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Editor’s Note: This blog originally appeared on AEIdeas on July 3, 2018. The publication date has been updated to the current year.
In anticipation of the nation’s bicentennial in 1976, AEI commissioned a series of distinguished lectures on the nature of the American political system. The lectures were given in 1973 and 1974 at prominent locations around the country including Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Old North Church, The Wren building at William & Mary, the Metropolitan Museum in NYC, the Little Red Schoolhouse in Minnesota, West Point, The Henry Ford Museum, the Ben Franklin Room at the Department of State, and Ford’s Theater. At the time, they were broadcast by PBS affiliates across the nation.
In introducing the series, AEI President William Baroody noted that the scholars represented did not have a common political viewpoint nor a common approach “except that all of them see our present situation through the lens of America’s revolutionary experience.” Thus, the late sociologist Peter Berger lectured about religion in revolutionary society and today, while Daniel Boorstin lectured about political revolutions and revolutions in science and technology, and Robert Nisbet lectured on the social impact of revolution, while Edward Banfield lectured on cities and the revolutionary tradition.
As the country celebrates Independence Day this coming July 4th, it is vital to recall the rich history of revolution in this nation and the scholarship supporting its just implementation. Here is a rundown of all the bicentennial lectures commissioned by AEI 45 years ago. Access the complete series here. To check out what AEI is doing for Independence Day, click here.
Irving Kristol: The American Revolution as a Successful Revolution (St. John’s Church, Washington, DC) Martin Diamond: The Revolution of Sober Expectations (Independence Square, Philadelphia, PA) Paul G. Kauper: The Higher Law and the Rights of Man in a Revolutionary Society (Old North Church, Boston, MA) Robert A. Nisbet: The Social Impact of the Revolution (Gaston Hall at Georgetown University, Washington, DC) Gordon S. Wood: Revolution and the Political Integration of the Enslaved and Disenfranchised (House of Representatives’ chamber, Kentucky State Capitol) Caroline Robbins: The Pursuit of Happiness (Gallier Hall, New Orleans, LA) Peter Berger: Religion in a Revolutionary Society (Christ Church, Alexandria, VA) G. Warren Nutter: Freedom in a Revolutionary Economy (Wren Building at the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA) Vermont Royster: The American Press and the Revolutionary Tradition (Dinkelspiel Auditorium at Stanford University, Stanford, CA) Edward C. Banfield: The City and the Revolutionary Tradition (Franklin Hall at the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA) Leo Marx: The American Revolution and the American Landscape (Cabell Hall at the University if Virginia, Charlottesville, VA) Ronald S. Berman: Intellect and Education in a Revolutionary Society (Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY) Kenneth B. Clark: The American Revolution: Democratic Politics and Popular Education (Little Red Schoolhouse, St. Charles, MN) Forrest Carlisle Pogue: The Revolutionary Transformation and the Art of War (United States Military Academy, West Point, NY) Seymour Martin Lipset: Opportunity and Welfare in the First New Nation (Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, MI) Charles Burton Marshall: American Foreign Policy as a Dimension of the American Revolution (Benjamin Franklin Room at the Department of State, Washington, DC) Dean Rusk: The American Revolution and the Future (Ford’s Theatre, Washington, DC)
As the country celebrates Independence Day this coming July 4th, it is vital to recall the rich history of revolution in this nation and the scholarship supporting its just implementation.
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