, this year’s History Scholar cohort also embodied a comprehensive scope of academic training, ideological commitments, and experiential backgrounds. Yet, in the face of our deep differences, we formed a cohesive group, each of us dedicated to the preservation, understanding, and consistent reevaluation of others’ interpretations, or "histories," of the past.

To be sure, we all cherish different moments and eras of American History, but we recognize that stewarding the past is not a zero-sum game, and that attempting to comprehend our past, regardless of the particularities of a certain period, place, or person, is a worthwhile endeavor—indeed, an endeavor upon which rests the stability of our modest republic.

I highly recommend applying to the program. Through engaging American history, the visiting scholars, and likeminded students, you just might make studying history more interesting, encourage those in your circles to appreciate the interpretation of the past, and, just maybe, help to preserve the republic.

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Jacob Bruggeman is a sophomore honors student at Miami University with majors in history and political science. Jacob serves on the AEI Executive Board, the JANUS Forum Steering Committee, and the "I Am Miami" values committee, is the student editor of Miami University’s undergraduate journal of history, and is currently campaigning for a seat on the city council of Oxford, Ohio.