Part three of “250 Years: Looking Back & Looking Ahead,” a four-part lecture series at Norman Williams Public Library co-hosted by Woodstock History Center in collaboration with Yankee Bookshop.

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On the eve of the American Revolution, half a million enslaved African Americans were embedded in the North American population. The slave trade was flourishing, even as the thirteen colonies armed themselves to defend against the idea of being governed without consent. This paradox gave birth to what Joseph J. Ellis calls the “great contradiction”: How could a government that had been justified and founded on the principles articulated in the Declaration of Independence institutionalize slavery? How could it permit a tidal wave of western migration by settlers who understood the phrase “pursuit of happiness” to mean the pursuit of Indian lands?

Joseph J. Ellis is the author of many works of American history, including Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, which won the National Book Award. A frequent contributor to Ken Burns’ celebrated films, Ellis is featured in The American Revolution, airing on PBS. Ellis’ essays and book reviews appear regularly in national publications and his commentaries have been featured on major programs. He lives in Vermont with his family.

The Yankee Bookshop will have copies of Ellis’s new book, The Great Contradiction, available for purchase and signing.