Acclaimed Author and Historian Dr. Mary Beth Norton Joins the Museum to Discuss Gender Dynamics in Early America, June 6

Discussion and Q+A Will Be Held in the Museum’s Liberty Hall and Livestreamed Online

Event is Part of the Museum’s Popular Read the Revolution Speaker Series

Acclaimed author and historian Dr. Mary Beth Norton will join the Museum of the American Revolution on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, from 6:30 – 8 p.m. to present a hybrid lecture, titled “Gender and American Resistance to British Authority, 1765-1775: A Reassessment,” as part of the Museum’s 2023 Read the Revolution Speaker Series. This hybrid program will be held in the Museum’s Liberty Hall and will be livestreamed online.

Drawing on her award-winning books, 1774: The Long Year of Revolution and Liberty’s Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800, Norton will reflect on the advances in scholarship surrounding gender and the Revolution that have emerged since Liberty’s Daughters was first published in 1980 and will comment on men’s and women’s involvement in pre-revolutionary politics in the context of contemporary definitions of masculinity and femininity.

Following the presentation, Museum President & CEO Dr. R. Scott Stephenson will join the conversation to facilitate a discussion with Norton, as well as a Q&A with onsite and online audiences.

Doors open to Liberty Hall at 6 p.m., where guests can enjoy refreshments at a cash bar, purchase signed copies of the featured books, and view featured artifacts from the Museum’s collection. Onsite tickets for this event include Zoom access and are $20 for general admission and $15 for Museum Members. Online-only tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for Museum Members. Tickets can be purchased here.

In her celebrated 1980 book, Liberty’s Daughters, Norton delves into the crucial role women played in securing American liberties, from protesting British goods and policies as early as the 1760s to taking on enormous domestic burdens both at home and on the frontlines – and, in several instances, fighting as soldiers themselves. The book is widely considered a landmark book on the history of American women and on the Revolution itself.

In 1774: The Long Year of Revolution, Norton examines the sixteen pivotal months leading up to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. In this dynamic period, colonists traditionally loyal to King George III began their discordant “discussions” that led them to accept the inevitability of war. Drawing extensively on pamphlets, newspapers, and personal correspondence, Norton reconstructs colonial political discourse as it took place throughout 1774.

The Museum’s Read the Revolution Speaker Series brings celebrated authors and historians to the Museum for lively discussions of their work. The series is based on the Museum’s national Read the Revolution bi-monthly e-newsletters, which feature excerpts from thought-provoking books to inspire learning about the American Revolution.

About Dr. Mary Beth Norton
Mary Beth Norton is the Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History Emerita at Cornell University, where she taught from 1971 to 2018. In 2005-6, she was Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions at the University of Cambridge. She has written six books about Early American history, including Liberty’s Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800; and In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. She was an author, with others, of A People and A Nation, which appeared in its 11th edition in 2018, one of the leading U.S. history textbooks since its initial publication in 1982. Her most recent work is 1774: The Long Year of Revolution (2020), which won the 2021 George Washington Prize as the best book on the Revolutionary era. She has been elected a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. She was president of the 12,000-member American Historical Association in 2018.

About Museum of the American Revolution
The Museum of the American Revolution uncovers and shares compelling stories about the diverse people and complex events that sparked America’s ongoing experiment in liberty, equality, and self-government. Through the Museum’s unmatched collection, immersive galleries, powerful theater experiences, and interactive elements, visitors gain a deeper appreciation for how this nation came to be and feel inspired to consider their role in ensuring that the promise of the American Revolution endures. Located just steps away from Independence Hall, the Museum serves as a portal to the region’s many Revolutionary sites, sparking interest, providing context, and encouraging exploration. The Museum, which opened on April 19, 2017, is a private, non-profit, and non-partisan organization. For more information, visit www.AmRevMuseum.org or call 877.740.1776.