The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, and Indian Allies

Pulitzer-Prize winning historian, Alan Taylor, will explore the war in the Canadian-American borderland which threatened either to absorb Canada into the United States or to rupture the American union. By instead fighting to a standstill, the belligerents produced a surprising burst of patriotism on both sides and an enduring coexistence.

In Vogue with the Vulgar: Music in the War of 1812

David Hildebrand will perform in costume and on period instruments music that was heard in homes, on the streets and in taverns and theaters two hundred years ago. The popular music of this time reflected a wide range of events and themes from the early stirrings of party politics under President Adams, the traumatic effect of Jefferson's Embargo in 1807, through the triumph at Fort McHenry and the last battle in New Orleans in 1814. This program tells the true story of the birth of the Star-Spangled Banner.

From Emancipation to Civil Rights and Beyond: Legacies of the Civil War at 150

One of the nation's foremost historians of slavery and resistance, David W. Blight will discuss the multiple legacies of the Civil War from the 50th to the 100th, and now to the 150th anniversaries of the event. Professor Blight will also explore how the legacies of this great conflict are still very much part of our current, roiling political debates.

Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution

For most of us the American Revolution is about the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence, and how George Washington led the colonies through the decade-long struggle that ultimately led to the formation of the United States. Lost in this account toward liberty is the truly cataclysmic nature of how the revolution began: the interplay of ideologies and personalities that provoked a group of merchants, farmers, artisans, and sailors to take up arms against their own country.

Parallel Lives of a Patriotic Heroine and a Spy

Ever wonder why the rights of women are still endangered today? Or how marriage can change the destiny of those who marry powerful men? Award-winning author Nancy Rubin Stuart’s presentation from her double biography, Defiant Brides: The Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women Who Married Political Radicals illustrates how two teenage brides managed long, happy marriages to famous Revolutionary-era men. Their husbands were the handsome traitor Benedict Arnold and the patriotic General Henry Knox.

Emancipating Lincoln: the Prose and Poetry of the Emancipation Proclamation

This lecture will examine two of the most important texts in American history both of which are 150 years old this year: The Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address. In its own time, the Emancipation Proclamation was considered a politically risky, even revolutionary act. In more recent years, many Americans have been taught that it was cautious, insincere, and ineffective. What was the true impact and intent of Lincoln's most famous executive order? And what did he do to prepare the public for its announcement--sometimes to the detriment of his own reputation?

Haiti’s Media Revolution and the Racialization of Print

Drawn from his book-in-progress, The Racialization of Print, Joseph Rezek traces the historical emergence of the idea that a single printed book, by virtue of its author’s racial identity, might reveal profound truths about an entire race of people. During his talk, Rezek will argue that the shock of the Haitian Revolution and the international circulation of a Black Haitian print culture intensified the association of book publication with racial knowledge.