About the Presenters' Research
Using the resources at the George Washington Presidential Library, David Armstrong is researching George Mason IV, and his brother, Thomson Mason, and their role in the imperialist endeavors of the early United States.
David Priess is researching George Washington's intelligence background before and during the Revolutionary War, the choices Washington made and did not make while president regarding the collection and use of intelligence, and how his character and wise restraint helped prevent future presidents from making mistakes to America's likely detriment.
About the Presenters
David Armstrong
Armstrong is a Ph.D. candidate at George Mason University and a Graduate Research Assistant for the Center for Mason Legacies (CML). The focus of his research pertains to the family of George Mason IV (the university's namesake) and its role in the imperial endeavors of the United States. He is CML's lead researcher in developing a dataset for Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade (enslaved.org), an iterative project that seeks to identify all of the people enslaved by the Mason family from 1773 through 1865.
David Priess
Dr. David Priess has served at the CIA as an intelligence analyst, manager, and daily intelligence briefer; made policy at the State Department; led intelligence production and training units in the private sector; worked as publisher and chief operating officer of national security media outlet Lawfare; taught as an adjunct and visiting professor; and written widely about intelligence and national security for publications ranging from the Washington Post and Foreign Affairs to Politico and Engelsberg Ideas. He has authored two books, including The President’s Book of Secrets (2016) -- the history of the President's Daily Brief for which he interviewed every living former US president, vice president, and CIA director from previous administrations. His MA and PhD in political science are from Duke University.
Recipient of the Bradley Senior Fellowship.