Volume 1

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Why the first year matters

Six essays about the promises and pitfalls of the first 365 days in office

 
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Briefing Room

First Year project releases two books

UVA Press

Key learnings from the project and a Trump evaluation via UVA Press

January 05, 2018 Thomas van der Voort

Trump’s first 100 days

Scholars discuss the Trump presidency with 100 days down, 265 to go

April 28, 2017 Natalie Russell

An unprecedented presidency

Gage Skidmore

Senator Mark Warner, Miller Center scholars, and the New York Times’ Peter Baker assess Trump’s early days

April 18, 2017 Natalie Russell

The First Year Project on CSPAN

American History TV featured the Miller Center's First Year Project on a recent broadcast

April 18, 2017 Sheila Blackford

First year essay contest winners

Shutterstock.com

Congratulations to the students who won the essay contest!

February 21, 2017 Stefanie Georgakis Abbott

American Cauldron: First Year project panel on race

Henry Taylor / henry.taylor@ajc.com

Sally Yates gets hero’s welcome at Atlanta race discussion

February 16, 2017 Ernie Suggs

American Forum tackles first year issues

The Miller Center's syndicated TV show teams up with the First Year Project

February 03, 2017 Thomas van der Voort

Governing by surprise is not a recipe for success

Why "no surprises" helps the president and the cabinet

February 03, 2017 Chris Lu

What history can teach an unprecedented president-elect

The director of the Miller Center reflects on the next presidency

December 21, 2016 William J. Antholis

Presidential Transition: Jimmy Carter

The Jimmy Carter oral history project looks at the new president's "outsider" status

December 19, 2016 Bryan Craig

End of the honeymoon?

a katz / Shutterstock.com

Prospects for White House-congressional relations in 2017

November 28, 2016 Jeff Chidester, Tony Lucadamo, Molly Reynolds

Millennial Caucus’s straw poll

Clinton first, Trump fourth in UVA student survey

October 28, 2016 Eric Xu, Uma Mengale, and Sabrina Kim

A view from the inner circle

The Miller Center joins with Longwood to host a panel on the vice presidency

October 13, 2016 Sheila Blackford

Debate promises: education (2000)

Our look at past debate promises continues with education

October 06, 2016 Bryan Craig

How much will the presidential debates matter?

ingibiork / Shutterstock.com

Carah Ong Whaley examines why the debates might matter more for this election

September 26, 2016 Carah Ong Whaley

Tales of transitions past

Five past-presidential transition leaders on what to do before inauguration

September 16, 2016 Thomas van der Voort

Winning over Capitol Hill

Vector pro / Shutterstock.com

An insider’s account of congressional relations in the first year

September 12, 2016 Jeff Chidester and Tony Lucadamo

Every president has a first year

UVA magazine features the First Year project

September 08, 2016 Sheila Blackford

GOP leaders ponder a CEO in chief

What private sector transitions can—and cannot—teach the next president?

July 25, 2016 Bill Antholis and Jeff Chidester

UVA’s Illimitable focuses on the First Year

Explore the presidents' first years through this interactive piece

June 03, 2016 Sheila Blackford

Ted Kennedy and the Troubles, part 2

Photo courtesy National Archives. Public Domain.

Kennedy works with newly elected President Bill Clinton to help start peaceful negotiations in Northern Ireland

May 19, 2016 Rob Martin

Ted Kennedy and the Troubles, part 1

Photo courtesy National Archives. Public Domain.

Read about Kennedy's work with newly elected President Jimmy Carter on the conflict in Northern Ireland

May 17, 2016 Rob Martin

Millennial Caucus on Immigration and Refugees

Source: The Millennial Caucus, February 2016

UVA students overwhelmingly favor more accommodating immigration and refugee policies

April 14, 2016 Uma Mengale

The attempted Reagan assassination

Early in President Reagan’s 1st year in office, March 30, 1981, John Hinkley attempted to assassinate the president

March 30, 2016 Thomas van der Voort

Looking backward, looking forward

Denys Turavtsov / Shutterstock.com

History and the future of US-Cuban relations

March 18, 2016 Cristina Lopez-Gottardi Chao and Marc J. Selverstone

Millennial Caucus: Results from UVA’s “Super Tuesday”

CBS News and Millennial Caucus Data

Students favor GOP establishment candidates and Sanders in early straw poll

March 15, 2016 Darby Hobbs and Uma Mengale

First Words: Franklin Roosevelt, March 4, 1933

Library of Congress

In his first speech as president, FDR likened the Great Depression to a foreign enemy

March 04, 2016 Thomas van der Voort

About the Millennial Caucus Project

The Millennial Caucus Project encourages UVA students to voice their opinions

March 01, 2016 Uma Mengale and Darby Hobbs

What Donald Trump could learn from Ronald Reagan

Former Miller Center fellow on the differences between Trump and Reagan

February 08, 2016 Sheila Blackford

Is today’s partisanship the worst?

What does the next president need to know?

February 05, 2016 Sheila Blackford

Time, spectacle, and the success of the next president

Michele Paccione / Shutterstock

William Antholis writes about what the 2016 campaign could mean for the next president in 2017

January 26, 2016 William J. Antholis

Leading the Impossible Presidency

Malchev / Shutterstock

Jeremi Suri on how meeting the American public's unrealistic expectations will require a superhero

January 26, 2016 Jeremi Suri

Thomas Jefferson’s first year

UVA history professor Alan Taylor talks about Jefferson's first year as president

January 25, 2016 Sheila Blackford

How do campaign promises affect the first year?

Trump's campaign promises may make governing hard

January 15, 2016 Sheila Blackford

Which president had the best final year in office?

The critical first year sets the stage for a president's entire term but who had the best last year?

December 30, 2015 Howard Witt

The debate over Woodrow Wilson

The World's Work, 1914

Wilson is a hot topic of debate for his support of segregation in the federal government during his first year

December 07, 2015 Nicole Hemmer

Lucadamo on the Joe Thomas radio show

Listen to Tony Lucadamo talk about whether experience can prepare the next president on the Joe Thomas radio show.

November 23, 2015 Sheila Blackford

Should foreign policy experience matter?

Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.com

New presidents face surprise international crises. So in the primaries, should foreign policy experience matter?

November 17, 2015 Tony Lucadamo

Trump the brand, not the candidate

a katz / Shutterstock.com

“Trump for President is about a profit-making brand as much as an election-seeking man.”

November 03, 2015 Brian Balogh

The (almost) inevitable first year crisis

Photo courtesy National Archives.

Some unsolicited advice to the debate moderators at this Wednesday’s GOP debate

October 27, 2015 Jeff Chidester

Gerald Ford: “Creature of Congress”

Listen to Ann Compton, former White House correspondent for ABC News, talk about Gerald Ford.

October 23, 2015 Sheila Blackford

What should be at the top of the next president’s agenda?

Photo courtesy the Miller Center

Experts offer their advice on what the next president should focus on.

October 19, 2015 Sheila Blackford

The next president’s make-or-break first year

Credit: LCpl Daniel Benedict

The Miller Center’s William Antholis examines presidential candidates’ “first day” promises. Will any hold up?

October 12, 2015 William J. Antholis

Why the first year matters: Essays

Crucible: the first 365 days

Sidney M. Milkis

What time is it?

Stephen Skowronek

The promise and peril of the first year

H.W. Brands

Ten lessons from presidential oral history

Michael Nelson

Run the government before it runs over you

Elaine C. Kamarck

Dear Mr. President

Peter Wehner