Historian and journalist Adam Goodheart is the author of the New York Times bestselling book 1861: The Civil War Awakening (2011). The book was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in history and was named Book of the Year by the History Book Club. It was also cited among the best books of the year by the New York Times, the Atlantic, Kirkus Reviews, and Slate, among others. Goodheart teaches history and American studies at Washington College, where he also directs the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. His articles appear frequently in National Geographic, Smithsonian, and the New York Times Magazine, among other publications, and he has made many broadcast media appearances. President Barack Obama invited him to witness the executive order signing ceremony that declared Fort Monroe, Virginia, a national monument, in recognition of his book's role in informing that decision.