BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.3//EN TZID:America/Los_Angeles X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:VEVENT UID:516@1718.ucla.edu DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260410T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260410T170000 DTSTAMP:20260320T192705Z URL:https://1718.ucla.edu/events/american-revolution/ SUMMARY:The Meaning of the American Revolution in 2026 DESCRIPTION:Organized by Professors Craig Yirush (University of California\ , Los Angeles)\, and Brad A. Jones (California State University\, Fresno)\ n\nOn the 200th anniversary of the American Revolution in 1976\, Americans celebrated it as the story of a struggle for liberty which culminated in the creation of the world’s first democratic republic. The leading histo rians of the time largely concurred with this nationalistic view of the Re volution’s significance. They disagreed about whether the republicanism the new nation was committed to was liberal and thus more individualistic\ , or classical and thus more communitarian\; but they all agreed that the Revolution sparked a “contagion of liberty” (in the words of its leadi ng historian\, Bernard Bailyn) which transformed American society.\n\nAs w e approach the 250th anniversary in 2026\, things are very different. Whil e the public continues to think about the Revolution in democratic and ega litarian terms – as the popularity of the musical Hamilton and any numbe r of popular biographies of the Founders attests - historians no longer ta ke the nation as the starting point for their research. Nor are they so co nfident that the Revolution ushered in an age of liberty.\n\nThis one-day conference at the Clark Library will gather a group of leading scholars to see where scholarship about the Revolution is fifty years later\, on its 250th anniversary. Through their own research\, they’ll address the many and exciting ways we’ve come to rethink this important event\, includin g its broader continental and even global reach\, and its racial and ideol ogical underpinnings. Unlike a traditional academic conference\, however\, these talks will be addressed to a mostly non-academic audience of studen ts and members of the public. In doing so\, we hope to show non-scholars n ew ways historians are currently thinking about the meaning of this semina l event in U.S. and world history.\n\nSpeakers\nRichard Bell\, University of Maryland\nKatherine Carté\, Southern Methodist University\nTravis Glas son\, Temple University\nPatrick Griffin\, University of Notre Dame\nBrad A. Jones\, California State University\, Fresno\nJeffers Lennox\, Wesleyan University\nJohann Neem\, Western Washington University\nGregory E. O'Mal ley\, University of California\, Santa Cruz\nRobert Parkinson\, Binghamton University\nKristofer Ray\, College of the Holy Cross\nRosemarie Zagarri\ , George Mason University\n\n\nProgram Schedule\n8:30 a.m.\nCoffee and Reg istration\n\n9:00 a.m.\nDirector’s Welcome\nBronwen Wilson\, University of California\, Los Angeles\n\nIntroduction\nCraig Yirush\, University of California\, Los Angeles\n\n9:15 a.m.\nJohann Neem\, Western Washington Un iversity\n"The Contest over the American Revolution Today"\n\n9:45 a.m.\nR obert Parkinson\, Binghamton University\n"Behind the Declaration's Grievan ces”\n\n10:15 a.m.\nBrad A. Jones\, California State University\, Fresno \n“The Loyalist Revolution”\n\n10:45 a.m.\nCoffee Break\n\n11:00 a.m.\ nTravis Glasson\, Temple University\n“Neutrality\, Revolution\, and Civi l War”\n\n11:30 a.m.\nKatherine Carté\, Southern Methodist University\n “Religion and the American Revolution”\n\n12:00 p.m.\nLunch\nExhibitio n of Clark Library materials in the North Book Room\n\n1:00 p.m.\nRosemari e Zagarri\, George Mason University\n“Women and Politics in Revolutionar y America”\n\n1:30 p.m.\nKristofer Ray\, College of the Holy Cross\n“A merican Revolutions at 250: The View from Native Country”\n\n2:00 p.m.\n Jeffers Lennox\, Wesleyan University\n“National Reckonings: 1776 and Les sons from Canada’s 150th Anniversary”\n\n2:30 p.m.\nCoffee Break\n\n2: 45 p.m.\nGregory E. O'Malley\, University of California\, Santa Cruz\n"The Escapes of David George and Enslaved Perspectives on the American Revolut ion"\n\n3:15 p.m.\nRichard Bell\, University of Maryland\n“Globalizing t he American Revolution”\n\n3:45 p.m.\nPatrick Griffin\, University of No tre Dame\n“The American Revolution at 250”\n\n4:15 p.m.\nRoundtable\n\ n5:00 p.m.\nConclusion\n\n\nPresentations will be recorded and made availa ble on the Center’s YouTube Channel following the conference: youtube.co m/@ucla-c1718cs\nThe conference is free to attend with advance registratio n\, and will be held in-person at the Clark Library.  Seating is limited at the Clark Library\; walk-in registrants are welcome as space permits.\n \nLoading…\n\n \;\n\n\n\nImage: Johannes Adam Simon Oertel (1823– 1909). Pulling Down the Statue of King George III\, New York City\, 1852 –53. Oil on canvas\, 32 in. × 41 1/4 in. The New York Historical Societ y. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://1718.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08 /Pulling-Down-the-Statue-of-King-George-III-New-York-City.jpeg CATEGORIES:Conferences LOCATION:UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library\, 2520 Cimarron Street \, Los Angeles\, California\, 90018\, United States GEO:34.033012;-118.314487 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=2520 Cimarron Street\, Los Angeles\, California\, 90018\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=UC LA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library:geo:34.033012,-118.314487 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR