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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260929T180000
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SUMMARY:Local to Fairfield | The Autumn of 1776
DESCRIPTION:Travel back in time to the fall of 1776. Independence had been declared\, but patriots were still figuring out the young nation. The Continental Army just suffered a crushing defeat in Brooklyn. British forces won control of New York\, occupying the city until the end of the Revolution. Additional losses in White Plains\, Fort Washington\, and other battles would bring General George Washington’s leadership into question. Join the Fairfield Museum’s Walt Matis to experience the difficult defeats and growing resilience of the young nation and to discover the decisions that made Connecticut and Fairfield County targets for British and loyalist forces during this tumultuous period. \nCo-presented with the Fairfield Public Library \n  \nFree. Program will take place at Fairfield Public Library. \n  \nRSVP HERE \n  \n 
URL:https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/event/local-to-fairfield-the-autumn-of-1776/
LOCATION:Fairfield Public Library\, 1080 Old Post Road\, Fairfield\, CT\, 06824\, United States
CATEGORIES:America 250,Lectures & Programs
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261004T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261004T143000
DTSTAMP:20260923T135932Z
CREATED:20260731T202058Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260923T135932Z
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SUMMARY:2026 Fall Speaker Series | The Will of the People
DESCRIPTION:T. H. Breen\, professor of American History at the University of Vermont\, spotlights a crucial missing piece in the stories we tell about the American Revolution. Across the thirteen colonies\, it was ordinary people who became the face of resistance. Without them the Revolution would have failed. Everyday men and women negotiated the revolutionary experience\, accepting huge personal sacrifice\, setting up daring experiments in self-government\, and going to extraordinary lengths to preserve the rule of law. \n  \nAbout T.H. Breen \nT.H. Breen is a professor of American History at the University of Vermont and an Early American historian interested in the history of political thought\, material culture\, and cultural anthropology. A Guggenheim fellow\, he has held appointments at the Institute for Advanced Study and the National Humanities Center as well as the Pitt Professorship of American History and Institutions at Cambridge University and the Harmsworth Professorship at Oxford University. He has won several awards for distinguished teaching\, including one from the Northwestern Alumni Society. His publications include five monographs\, portions of the highly successful undergraduate text\, America: Past and Present\, and books including Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence\, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People\, George Washington’s Journey: The President Forges a New Nation\, and The Will of the People: The Revolutionary Birth of America. Breen has also served as a special consultant for Colonial Williamsburg. In 2017 he was appointed the John Kluge Professor of American Law and Governance at the Library of Congress. Breen is the founding director of the Chabraja Center for Historical Studies\, and has a Ph.D. from Yale. \n  \n\nAbout the 2026 Fall Speaker Series – Reflecting at 250 \nJoin the Fairfield Museum for a series exploring how American history is interpreted and retold today now that the United States has marked the milestone of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Prominent historians will examine how storytelling shapes our understanding of history\, highlight whose voices are amplified versus whose are marginalized\, and offer contemporary perspectives on our nation’s past. Together\, we will discover how the choices about what to remember—and what to overlook—shape national identity and ongoing debates about the American past and future. \n  \nAdditional Lectures in the Series: \nSeptember 20 | Stories of Connecticut’s Black Patriots | John Mills \nOctober 18 | From Liberty to Legacy: Exploring American Ideals in the Musicals 1776 and Hamilton | Michael Langlois \nNovember 8 | Nobody Men: Neutrality and Loyalties in the American Revolution | Travis Glasson \n  \n  \nLight refreshments provided. \nRegistration is required. $15 for Members; $20 for Non-Members; $75 for the series; $60 for Members. \n  \n\nTicketing Policy \n\nNo refunds will be given unless the program is cancelled by the Fairfield Museum.\nWe do not pro-rate fees for missed days of the series.\n\n  \n 
URL:https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/event/2026-fall-speaker-series-the-will-of-the-people/
LOCATION:Fairfield Museum\, 370 Beach Road\, Fairfield\, CT\, 06824\, United States
CATEGORIES:America 250,Fall Speaker Series,Lectures & Programs
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261007T120000
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SUMMARY:History Bites | The Catacomb of Loyalty: A Deep Dive into New-Gate’s Role in the American Revolution
DESCRIPTION:New-Gate Prison is recognized as the first state prison in the U.S. and served as a prison for loyalists throughout the American Revolution. What can the Prison’s history tell about the founding of our nation? How were early laws enacted to force people to recognize a new form of government? Join Morgan Bengel\, Curator of Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine\, to uncover how citizenship\, loyalty\, and treason were at the core of America’s founding and to learn more about the darker (literally and figuratively) side of the Revolution. \n$5 suggested donation \n  \nAbout the Speaker \nMorgan Bengel is the Curator and Site Administrator for Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine. She received her Bachelor of Arts in History and Museum Studies from the University of Michigan and her master’s degree in public history from Central Connecticut State University.  Her role at New-Gate ranges from stocking toilet paper to managing millions of dollars in grant projects\, and everything in between. She strives to connect people to the past to help foster a greater future. \n 
URL:https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/event/history-bites-the-catacomb-of-loyalty-a-deep-dive-into-new-gates-role-in-the-american-revolution/
LOCATION:Fairfield Museum\, 370 Beach Road\, Fairfield\, CT\, 06824\, United States
CATEGORIES:America 250,Lectures & Programs
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261015T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261015T193000
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SUMMARY:Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century - Panel Discussion at Fairfield University
