PROPOSAL TYPE
Roundtable
SEEKING
- Seeking Additional Participants
- Seeking General Feedback and Interest
- Seeking Specific Expertise
RELATED TOPICS
- Memory
- Museums/Exhibits
- Preservation
- Public Engagement
ABSTRACT
As we near the American Revolution’s 250th anniversary, we are still grappling with how the memory of revolutionary figures like George Washington and other founding fathers, have been preserved and re-thought by public history professionals since the end of the Revolution. Various social groups, such as the Mount Vernon Ladies Association and historical associations have led the charge, but as we continue to rethink the best methods of sharing these figures with the public we need to reevaluate the preservation efforts of the past alongside current pedagogical and public history methodologies and the complexities of the politics of memory.
DESCRIPTION
The goal of this proposal is to seek more panelists, individuals with further expertise, and ideas for elaborating the proposal. While we have individual projects reevaluating the legacy of social preservation groups relating to the legacy of figures such as George Washington and Aaron Burr, we would love to collaborate on the Roundtable with public history professionals who are working on projects dealing with the legacies of other revolutionary figures and the role of public historians in untangling and sharing those legacies. We would also benefit from further direction regarding the proposal. There are many angles to explore with the preservation and memorialization of the founding fathers, the social groups that have worked at maintaining their legacies, and the relationship of these topics to public engagement and education. General feedback on the ideas of our proposal, ideas for expansion, or for more focused presentation would be helpful and appreciated
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly:
Hannah Thieryung, University of South Florida, [email protected]
All feedback and offers of assistance should be sent by November 15, 2025. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.
Hi there! I think this is fantastic idea and I’d be remiss if I didn’t pass along that my own institution, Historic New England, is mounting a new exhibition centered on these very topics, and which will be accompanied by an online curriculum for use with no charge to any teacher in the world who may be interested. My colleague Erica Lome is curating the exhibition, called Myth and Memory (https://ne250.org/myth-and-memory/), and my colleague Carolin Collins is overseeing the online programs for teachers; both will “open” in May 2025. I’m happy to put you in touch with one or both if you think it might be useful!
What’s they’re doing may be a bit different than what you propose in that HNE’s focus is on everyday life rather than just elite actors, but we do have a Quincy in there! But this, I think, is something that might be useful in terms of framing or expanding your focus, because at least from the perspective of historic sites associated with important figures in the Revolution, rethinking which and whose stories to tell at the sites beyond or instead of the traditional ones is a fruitful path to incorporating more current public history methodologies.
The New York State Museum has a small exhibit about George Washington and his contradictions currently on display to prepare their audience for their flagship 250 exhibit opening soon. Aaron Noble is one of the curators who worked on the exhibit if you want to talk with them more.
Hi — Beyond the need for each generaion to understand its history and its heroes, we also need to make room for new — that is, under-appreciated – people and movements. Specifically, I’m referring to the important, and mostly unknown, history of enslaved Black Americans in the Rev War. They were negotiating their freedom from enslavement by jumping at opportunities from both the British and Continentals. Thousands fought on the side of the British in exchange for promises of freedom – and those promises were kept. Interestingly, the promises made by the Patriot side were more complicated. In truth, we need to be looking at more than just the “great men”, and focus more attention on the efforts of enslaved people.