Living Room Learning

January 26

Lecture by Dr. Patrick Allitt, Cahoon Family Professor of American History at Emory University

Was George III really a vicious tyrant, or a “crowned ass,” as Thomas Paine claimed in Common Sense?  No; he made mistakes and could be stubborn, but he was also a conscientious ruler who simply was not able to accept the idea of American independence. In this lecture, we’ll see how the Revolution looked from the British point of view, including the experience of soldiers, politicians, writers, and common people on both sides of the Atlantic.

February 2

Lecture by Dr. Jeffrey Young, Principal Senior Lecturer of History at Georgia State University

Pierce Butler was a British military officer who dramatically switched his allegiance to America prior to the Revolution. His military and political leadership in the cause of American liberty helped to launch the United States as an enduring republic. Yet, in an age defined by American freedom, Butler invested his wealth in plantation slavery, a decision that would lead to scandals that bedeviled his family across subsequent generations. Butler’s family story illustrates the ways in which the American Revolution turned slavery into a moral problem that the Revolutionaries themselves struggled to resolve.

February 9

Lecture by Dr. Douglas Bradburn, President and CEO of George Washington’s Mount Vernon

At a time of decreasing civic knowledge, assaults on democracy around the world, hyper-partisanship at home, and anxiety about the character of the American experiment, the stories and values that we can learn from the example of George Washington are as significant as ever.

Come hear Dr. Douglas Bradburn, President & CEO of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, an award-winning historian and leader in American public history, share the latest news from America’s most storied historic site and the ongoing importance of the legacy of George Washington.

February 16

Lecture by Dr. Melissa Blair, Professor and Department Chair of History at Auburn University

Dr. Blair will introduce the audience to a range of American women who helped shape the coming of the American Revolution and the course of the war. From well-known women like Abigail Adams and Deborah Sampson to lesser-known figures like Esther Reed and Shawnee leader Nonhelema, we’ll meet women who fought and spied for both sides, who argued for or against independence, and who pushed the new nation to “consider the ladies” as the United States began to take shape.​

February 23

Lecture by Dr. Jane Kamensky, President and CEO of Monticello and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation

What is civic friendship, and why does it matter?  Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were founding friends in the 1770s who became factional foes in the 1790s, and distant enemies for over a decade thereafter. The remarkable reknitting of their relationship in the 1810s offers a model of frank disagreement navigated through shared commitment to the American project. Dr. Kamensky will show how Monticello is sharing their complex history. She will also explain how museums, historic sites, and other community learning partners can help revitalize the ties that bind Americans as a people.

March 2

Lecture by Dr. David Preston, General Mark W. Clark Distinguished Chair of History at The Citadel

​The Revolutionary War for Native Americans was like “a raging whirlwind which tears up the trees,” as a Seneca leader named Honayawas described it in 1798.  Although Americans have typically focused on the more conventional clashes among American, British, French, and Spanish armies along North America’s seaboard, there was a more destructive and brutal theater of the Revolutionary War that unfolded along America’s western frontier.  There, Native Americans remained both independent and crucial players in the war, as both the British and Americans competed for the alliance and military strength of Indian peoples.  The outcome of the Revolutionary War on the frontier shaped the future of North America for generations to follow.

March 9

Lecture by ​Dr. Patrick Allitt, Cahoon Family Professor of American History at Emory University

The thirteen little republics that replaced the thirteen colonies were so vulnerable that a group of influential Americans worked to create a viable national government in the late 1780s. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, with the full support of George Washington, drafted and defended the Constitution, then sent it to the states for ratification. Their Federalist articles aimed to persuade citizens of the states that the republic would be strong enough to defend them without becoming another alien imposition of the British type.

Please note that the series package includes all 7 lectures taking place every Monday from January 26 to March 9, 2026. Tickets for single lectures will be available beginning December 1, 2025

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