# Home | Harvard in 1776 ## Welcome to Harvard in 1776 Events Join us for a series of events and conversations about America's founding and Harvard's role in it. [ Learn more about our events arrow\_circle\_right ](/news-events) ![Pitman Model Harvard 1775](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2025-12/6093414.jpg?itok=LWD_Z14e) ## News [### Enjoy Harvard's New "Harvard & the American Revolution" Tour ](/news/2026/05/enjoy-harvards-new-harvard-american-revolution-tour) May 11, 2026 [### Graduate students compete in a brown bread bake-off to celebrate a Boston favorite ](/news/2026/04/graduate-students-compete-brown-bread-bake-celebrate-boston-favorite) April 28, 2026 [### Stay tuned for more programming in Fall 2026! ](/news/2026/04/stay-tuned-more-programming-fall-2026) April 28, 2026 [### From The Gazette: Walking in Harvard’s ‘Revolutionary footsteps’ ](/news/2026/04/gazette-walking-harvards-revolutionary-footsteps) April 27, 2026 [### Read about the American Revolution at Harvard in Harvard Magazine's May-June Issue ](/news/2026/04/read-about-american-revolution-harvard-harvard-magazines-may-june-issue) April 15, 2026 Samuel Langdon Harvard President in 1776 1600 Number of Troops Staying at Harvard during the War 140 Years Age of the University in 1776 1,000 Pounds of Harvard Hall Roof Metal Used for Bullets during the American Revolution 8 Number of Harvard Alumni who Signed the Declaration of Independence Cambridge & Concord, MA Harvard Campus Locations during the American Revolution ![1776 Poster](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/2026-03/Harvard%20In%201776.jpg?itok=gHzPsKPf) ## Courses ### Fall, 2025 [### FYSEMR 47U Declarations of Independence: The Political Philosophy of the American Revolution ](/class/fysemr-47u-declarations-independence-political-philosophy-american-revolution) **Semester:** Fall | **Year offered:** 2025 | **Link:** [Course Website](https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/157122) Taught by David Armitage [### GOV 1074 Political Thought of the American Founding ](/class/gov-1074-political-thought-american-founding) **Semester:** Fall | **Year offered:** 2025 | **Link:** [Course Website](https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/157282) Taught by Eric Nelson [### HIST 87 Democracy: The Long View and the Bumpy History ](/class/hist-87-democracy-long-view-and-bumpy-history) **Semester:** Fall | **Year offered:** 2025 Taught by Alex Keyssar ### Fall, 2026 [### HIST 58 The British Empire ](/class/hist-58-british-empire) **Semester:** Fall | **Year offered:** 2026 | **Link:** [Course Website](https://locator.tlt.harvard.edu/course/colgsas-125049/2026/fall/16912) Taught by Maya Jasanoff Less than a century ago the British Empire ruled a quarter of the world. This course surveys the empire's extraordinary rise and fall from the American Revolution to World War II. Course presents a narrative of key events and personalities, introduces... [### AFRAMER 249A Charles Warren Center Seminar: Commemorative Acts ](/class/aframer-249a-charles-warren-center-seminar-commemorative-acts) **Semester:** Fall | **Year offered:** 2026 | **Link:** [Course Website](https://locator.tlt.harvard.edu/course/colgsas-233044/2026/fall/17325) Taught by Tiya Miles and Robin Bernstein This Charles Warren Center Seminar combines a year-long graduate course with a cohort of visiting Faculty Fellows. In sustained conversation with the Faculty Fellows, graduate students will produce original research (ideally, a... [### HIST 1976 The American Revolution and its Legacies ](/class/hist-1976-american-revolution-and-its-legacies) **Semester:** Fall | **Year offered:** 2026 | **Link:** [Course Website](https://locator.tlt.harvard.edu/course/colgsas-233178/2026/fall/18809) Taught by Annette Gordon-Reed This course will explore the causes of the American Revolution, focusing on the constitutional, legal, economic, social, and political issues that prompted the imperial crisis and resulted in the American colonies’ decision to break with Great... [### FYSEMR 47U Declarations of Independence: The Political Philosophy of the American Revolution ](/class/fysemr-47u-declarations-independence-political-philosophy-american-revolution-0) **Semester:** Fall | **Year offered:** 2026 | **Link:** [Course Website](https://locator.tlt.harvard.edu/course/colgsas-226320/2026/fall/14495) Taught by David Armitage As the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence approaches in 2026, this seminar will examine that familiar document in some unfamiliar context. At the same time, it will provide a focused introduction to the development of modern... [### RELIGION 1497 Evangelicalism in America ](/class/religion-1497-evangelicalism-america) **Semester:** Fall | **Year offered:** 2026 | **Link:** [Course Website](https://locator.tlt.harvard.edu/course/colgsas-156250/2026/fall/17471) Taught by Catherine Brekus This course focuses on the American evangelical movement from the 1740s to the present. Beginning with the rise of transatlantic evangelicalism in the eighteenth century, we will explore the role of evangelicals in the American Revolution, the... ### Spring, 2026 [### HIST 1945 Slavery and Public History ](/class/hist-1945-slavery-and-public-history) **Semester:** Spring | **Year offered:** 2026 | **Link:** [Course Website](https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/165734) Taught by Tiya Miles [### HIST 161 Harvard and Native Lands ](/class/hist-161-harvard-and-native-lands) **Semester:** Spring | **Year offered:** 2026 | **Link:** [Course Website](https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/160174) Taught by Phil Deloria and Alan Niles [### HLS 3043 American Legal History: Law, Economy, and Society in the Era of the American Revolution ](/class/hls-3043-american-legal-history-law-economy-and-society-era-american-revolution) **Semester:** Spring | **Year offered:** 2026 Taught by Bruce Mann ### Spring, 2027 [### HIST 78/HLS 2163 American Legal History, 1776-1865 ](/class/hist-78hls-2163-american-legal-history-1776-1865) **Semester:** Spring | **Year offered:** 2027 Taught by Annette Gordon-Reed This course will trace the development of the American legal and political system from 1776 to 1865. We will discuss the formation of state constitutions and the Federal Constitution, slavery and law, the development of American private law, the... ## Faculty Books [### Declarations of Independence: A Global History (2008) ](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/792070/declaration-of-independence-by-david-armitage/9780674030329)David Armitage ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/9780674030329.jpg?itok=fsnGR6xs) [### The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (1967) ](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674975651)Bernard Bailyn ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/9780674975651.jpg?itok=Fw7KCJIi) [### The Ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson (1976) ](https://www.amazon.com/Ordeal-Thomas-Hutchinson-Bernard-Bailyn/dp/0674641612)Bernard Bailyn ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/61gH7u1SSqL._SL1000_.jpg?itok=yq934i_o) [### Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the Revolution (1988) ](https://www.amazon.com/Voyagers-West-Passage-Peopling-Revolution/dp/0394757785)Bernard Bailyn ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/81c7whNIuUL._SL1357_.jpg?itok=bRtjDWTF) [### Faces of Revolution: Personalities and Themes in the Struggle for American Independence (1992) ](https://www.amazon.com/Faces-Revolution-Personalities-Struggle-Independence/dp/0679736239)Bernard Bailyn ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/71FGoJ1-IDL._SY522_.jpg?itok=rXLeLOrq) [### To Begin the World Anew: The Genius and Ambiguities of the American Founders (2003) ](https://academic.oup.com/jah/article-abstract/90/3/999/688239?login=false)Bernard Bailyn [### The Rites of Assent: Transformations in the Symbolic Construction of America (1992) ](https://www.routledge.com/The-Rites-of-Assent-Transformations-in-the-Symbolic-Construction-of-America/Bercovitch/p/book/9780415900157)Sacvan Bercovitch ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/9780415900157.jpg?itok=w-CCLWcQ) [### Strangers and Pilgrims: Female Preaching in America, 1740–1845 (1998) ](https://www.amazon.com/Strangers-Pilgrims-Preaching-1740-1845-American/dp/0807847453)Catherine Brekus ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/61qJcTORrJL._SL1360_.jpg?itok=H-FghU-7) [### Sarah Osborn's World: The Rise of Evangelical Christianity in Early America (2013) ](https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300226911/sarah-osborns-world/)Catherine Brekus ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-15%20at%203.54.26%E2%80%AFPM.png?itok=G0_tEyF5) [### Tacky's Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War (2022) ](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674260290)Vincent Brown ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/9780674260290.jpeg?itok=WnTyDGUs) [### The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius (2006) ](https://www.amazon.com/First-Scientific-American-Benjamin-Franklin/dp/0465009565/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0)Joyce Chaplin ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/71E17%2BDy21L._SL1360_.jpg?itok=wse08rRn) [### Benjamin Franklin's Political Arithmetic: A Materialist View of Humanity (2006) ](https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/benjaminfrankli00chap)Joyce Chaplin ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-16%20at%204.32.56%E2%80%AFPM.png?itok=W71SFsRf) [### The Franklin Stove: An Unintended American Revolution (2025) ](https://www.amazon.com/Franklin-Stove-Unintended-American-Revolution/dp/037461380X)Joyce Chaplin ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/81ovsB2OVBL._SL1500_.jpg?itok=sbs8zncY) [### The Bonds of Womanhood: 'Women's Sphere' in New England, 1780–1835 (1977) ](https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300254082/the-bonds-of-womanhood/)Nancy Cott ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-16%20at%204.42.31%E2%80%AFPM.png?itok=f_wvYUou) [### Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy (1998) ](https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Sally-Hemings-Controversy/dp/0813918332)Annette Gordon-Reed ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/618R5MMihHL._SL1500_.jpg?itok=rgh1K4VK) [### The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (2008) ](https://www.amazon.com/Hemingses-Monticello-American-Family/dp/0393337766)Annette Gordon-Reed ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/714yY6rhGuL._SL1205_.jpg?itok=16k8deEQ) [### A Restless People: Americans in Rebellion, 1770–1787 (1982) ](https://www.amazon.com/restless-people-Americans-rebellion-1770-1787/dp/0385061021)Oscar and Lillian Handlin ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/41u9JyEXtBL%20%281%29.jpg?itok=M-r-w-M5) [### Liberty's Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World (2011) ](https://www.amrevmuseum.org/read-the-revolution/liberty-s-exiles-2)Maya Jasanoff ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-17%20at%209.33.16%E2%80%AFAM.png?itok=O6Clk3nb) [### The Colonial Mosaic: American Women, 1600–1760 (1995) ](https://www.amazon.com/Colonial-Mosaic-American-1600-1760-History/dp/0195124006)Jane Kamensky ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/51PWTeK-loL._SY522_.jpg?itok=UldJl3gx) [### The Oxford Handbook of the American Revolution (2012) ](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-the-american-revolution-9780199746705?cc=us&lang=en&)Jane Kamensky and Edward Gray, eds. ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/9780199746705%20%281%29.jpg?itok=Tg9MxIMu) [### A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley (2016) ](https://www.amrevmuseum.org/read-the-revolution/a-revolution-in-color)Jane Kamensky ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-17%20at%209.46.12%E2%80%AFAM.png?itok=Zb_xYsbR) [### The Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of American Identity (1999) ](https://www.amazon.com/Name-War-Philips-American-Identity/dp/0375702628/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=190313250630&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.UMup8JResgFsxazUjchbYS8zuFlqT_cG-7p-ex1jQLK0N0gW1cSnmVa1bdWbKj6rGEPcJvxkeSlYtN_hVcsXSyBpsFjtnFDoaXehvGD431vMB5Jef__Cr2pM8JZli-CvJJsN6uKqfwbGGhJyrQl56WPxfMOqxKvZx5QJFZqvAR33fUMgG4AbdQhrO_yM7fjSiDBJKx63R4cq6dUautIHU2pDJDJa-tbiKtLRqWyDOxE.loNILOATkHJfMEyNtl_aD6aBc1_iB3ccOkI2KI9kRAk&dib_tag=se&hvadid=779670399531&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9001966&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=10297151865399953837--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=10297151865399953837&hvtargid=kwd-376527538720&hydadcr=22567_13821264_8257&keywords=the+name+of+war+jill+lepore&mcid=de1dbb04b78c376480450513caa69896&qid=1765983176&s=books&sr=1-1)Jill Lepore ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/71FjwL52H0L._SL1200_.jpg?itok=O_aWORs3) [### New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan (2005) ](https://www.amazon.com/New-York-Burning-Conspiracy-Eighteenth-Century/dp/1400032261)Jill Lepore ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/81Qk3HFhGhL._SL1500_.jpg?itok=lU2HbDXm) [### Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin (2013) ](https://www.amazon.com/Book-Ages-Life-Opinions-Franklin/dp/0307948838/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=185081186543&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DoI-2H1a1kVd0WUH8kYWsfov1f4ugqGFoWybMnP2h4SESNNKMEVQzlMRvINVFKnFCm2AehF0PmNFqONE9DJBw52qk5jlW4MyARO6GJ25WCH9tjdSMjczxC5SxeNFoodbR4L1nwzQQKwMYPRTE9JfR7ntw67y-vYhwb68efWZoZ7WfwaVuqoKJptC_3UOPkIq4frkWNJJqjtMZaL38MoY7JTvpSq0HcwwmnAzyLcB-0c.LpDQgvzjghnme2NJ6CUfoEb_5Y5KAn1CuNBUS6AbGz4&dib_tag=se&hvadid=779574264465&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9001966&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=8706014739762442288--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8706014739762442288&hvtargid=kwd-302881591836&hydadcr=15304_13517984_10028&keywords=book+of+ages+jill+lepore&mcid=590fb32b87ac3f359a4c0903d0550d80&qid=1765983274&sr=8-1)Jill Lepore ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/81bUK5y5HML._SL1500_.jpg?itok=Mr51Jby3) [### We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution (2025) ](https://www.amazon.com/We-People-History-U-S-Constitution/dp/1631496085)Jill Lepore ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/81RMuRxd%2B6L._SL1500_.jpg?itok=KqtayaZw) [### Neighbors and Strangers: Law and Community in Early Connecticut (1987) ](https://uncpress.org/9780807853658/neighbors-and-strangers/)Bruce Mann ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-17%20at%209.57.51%E2%80%AFAM.png?itok=cVyp7e27) [### The Many Legalities of Early America (2001) ](https://uncpress.org/9780807849644/the-many-legalities-of-early-america/)Bruce Mann and Christopher L. Tomlins, eds. ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-17%20at%209.58.52%E2%80%AFAM.png?itok=Y4-xg4pm) [### Republic of Debtors: Bankruptcy in the Age of American Independence (2009) ](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674032415)Bruce Mann ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/9780674032415.jpeg?itok=cRebzlpg) [### The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits (2017) ](https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Detroit-Chronicle-Slavery-Freedom/dp/1620974819/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=190349235030&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.GlbW6SBtVjr5RIRBe5vzKFhuaK-6EzQWNGtBKg87TzDrGGLzdxH51hxLEZUvb0-Cz8JwyryrMtRV4r-VDep05aBn-U02hDUOymf_HeFDZ-vXurkNYtomrH7GqTfkuzQ6Hk3qSY7IhAGW0tdGy00dQAw_P4PsJymSgkzQp2KhNvPwnfVMotmpHaTxDqxsSlPhRWBQ2jB_es1sox1ZNXb1A2SMhChaSkCgsAs4jpW2xDM.PX_xcU5wo7enqgdLL1MSK1xU1cSGS557Xr-4NXK_2S0&dib_tag=se&hvadid=779539510455&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9001966&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=12406673979951777553--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=12406673979951777553&hvtargid=kwd-423045031367&hydadcr=22538_13531263_8220&keywords=the+dawn+of+detroit&mcid=f8a6b0b9af573d3eb3bad88ae8126bf6&qid=1765987629&sr=8-1)Tiya Miles ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/81yugf%2BC9%2BL._SL1500_.jpg?itok=W_0kU2fD) [### The New England Mind: From Colony to Province (1953) ](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674613010)Perry Miller ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/9780674613010.jpeg?itok=yFnlIynY) [### Errand Into the Wilderness (1956) ](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674261556)Perry Miller ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/9780674261556.jpeg?itok=-6G2nUvZ) [### The Conservative American Revolution (1976) ](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081914875X/ref=x_gr_bb_amazon?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_bb_amazon-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=081914875X&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2)Samuel Eliot Morison [### The Colonial Merchants and the American Revolution (1957) ](https://archive.org/details/colonialmerchant00schl/mode/2up)Arthur Schlesinger ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-17%20at%201.30.47%E2%80%AFPM.png?itok=8OW1P0aq) [### Good Wives: Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England, 1650–1750 (1982) ](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/181592/good-wives-by-laurel-thatcher-ulrich/)Laurel Thatcher Ulrich ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/9780679732570.jpeg?itok=702F8uXn) [### A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785–1812 (1991) ](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/181591/a-midwifes-tale-by-laurel-thatcher-ulrich/)Laurel Thatcher Ulrich ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/9780679733768.jpeg?itok=gKM7tR8F) [### The Age of Homsepun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth (2001) ](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/181593/the-age-of-homespun-by-laurel-thatcher-ulrich/)Laurel Thatcher Ulrich ![Book Cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum12566/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-12/9780679766445.jpeg?itok=eEqjDR5H) arrow\_back arrow\_forward ## Thank You to Our Sponsors Laurel Thatcher Ulrich Office for Academic Culture and Community Harvard University Native American Program The Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History The Program in American Studies Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study ## Committee Members Tiya Miles Taylor Maurice Annette Gordon-Reed Daniel Lord Smail (ex officio) Riley Sutherland (graduate student) Saffron Sener (graduate student) Project logo designed by Saffron Sener Project poster designed by Joshua Mejia Project website designed by Joshua Mejia and Taylor Maurice Printed programs and holding slides by Amy Simpson