The Declaration of Independence at 250: The American Revolution Then and Now
Additional details forthcoming. Please contact Charissa Reul for more information.
- Registration and the hotel room block will open in January 2026 for members and their invited guests.
- Not a member? Visit How to Attend for more information.
- Founders' Fellowship Application [Forthcoming in Fall 2025]
- General Fellowship Application [Forthcoming in January 2026]
The themes we will cover in this meeting are timely and important. The United States of America was born in conflict. What legacies a century of colonial experience, helped shape its national identity? To what extent did ideas and ways of thinking define the new nation and its political institutions? What difference did character, culture, and geography make in the nation's revolutionary history? What has the American Founding meant to the world?
Meeting Program
Friday, April 17
4:00–7:00 Registration
5:00–6:00 President's Reception (by invitation)
5:30–6:00 Fellowship Orientation
5:45–6:50 General Reception
7:00–9:00 Dinner & Program: Does a Nation with Imperfect Origins, a Flawed History, and a Tempestuous Present Have the Right to Celebrate Its Revolutionary Founding?
Chair: Joseph A. Morris, President, The Philadelphia Society
Keynote Address: TBA
Saturday, April 18
7:30–9:00 Annual Breakfast Meeting of the Membership (members only)
9:30–11:00 Session 1: How Did the "American Nation" Come to Be?
The Declaration of Independence, adopted at Philadelphia in 1776, announced the establishment of a "new nation", seemingly distinct from, prior to, and more than its political institutions. How did the people of America, living in 13 different colonies with highly varying cultures, come to see themselves as the "American nation"? Does the "American nation" of today legitimately claim descent from that revolutionary nation?
Chair: TBA
Remy Debes, The University of Memphis
Wilfred McClay, Hillsdale College
11:00 - 11:45 Break
11:45–1:30 Baron Award & Luncheon Program: What Does it Mean to Be an American Revolutionary Today?
Can and do the ideas and characters of Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, and Hamilton – and, for that matter, of Locke, Burke, and Smith – still matter today? Can and do they live in 21st century Americans?
Keynote Address: TBA
2:00–3:30pm Session 2: Can a Revolution Be Lawful?
American revolutionaries described themselves as conserving, rather than as overthrowing, the rule of law. Were their claims valid? Do they remain valid today?
Chair: TBA
David Forte, Cleveland State University
Michael Lucchese, Pipe Creek Consulting
3:30–4:00 Coffee Break
4:00–5:30 Session 3: Did the Declaration Provide a Firm Ground for the Constitution of a Federal, and Liberty-Protecting Republic?
The Declaration overtly made a case for independence. Did it also state principles and values that could successfully guide the formation of stable institutions that would preserve the gains of revolution? What can be learned from the ensuing history that took Americans from 13 colonies to the Articles of Confederation and back to Philadelphia 11 years later for the Constitutional Convention? Was the Declaration's claim that "all men are created equal" a conscious lie given the existence of slavery in the colonies, and did the existence of that "peculiar institution" constitute an "original sin" that would forever taint the American Founding?
Chair: TBA
Amanda Bellows, Lang College – The New School
Ronald J. Pestritto, Hillsdale College
Roger Pilon, Cato Institute
Sunday, April 19
8:00–9:00 Breakfast Buffet
9:00–11:00 Roundtable Discussion: A City on a Hill. What Was the Meaning of the American Revolution for the Other Peoples of the Earth?
The American Revolution was followed by other notable revolutions of great influence in the world, including the French, Mexican, Russian, and Chinese Revolutions. Was the American Revolution qualitatively different in a way of benefit to the civilizations of the world, from the 18th century until today?
Chair & Speakers: TBA
Please contact Charissa Reul with questions or for more information.