Jon Grinspan
Jon Grinspan is Curator of Political History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, focusing on the deep history of American democracy and how it speaks to contemporary politics. He holds a PhD and Masters from the University of Virginia, and a Bachelors from Sarah Lawrence College. Grinspan is the award-winning author of The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, and The Virgin Vote: How Young Americans Made Democracy Social, Politics Personal, and Voting Popular in the 19th Century. His writing frequently appears in the New York Times and elsewhere. Grinspan's work for the Smithsonian also takes him to political events, from conventions to protests to riots, collecting materials to help teach future generations about 21st century American democracy.