March into Spring Break with family-friendly activities for all ages at the Museum. Info & Tickets

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Read the Revolution Speaker Series with Gordon Wood
Gordon Wood has packed a lifetime of learning into this splendid little volume. In his capable hands, our founding charters, grown stale from familiarity, regain their freshness and allure as revolutionary documents that redefined our politics.
Ron Chernow, author of "Alexander Hamilton"

In his latest book, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and New York Times bestseller Dr. Gordon S. Wood distills a lifetime of work on constitutional innovations during the Revolutionary era. Power and Liberty: Constitutionalism in the American Revolution illuminates critical events from the imperial debate in the 1760s that led to the Declaration of Independence, to state constitution-making in 1776 and the creation of the Federal Constitution in 1787. Exploring how Americans have experienced the nature of power, liberty, representation, rights, and other issues, Wood will present debates over the foundational legal and political documents of the United States with timely insights on the Constitution.

As the second event in the 2021-2022 Read the Revolution Speaker Series, this program will be held Tuesday, Oct. 26, in the Museum’s Liberty Hall. It also will be broadcast live via Zoom Webinar. Dr. Philip C. Mead, Chief Historian and Curator at the Museum, will join Wood for a seated conversation and live Q&A with the onsite and online audiences. Doors open at 6 p.m. for onsite guests to see a featured artifact, enjoy refreshments at a cash bar, and have the opportunity to purchase a book signed by the author.

Image 091120 George Mason Roman History Collection Foundingfathersromanhistory

Featured Artifact: George Mason's Roman History
Museum of the American Revolution collection
This volume of Roman history, which will be on display for one night only when author Gordon S. Wood joins us to discuss his new book, Power and Liberty, on Oct. 26, survives from the library of George Mason, a Virginia delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention who brought up the issue of a bill of rights during the late stages of the convention. Mason’s idea to include a bill of rights was voted down and he did not support the ratification of the proposed Federal Constitution. In Power and Liberty, Wood discusses not only Mason's participation in the Constitutional Convention, but also Mason’s most famous contribution to American constitutional history, the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, of which he was the primary author.

Proof of COVID Vaccination Required
Guests attending this program in person will be required to show proof of full COVID vaccination upon entry. “Full vaccination” means that the event date is at least 14 days after the guest’s final COVID-19 vaccine dose. Original CDC vaccination cards, photos, or electronic copies of the card are all acceptable forms of documentation. Proof of a negative COVID test will not be accepted. For ticket-holders unable to provide proof of vaccination, a livestream link will be made available. Please contact the front desk at 267-304-3046 with any questions.

This is a hybrid event with onsite and online tickets available. Onsite tickets include an option to access the online Zoom Webinar link and participate from home. If you are feeling unwell, please use the Zoom link to view the program online. The health and safety of our visitors, staff, and community remains our top priority. We are closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and will communicate any changes prior to the event. 

About Dr. Gordon S. Wood

Gordon Wood Headshot Credit Peter Goldberg
Photo by Peter Goldberg

Gordon S. Wood is the Alva O. Way University Professor and Professor of History Emeritus at Brown University. He is the author of many books, including The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787, which won the Bancroft Prize and the John H. Dunning Prize of the American Historical Association; The Radicalism of the American Revolution, which won the Pulitzer Prize for History and the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize; The American Revolution: A History; The Americanization of Benjamin FranklinRevolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different, which was a New York Times bestseller; Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 (OUP, 2009), which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and winner of the American History Book Prize from the New-York Historical Society; and Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. He is a regular reviewer for the New York Review of Books.

Read the Revolution is sponsored by The Haverford Trust Company.

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