George H.W. Bush Oral History Symposium
CLICK TO VIEW TRANSCRIPTS
Listen to Select Audio Clips Below
James Baker on Clint Eastwood (Audio Clip)
Robert Gates on German Reunification (Audio Clip)
Robert Gates on the Persian Gulf War (Audio Clip)
Dick Cheney on George H. W. Bush (Audio Clip)
Bobbie Kilberg on Bush and his Tennis Togs (Audio Clip)
Fred McClure on No New Taxes (Audio Clip)
Brent Scowcroft on the New World Order (Audio Clip)
Brent Scowcroft on Tiananmen Square (Audio Clip)
John Sununu on Gorbachev (Audio Clip)
John Sununu on Judicial Appointments (Audio Clip)
John Sununu on Clarence Thomas (Audio Clip)
The Miller Center at the University of Virginia released the oral history of President George H.W. Bush on Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. Comprised of interviews with more than 50 senior officials from the Bush White House and Cabinet, the oral history provides an intimate look at the 41st presidency in the words of those who were part of it. The interviews were conducted by teams of scholars, with most lasting 7 to 10 hours each.
The oral history was released at a two-day event in Charlottesville, VA, on Oct. 14 and 15, at which former Bush administration officials and scholars from across the country discussed interviews that have been cleared for release and reflected on the many historic issues the Bush administration confronted, including the end of the Cold War, the Persian Gulf War, the no-new-taxes pledge, and filling two Supreme Court vacancies. Participants included Bush National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, White House Chief of Staff John Sununu and White House Counsel Boyden Gray.
Interviews released at this time included Scowcroft and Sununu, as well as other Bush administration officials, such as Secretary of State James Baker, who also served as White House chief of staff; Attorneys General Richard Thornburgh and William Barr; Council of Economic Advisers Chair Michael Boskin; CIA Director Robert Gates; Vice President Dan Quayle; and others.
Conference Agenda
Friday, October 14, 2011
Welcoming Remarks
Russell Riley, Chair, Presidential Oral History Program
Roman Popadiuk, Executive Director, George Bush Presidential Library Foundation
Introduction of Keynote Speaker
Gov. Gerald Baliles, Director and CEO, Miller Center
Keynote Address
General Brent Scowcroft, National Security Advisor to President George H. W. Bush
Panel 1: Bush’s Statecraft
Chair: Philip Zelikow, White Burkett Miller Professor of History, Associate Dean for Graduate Academic Programs, University of Virginia; Director for European Security Affairs; National Security Council (1989-1991); Executive Office of the President (White House of George H.W. Bush)
Robert Strong, Provost, Wilson Professor of Politics Washington and Lee University
Timothy Naftali, Director, Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
Robert Kimmitt, Bush Administration Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs; U.S. Ambassador to Germany
Panel 2: Bush as Commander in Chief
Chair: Melvyn Leffler, Edward R. Stettinius Professor of American History, University of Virginia, Faculty Associate, GAGE Program, Miller Center
Bartholomew Sparrow, Professor of Government University of Texas at Austin
Jeffrey Engel, Associate Professor and Verlin and Howard Kruse '52 Founders Professor, Director of Programming, Scowcroft Institute for International Affairs, Bush School of Government & Public Service, Texas A&M University
Admiral David Jeremiah, Bush Administration Commander of the Pacific Fleet; Vice Chairman and Acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Panel 3: Bush and American Conservatism
Chair: Sidney Milkis, White Burkett Miller Professor of Politics, University of Virginia, Director of Democracy and Governance Studies, Miller Center
Michael Nelson, Fulmer Professor of Political Science, Rhodes College
Hugh Heclo, Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Public Affairs, George Mason University
John Sununu, Bush Administration Chief of Staff
Boyden Gray, Bush Administration White House Counsel
Panel 4: The Domestic Side of the Bush Presidency
Chair: Charles Jones, Hawkins Professor of Political Science, Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Presidential Oral History Program, Miller Center
Barbara Perry, Senior Fellow, Presidential Oral History Program, Miller Center
Henry Abraham, James Hart Professor of Government, Emeritus, University of Virginia
Barbara Sinclair, Marvin Hoffenberg Professor of American Politics, Emerita, University of California, Los Angeles
Frederick McClure, Bush Administration Assistant for Legislative Affairs
Bobbie Greene Kilberg, Bush Administration Deputy Assistant to the President for Public Liaison; Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs