Events

Far from a harmonious collaboration, the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War was so filled with political strife that the delegates feared the Revolutionary War would end in disunion or civil war. But instead of disbanding, these founders managed to unite for the sake of liberty and self-preservation, forging grueling compromises and holding the young nation together. Political historian Eli Merritt, Ph.D., discusses his new book and explores the deep political divisions that almost tore the Union apart during the…

Historical Programs Manager Andrew Outten discusses a British blunderbuss that was made commercially in London, ca. 1770-1780. A precursor to the shotgun, this weapon was often issued to cavalry or naval troops for use in close-quarter combat. This Lunch Bite will offer not only a detailed examination of a blunderbuss from the Institute’s museum collections, but also a discussion pertaining to the history of blunderbusses, their technical components and attributes and their various potential uses throughout the American Revolution. Registration…

In 1777, Congress labeled a group of Philadelphia Quakers who refused to help defend the city against the imminent invasion by British troops as “the most Dangerous Enemies America knows.” They ordered Pennsylvania to apprehend them. In response, state officials sent twenty men—seventeen of them Quakers—into exile, banishing them to Virginia, where they were held for over seven months. Reconstructing this moment in American history through the experiences of four families—the Drinkers, Fishers, Pembertons and Gilpins—historian Norman Donoghue discusses how the…