250 Years: Looking Back & Looking Ahead
A four-part lecture series at Norman Williams Public Library, co-hosted by Woodstock History Center. Free and open to all!
As we mark the founding of our nation 250 years ago, we reflect on the world then and now. By understanding our history, we better appreciate who we are as a nation today and our possibilities for the future.
What can we learn from the diverse experiences of the Revolutionary Americans? Who were the leading voices? How does the change-making spirit of the Revolution mature? Join us as we explore our nation’s history.
Ron Miller | “A New Nation, Conceived in Liberty…”: Enlightenment Idealism and the Reality of the Modern World
Wednesday, April 8, 2026, 2 pm
The U.S. Declaration of Independence seemed to represent a fresh start for humanity, but old prejudices, power structures, and flaws of human nature have limited the revolutionary potential of the nation.
Kevin Graffagnino | Ira Allen and the Green Mountain Frontier
Wednesday, April 15, 2 pm
Land speculator, revolutionary, politician, and empire builder, Ira Allen. a key figure on the Green Mountain frontier, helped create and sustain the independent State of Vermont.
Joseph J. Ellis | The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding
Wednesday, April 22, 2 pm
Explore the “great contradiction” between principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the failures to end slavery and avoid Indian removal as outlined in Ellis’s new book.
Howard Coffin – The Great Bennington Battle and Vermont
Wednesday, April 29, 2 pm
The surrender at Saratoga of a British army has long been called the decisive battle of the American Revolution, but perhaps John Burgoyne was doomed two months earlier at the Battle of Bennington.