Director of the National Center for History in the Schools Gary Nash discusses African-American history in the Revolutionary War and memory of that history constructed by historians, the public, and researchers. Nash focuses on what is and was taught and published about African Americans in the Revolutionary War.
Historian Alfred Young, author of Masquerade, and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich examine Americans' public memory of Deborah Sampson (a woman who fought in the American Revolution disguised as a man) and other Revolutionary-era women. Performer and storyteller Joan Gatturna also brings Deborah Sampson to life in a dramatic first-person performance.
Australian Humanities Review founder Cassandra Pybus traces the lives and experiences of slaves who fled to the British to gain freedom during the Revolutionary War.
Audio and video options are available, in addition to a lecture transcript. The video is captioned.
Two scholars present papers on the history of slavery, the slave trade, and African-American life in New England. The papers are "Creoles and Colonization: African Colonization Movements in Rhode Island and Nova Scotia in the Age of the American Revolution" and "William Lanson and the Vagaries of Early Free Black Life in New Haven, Connecticut, 1800-1831."
Historian Dorris Fanelli discusses the site of the first presidential "White House" in Philadelphia and the discovery that George Washington brought many of his slaves to work there. This discovery led to a new kind of public history and the creation of a commemorative site near the Liberty Bell Center.
Historian Charlie Bahne fleshes out the historical context of the 1773 Boston Tea Party, discussing the role of tea in everyday colonial life and reexamining the event from a modern perspective.
An mp3 version of the lecture may be downloaded.
Nancy Carlisle, curator of the exhibit "Cherished Possessions," examines the history of New England furniture and decorative arts objects and the lives of the people who owned them. Carlisle covers objects and people from the 17th to the late 20th century. Her presentation includes slides.
PhD candidate Margot Minardi discusses Boston abolitionist activity, particularly its use of Revolutionary War resonances in its propaganda and oratory. The presentation includes slides.
Audio and video options are available.
Professor Gary Nash discusses the conditions of the fifth of the population who were African American during the Revolutionary War and in its aftermath. Nash explores the escape of slaves to join the British and the conditions African Americans faced in the colonies after the war. His presentation includes slides.
Audio and video options are available.
Professor and author Simon Schama discusses the escape of many slaves to join the British during the Revolutionary War, in response to offers of freedom for service to Britain. He continues on to look at what happened to these men and women after Britain's defeat.