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.
March 2026
Art in Bloom DC 2026
Art in Bloom DC returns to Anderson House for a sixth time on March 19-22! This popular event fills our historic headquarters with more than thirty floral arrangements inspired by the art and architecture of Anderson House. Art in Bloom provides a unique opportunity in the nation’s capital to stroll through the museum at your own pace, viewing interpretations of specific artworks, furnishings and architectural details rendered in a floral medium by some of Washington’s most creative and innovative…
Find out more »Special Program—Firearms of the American Revolution
Join the Institute’s museum and library staff to explore firearms used by the American, British, French and Spanish forces during the American Revolution. This program will allow guests to view various examples from our museum collections up close, as well as accompanying military manuals and treatises from our library collections that illuminate the construction, use and intellectual history of firearms. Examples of firearms that will be displayed include a 1756 British long-land pattern Brown Bess musket, a 1766 French Charleville…
Find out more »April 2026
“Destruction and Wanton Waste”: The Impact of War on a Peaceful Valley
Andrew Outten, historical programs manager for the American Revolution Institute, reexamines the Battle of Brandywine from the perspective of the civilian population that experienced the engagement, especially the predominant Quaker community. Drawing from the experiences of a several Quakers living on and around the battlefield—including Joseph Townsend, Gideon Gilpin and Benjamin Ring—this talk demonstrates the devastating effect of war on a local population by exploring British logistical challenges against the backdrop of the social, economic and religious history of eighteenth-century…
Find out more »Virtual Lunch Bite—Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
Join the Institute’s library director, Thomas Lannon, to examine one of the most important pamphlets in American history that reshaped the political imagination of British North America: Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, published in January 1776. Written in direct, accessible language, it challenged monarchy, argued for independence and urged ordinary readers to see themselves as agents of historical change. This Lunch Bite marks the 250th anniversary of Common Sense by exploring how Paine’s words circulated, why they resonated so powerfully in…
Find out more »Author’s Talk—When the Declaration of Independence Was News
Historian Emily Sneff discusses her new book that reveals the stories of how the Declaration of Independence was communicated in the United States and around the Atlantic World. In 1776, people could hear the Declaration of Independence proclaimed in public squares and read it in the pages of their local newspapers. Histories of the Declaration typically recount the work that took place inside the Continental Congress, focusing on the men tasked with drafting the text. Although Congress declared independence, the…
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