History Conference: “The American Revolution and Its Legacies from 1776 to Today”

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Jack Miller Center, in cooperation with the American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati, will host a history conference on “The American Revolution and Its Legacies from 1776 to Today.”

Dr. Frank Cogliano, Professor of American History and Dean for North America at the University of Edinburgh, and Dr. Peter Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor, Emeritus at the University of Virginia, will have a keynote conversation on their current project, “Why Jefferson Matters.”

In 1818, John Adams reflected on the legacy of the American Revolution with the newspaper editor Hezekiah Niles. Adams made two key points. First was that the Revolution went beyond the War for Independence – it fundamentally changed American life. “The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations,” he claimed. Second, he emphasized the global impact of the Revolution. “The American Revolution was not a common event,” he declared. “Its effects and consequences have already been awful [that is, inspiring awe] over a great part of the globe. And when and where are they to cease?”

Both Adams’s observations and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence give historians the opportunity to study the global and historical impact of the American Revolution.

If you have any questions about this event, please email Elliott Drago at edrago@gojmc.org.