DESCRIPTION:In this age of rising authoritarianism\, economic inequality\, political polarization\, climate change\, and media disruptions\, it may seem that American democracy is unable to respond and adapt to the challenges that threaten its very existence. However\, a reinvention of our constitutional democracy remains entirely within reach—and urgently needed. Americans across the political spectrum yearn to believe again in the American story and to feel connected to one another. \nAs part of the Fairfield Museum’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence\, join us for a timely and vital conversation exploring practical ways we can build a new\, collective commitment to democratic citizenship\, using the landmark report “Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century” as a starting point. Click here to read the report. \nPanelists include: Stephen Heintz\, President Emeritus of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund\, member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Global Commission on Democracy; CT Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas; David McCullough III\, cofounder & CEO of American Exchange Project\, an innovative program that builds connections between young Americans from different backgrounds; and Fairfield University’s Aaron Weinstein\, PhD\, a scholar of the intersection of secular and religious thought in American politics. \nCo-presented by Fairfield University Center for Arts & Minds. \nReception to follow. \nThis program is free and open to the public. RSVP is required. \n  \n\nOptional Donation \nYour donation will help support the Fairfield Museum’s exhibitions and programs. Please click here to donate. \n\nEvent Details \n\nThe program will take place at the Dolan School of Business Event Hall at Fairfield University\, 1073 Benson Rd.\nParking: There is a lot adjacent to the Dolan School of Business building. Additional parking is available at the Quick Center\, which is accessible via a pathway between the two buildings.\n\n\nAbout the Speakers \nStephen B. Heintz is President Emeritus of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund\, a private family foundation with an endowment of approximately $1.2 billion that advances social change for a more just\, sustainable\, and peaceful world. Heintz coined the term “acupuncture philanthropy” to describe his philanthropic approach of leveraging modest financial assets to trigger larger systemic change on critical issues. Heintz\, who began his professional life in public service for the state of Connecticut\, has devoted his career to strengthening democratic culture and institutions to better serve citizens. Before joining the RBF in 2001\, Heintz co-founded and served as president of Dēmos\, a public policy organization that works to reduce political and economic inequality and to broaden citizen engagement in American democracy. As co-chair of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences national Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship\, he co-authored the report Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century (2020). In addition to his work on the international stage\, Heintz is a fellow and board member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations\, the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development\, and the Global Commission on Democracy and Multilateralism convened by Club de Madrid in 2025. He chairs the board of the Quincy Institute and serves on the boards of the International Crisis Group and the Rockefeller Archive Center. He is the recipient of the Council on Foundations 2018 Distinguished Service Award. \nDavid McCullough III is the cofounder and CEO of American Exchange Project\, the country’s first domestic intercultural exchange program. In the summer of 2016\, McCullough drove 7\,100 miles across America to research the effects of poverty on education. He spent two months in three towns that were very different from the Boston suburb he grew up in: Cotulla\, Texas\, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota\, and the Slavic Village of Cleveland\, Ohio. The road trip was an immersive lesson in experiential civics that inspired him to found the program in 2019 with PBS NewsHour Economic Correspondent Paul Solman and the late Harvard Business School Professor Robert Glauber. Since then\, American Exchange Project has sent more than 2\,000 students to nearly 50 states with the mission of creating a more connected America. The organization has been featured in more than 125 media outlets\, including the CBS Sunday Morning Show\, Fox & Friends\, the BBC\, the New York Post\, the Boston Globe\, CNN\, and Good Morning America. McCullough has a BA in American Studies from Yale and an MPhil in Economic and Social History from the University of Cambridge. In 2022\, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Education. He lives in Boston. \nStephanie Thomas was sworn in as Connecticut’s 75th Secretary of the State on January 4\, 2023\, making history as the first Black person elected to the office. She leads one of Connecticut’s oldest constitutional offices — established in 1639 — and one of its most wide-ranging\, overseeing elections\, the state’s business registry\, and official public records. Since taking office\, she has led a sweeping modernization of Connecticut’s elections\, including the successful implementation of early in-person voting and securing a historic $20 million investment in new voting technology. Under her leadership\, Connecticut has built on its strong foundation to further establish itself as a national model for running elections that are transparent\, bipartisan\, and grounded in public trust. Secretary Thomas has also emerged as a national voice on election administration and civic engagement. In 2025\, she testified before Congress on voter access and election security and now serves on the Executive Board of the National Association of Secretaries of State. She is frequently sought out by the media for her ability to explain complex election issues in clear\, practical terms. A former small business owner and state legislator\, she has also championed efforts to modernize business services\, support entrepreneurs\, and expand civic engagement through initiatives like the CEO (Civically Engaged Organization) program and Power of Civics. She holds a B.A. from New York University\, an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from The New School and resides in Norwalk. \nDr. Aaron Q. Weinstein is Assistant Professor of Politics at Fairfield University\, where his research and teaching interests include American Political Thought\, modern political ideologies\, and the intersection of religion and politics. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Brown University in 2016\, and his B.A. in government and history (magna cum laude\, with distinction in all subjects) from Cornell University in 2009. Dr. Weinstein is the Faculty Liaison for Fairfield University’s Center for Arts and Minds.
