Guest: Jon Meacham

Presidential historian JON MEACHAM joins Marty for the hour. In his new book, The Soul of America, Meacham argues that the intensely divisive political culture of the current moment is nothing new, and that hyper-partisanship is a strain that runs through American history. The book argues that the United States has seen darker times than these, but that uniting behind common principles of decency and compassion is not without its struggles. Drawing on the period from abolitionist movement to the civil-rights movement, Meacham seeks to illustrate how some of our nation’s most lauded achievements came as the result of the internal battle for justice.