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Revolutionary Prophecies: The Founders and America’s Future

February 15, 2021

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The America of the early republic was built on a hopeful prophecy that would only be fulfilled if an enlightened people could learn from its past to secure its future. Join Joanne Freeman, Class of 1954 Professor of American History and of American Studies at Yale University, Robert McDonald, professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Peter Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia—all contributors to the new volume Revolutionary Prophecies: The Founders and America’s Future—to discuss the diverse cast of characters that founded the nation, and how their vision for the country’s future shaped American history.

 


Participants

Joanne Freeman is the Class of 1954 Professor of American History and of American Studies at Yale University. She is the author of several books, including The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War. She is a co-host of the podcast, BackStory, and has worked on documentaries for PBS and the History Channel. Freeman also served as a historical consultant for the National Park Service.

Robert McDonald is Professor of History at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is the author of Confounding Father: Thomas Jefferson’s Image in His Own Time, and the editor of several other volumes. McDonald's work has also published articles in the Journal of the Early Republic, The Historian, and Southern Cultures.

Peter Onuf is the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor Emeritus in the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia, and Senior Research Fellow at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. His is the author or editor of numerous books, including The Origins of the Federal Republic: Jurisdictional Conflicts in the United States and Jefferson’s Empire: The Language of American Nationhood. Along with Ed Ayers and Brian Balogh, Onuf was founding co-host of the public radio program “Backstory with the American History Guys."

Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.

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