On May 15, 2003, David McCullough presented "The Course of Human Events" as The 2003 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities in Washington, DC. The Jefferson Lecture is a tribute to McCullough's lifetime investigation of history.

In this short speech, this master historian tracks his fascination with all things historical to his early days in Pittsburgh where he "learned to love history by way of books" in bookshops and at the local library.

McCullough eloquently leads us through the founding fathers' attraction to history, letting us in on his composition of 1776 as well as the Pulitzer Prize-winning John Adams. His obvious affection for history is inspiring, because it encompasses the whole reach of the human drama. In McCullough's able hands, history truly "is a larger way of looking at life".