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SOLD OUT! Join the waitlist: 7th Annual Sally Lanagan Lecture
October 30, 2019 at 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

The Will of the People: The Revolutionary Birth of America
SOLD OUT! Please join the waitlist by completing the form at the bottom of the page. We will inform you if any space becomes available for the lecture. Thank you.
A prize-winning historian provides the missing piece in the story of America’s founding, introducing us to the ordinary men and women who turned a faltering rebellion against colonial rule into an unexpectedly potent and enduring revolution.
Over eight years of war, ordinary Americans accomplished something extraordinary. Far from the actions of the Continental Congress and the Continental Army, they took responsibility for the course of the revolution. by taking up the reins of power but also setting its limits, they ensured America’s success. Without their participation, there would have been no victory over Great Britain, no independence. The colonial rebellion would have ended like so many others – in failure.
T. H. Breen is the John Kluge Professor of American Law and Governance at the Library of Congress and Founding Director of the Chabraja Center for Historical Studies at Northwestern University. A former Guggenheim Fellow, he has taught American history at Oxford, Cambridge, and Yale universities and is the James Marsh Professor-at-Large at the University of Vermont. He is the author of many books, including George Washington’s Journey, winner of the History Prize of the Society of the Cincinnati and finalist for the George Washington’s Book Prize; and Marketplace of Revolution, winner of the Society of Colonial Wars Book Award. He is a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Book and Times Literary Supplement.
FREE. Advanced registration required. The Lanagan Lecture is an annual lecture named for Sally Lanagan, a beloved volunteer who was deeply involved with the Museum and had a passion for American art, the decorative arts, and historic preservation.