Book Chat on American Inheritance by Edward J. Larson

New attention from historians and journalists is raising pointed questions about the founding period: was the American revolution waged to preserve slavery, and was the Constitution a pact with slavery or a landmark in the antislavery movement? Leaders of the founding who called for American liberty are scrutinized for enslaving Black people themselves: George Washington consistently refused to recognize the freedom of those who escaped his Mount Vernon plantation. And we have long needed a history of the founding that fully includes Black Americans in the Revolutionary protests, the war, and the debates over slavery and freedom that followed. Join us in a group discussion to dive deeper into the contradictions of our founding.

$10 Historical Society members, $15 nonmembers

Please note that due to construction at the Depot, Book Chats for the 2024-25 season will take place in the archives and Research Center at Munroe Tavern.