Supporting scholarship and promoting popular understanding of the American Revolution is central to the work of the American Revolution Institute. The Institute welcomes distinguished scholars and authors to share their insights and discuss their latest research with the public at Anderson House through lectures, author's talks and panel discussions. The Institute also hosts a variety of other historical programs throughout the year, including our Lunch Bite object talks, battlefield tours, special Anderson House tour programs and other events. Many of the events we offer are free.
October 2024
Author’s Talk—A Promised Land: Jewish Patriots, the American Revolution, and the Birth of Religious Freedom
Jews played a critical role both in winning the American Revolution—fighting for the patriot cause from Bunker Hill to Yorktown—and in defining the republic that was created from it. As the most visible non-Christian religion, Judaism was central to the debate over religious freedom in America at a critical juncture. Except for Philadelphia, the birthplace to the Declaration of Independence and a core of resistance, every city with a synagogue fell to the British during the war. Jewish patriots throughout…
Find out more »Author’s Talk—Spanish Louisiana: Contest for Borderlands, 1763-1803
The Spanish era in the Lower Mississippi Valley, a borderland contested by empires and the region’s diverse inhabitants following the Seven Years’ War, was characterized by tremendous transition as the colony emerged from the neglect of the French period and became slowly but increasingly centered on plantation agriculture. The transformations of this critical period grew out of the struggles between Spain and Louisiana’s colonists, enslaved people and Indians over issues related to space and mobility. Many borderland peoples, networks and…
Find out more »November 2024
Author’s Talk—From Empire to Revolution: Sir James Wright and the Price of Loyalty in Georgia
James Wright lived a transatlantic life, taking advantage of every imperial opportunity afforded him. He earned numerous important government posts and amassed an incredible fortune. An England-born grandson of Sir Robert Wright, James Wright was raised in Charleston, South Carolina, following his father’s appointment as the chief justice of that colony. Young James served South Carolina in several capacities, public and ecclesiastical, prior to his admittance to London’s famed Gray’s Inn to study law. Most notably, he was appointed South…
Find out more »December 2024
Author’s Talk—Declarations of Independence: Indigenous Resilience, Colonial Rivalries, and the Cost of Revolution
On July 4, 1776, two hundred miles northwest of Philadelphia, on Indigenous land along the west branch of the Susquehanna River, a group of colonial squatters declared their independence. They were not alone in their efforts. This bold symbolic gesture was just a small part of a much broader and longer struggle in the Northern Susquehanna River Valley, where diverse peoples, especially Indigenous nations, fought tenaciously to safeguard their lands, sovereignty and survival. Drawing from his new book, Christopher Pearl,…
Find out more »Lecture—Unlikely Soldiers: The Bakers of Washington’s Army, 1778-1781
In May 1777, Congress commissioned Christopher Ludwick, a Philadelphia gingerbread baker, Superintendent of Bakers in the Continental Army. Upon receiving his commission, Ludwick quickly developed a Baking Department—the first of its kind in America—to feed Gen. George Washington’s army as they fought and retreated throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Under Ludwick’s supervision, a series of ovens were built in different locations throughout the Mid-Atlantic to satisfy the needs of provisioning the army. Justin Cherry, resident baker at George Washington’s Mount Vernon and…
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