Events

  • Founding Women: Ideas of Independence

    Massachusetts Historical Society

    Rosemarie Zagarri, George Mason University; Tara Bynum, University of Iowa; and Sara Martin, MHS in conversation with Jacqueline Beatty, York College of Pennsylvania

    Monday, March 30, 2026 at 6:00 PM EDT · More info

  • Financing the Revolution: Supplies, Wages, and Commerce

    Massachusetts Historical Society

    Join us as Jeffrey M. Griffith and Hannah Farber, in conversation with Ann Marsh Daly, explore the financing of the American Revolution and the creation and implementation of economic systems in the new nation.

    Monday, April 6, 2026 at 6:00 PM EDT · More info

  • Handwriting the Constitution and Declaration of Independence

    Boston Public Library

    In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, visitors are invited to handwrite the Declaration and the US Constitution in the Courtyard of the Central Library in Copley Square. This program aims to create time and a quiet space to reflect and deepen one's understanding of these historic documents. All supplies will be provided. Participants will first stop by the supply table to pick up writing supplies and copies of the Constitution and/or Declaration of Independence. Reproductions of John Adams's personal copy of the Constitution held by Special Collections will also be available to transcribe. This program is self-paced. Patrons are invited to stay for the whole session or simply stay as long as they would like.

    Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 10:00 AM EDT · More info

  • Revolutionary Narratives: From Broadsides to Hollywood

    Massachusetts Historical Society

    From the Civil War to the Cold War and newsrooms to Hollywood, Americans looked to the Revolutionary era to debate and define what it meant to be an American, with often divisive results. Now, during the 250th anniversary of the Revolution, Jordan Taylor and Michael Hattem will examine commentary in Revolutionary-era newspapers and broadsides, consider how understanding of American independence has changed over time, and reflect on how the public sees the nation's founding today.

    Monday, May 18, 2026 at 6:00 PM EDT · More info

  • Zine Making: What Does the Declaration Mean 250 Years Later?

    Boston Public Library

    This year marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Through an art-making opportunity, reflect on what the document means 250 years later and how the American Revolution relates to other protest movements and revolutions that have occurred in the United States. We will have supplies available to use and staff will be present to assist as needed. No registration is required to attend; drop-ins encouraged. Stay for as little or as long as you'd like during the event.

    Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at 10:00 AM EDT · More info

  • David Walker’s Declaration of Independence: Building Community and Fighting Racism in Antebellum African American Boston

    Boston Public Library

    Join the Boston Public Library's Special Collections for a talk from scholar Dr. Leon Jackson entitled David Walker’s Declaration of Independence: Building Community and Fighting Racism in Antebellum African American Boston as part of the on-going commemorations of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. When it first appeared in Boston 1829, David Walker’s Appeal struck terror into the hearts of white Americans North and South. Using a wide variety previously unexamined manuscripts, this talk reexamines the composition, publication, and circulation of the Appeal, focusing on the Boston community that often supported but sometimes thwarted his work.

    Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 6:00 PM EDT · More info

  • Curious and Complex Connections: Environmental History and the War of Independence

    Massachusetts Historical Society

    Join us as David Hsiung, in conversation with Joyce Chaplin, discusses the intricate and often surprising ways in which the natural environment and the war changed each other.

    Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at 6:00 PM EDT · More info

  • Handwriting the Constitution and Declaration of Independence

    Boston Public Library

    In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, visitors are invited to handwrite the Declaration and the US Constitution in the Courtyard of the Central Library in Copley Square. This program aims to create time and a quiet space to reflect and deepen one's understanding of these historic documents. All supplies will be provided. Participants will first stop by the supply table to pick up writing supplies and copies of the Constitution and/or Declaration of Independence. Reproductions of John Adams's personal copy of the Constitution held by Special Collections will also be available to transcribe. This program is self-paced. Patrons are invited to stay for the whole session or simply stay as long as they would like.

    Tuesday, June 2, 2026 at 10:00 AM EDT · More info

  • Zine Making: What Does the Declaration Mean 250 Years Later?

    Boston Public Library

    This year marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Through an art-making opportunity, reflect on what the document means 250 years later and how the American Revolution relates to other protest movements and revolutions that have occurred in the United States. We will have supplies available to use and staff will be present to assist as needed. No registration is required to attend; drop-ins encouraged. Stay for as little or as long as you'd like during the event.

    Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at 10:00 AM EDT · More info

  • Author Talk: When the Declarations Was News

    Boston Public Library

    Publishing for the 250th anniversary of the United States, When the Declaration of Independence Was News focuses on the nation’s founding document at the moment of its creation in 1776, before anyone knew what the legacy of the Declaration would be or if the United States would win the war against Great Britain. It explores how the Declaration was communicated to people in the new nation and around the Atlantic world and reveals the stories of the many people involved in the process of declaring independence, from printers to soldiers to diplomats to translators. About the Speaker: Dr. Emily Sneff is an early American historian and leading expert on the Declaration of Independence. She earned her Ph.D. in History from William & Mary. She is a consulting curator for exhibitions marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration at the Museum of the American Revolution and Historic Trappe.

    Wednesday, June 24, 2026 at 6:00 PM EDT · More info

  • Pierce Performance: We Hold These Truths

    Boston Public Library

    The Associates of the Boston Public Library present an evening of music, poetry, and connection featuring newly commissioned works by New England Conservatory and Berklee students and Regie Gibson, the first Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Handel & Haydn Society Youth Choir joins guest speakers and performers at this eighth installment of the Pierce Performance Series.

    Thursday, June 25, 2026 at 6:00 PM EDT · More information coming soon

  • Handwriting the Constitution and Declaration of Independence

    Boston Public Library

    In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, visitors are invited to handwrite the Declaration and the US Constitution in the Courtyard of the Central Library in Copley Square. This program aims to create time and a quiet space to reflect and deepen one's understanding of these historic documents. All supplies will be provided. Participants will first stop by the supply table to pick up writing supplies and copies of the Constitution and/or Declaration of Independence. Reproductions of John Adams's personal copy of the Constitution held by Special Collections will also be available to transcribe. This program is self-paced. Patrons are invited to stay for the whole session or simply stay as long as they would like.

    Tuesday, July 7, 2026 at 10:00 AM EDT · More info

  • Zine Making: What Does the Declaration Mean 250 Years Later?

    Boston Public Library

    This year marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Through an art-making opportunity, reflect on what the document means 250 years later and how the American Revolution relates to other protest movements and revolutions that have occurred in the United States. We will have supplies available to use and staff will be present to assist as needed. No registration is required to attend; drop-ins encouraged. Stay for as little or as long as you'd like during the event.

    Tuesday, July 21, 2026 at 10:00 AM EDT · More info

  • Handwriting the Constitution and Declaration of Independence

    Boston Public Library

    In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, visitors are invited to handwrite the Declaration and the US Constitution in the Courtyard of the Central Library in Copley Square. This program aims to create time and a quiet space to reflect and deepen one's understanding of these historic documents. All supplies will be provided. Participants will first stop by the supply table to pick up writing supplies and copies of the Constitution and/or Declaration of Independence. Reproductions of John Adams's personal copy of the Constitution held by Special Collections will also be available to transcribe. This program is self-paced. Patrons are invited to stay for the whole session or simply stay as long as they would like.

    Tuesday, August 4, 2026 at 10:00 AM EDT · More info

  • Zine Making: What Does the Declaration Mean 250 Years Later?

    Boston Public Library

    This year marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Through an art-making opportunity, reflect on what the document means 250 years later and how the American Revolution relates to other protest movements and revolutions that have occurred in the United States. We will have supplies available to use and staff will be present to assist as needed. No registration is required to attend; drop-ins encouraged. Stay for as little or as long as you'd like during the event.

    Tuesday, August 18, 2026 at 10:00 AM EDT · More info