URL:https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/event/our-common-purpose/
LOCATION:Dolan School of Business Event Hall\, 1073 North Benson Road\, Fairfield\, 06824\, United States
CATEGORIES:America 250,Lectures & Programs
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261018T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261018T143000
DTSTAMP:20260922T160550Z
CREATED:20260731T202206Z
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SUMMARY:2026 Fall Speaker Series | From Liberty to Legacy: Exploring American Ideals in the Musicals 1776 and Hamilton
DESCRIPTION:1776 and Hamilton are two landmark American musicals that dramatize the story of the nation’s founding\, created nearly fifty years apart and reflecting very different cultural moments. This talk examines how each work portrays the Revolutionary era\, while simultaneously capturing a snapshot of the times in which these shows were written. By comparing their music\, characters\, and political perspectives\, the program explores how changing historical contexts shape the way we tell our national story. \n  \nAbout Michael Langlois \nMichael is a dynamic performer\, director\, lecturer and storyteller with decades of experience on the stage. He has lectured from Connecticut to California on topics ranging from Shakespeare to using one’s passions to create exciting events. Michael has worked with young and old alike\, helping them find their voice to tell their own unique stories. As an actor\, his credits include the Stage Manager in Our Town; Henry in Henry V; Brutus in Julius Caesar; Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. Michael has directed across New England including at the Hartford Children’s Theatre\, Springfield’s Drama Studio\, and for the Ashford Youth Theatre where he worked for nearly 20 years as the Artistic Director. Additionally\, he worked for over a decade with New London’s Flock Theatre serving as an Associate Artist. There he directed\, acted\, and taught acting classes. Michael’s directing credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Othello; Lysistrata; Godspell; A Piece of My Heart; Macbeth; The Crucible Antigone; The Taming of the Shrew; The Imaginary Invalid; and The Tempest. \n  \n\nAbout the 2026 Fall Speaker Series – Reflecting at 250 \nJoin the Fairfield Museum for a series exploring how American history is interpreted and retold today now that the United States has marked the milestone of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Prominent historians will examine how storytelling shapes our understanding of history\, highlight whose voices are amplified versus whose are marginalized\, and offer contemporary perspectives on our nation’s past. Together\, we will discover how the choices about what to remember—and what to overlook—shape national identity and ongoing debates about the American past and future. \n  \nAdditional Lectures in the Series: \nSeptember 20 | Stories of Connecticut’s Black Patriots | John Mills \nOctober 4 | The Will of the People | T.H. Breen \nNovember 8 | Nobody Men: Neutrality and Loyalties in the American Revolution | Travis Glasson \n  \n  \nLight refreshments provided. \nRegistration is required. $15 for Members; $20 for Non-Members; $75 for the series; $60 for Members. \n  \n\nTicketing Policy \n\nNo refunds will be given unless the program is cancelled by the Fairfield Museum.\nWe do not pro-rate fees for missed days of the series.\n\n  \n 
URL:https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/event/2026-fall-speaker-series-from-liberty-to-legacy-exploring-american-ideals-in-the-musicals-1776-and-hamilton/
LOCATION:Fairfield Museum\, 370 Beach Road\, Fairfield\, CT\, 06824\, United States
CATEGORIES:America 250,Fall Speaker Series,Lectures & Programs
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261108T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261108T143000
DTSTAMP:20260922T160627Z
CREATED:20260731T202335Z
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SUMMARY:2026 Fall Speaker Series | Nobody Men: Neutrality and Loyalties in the American Revolution
DESCRIPTION:At least one‑third of the colonial population were neutral during the American Revolution\, yet they have rarely featured in narratives that shape our ideas about the conflict. By following a single transatlantic family\, the Crugers\, historian Travis Glasson puts neutrals—the “nobody men”—at the center of this tumultuous period’s history. Drawing from his new book Nobody Men: Neutrality\, Loyalties\, and Family in the American Revolution\, Travis Glasson\, Associate Professor of History at Temple University\, will explore the overlooked individuals of the Revolutionary era who fell between patriot and loyalist—highlighting how their choices shaped the Atlantic world. \n  \nAbout Travis Glasson \nTravis Glasson is a historian of early America\, Britain\, the British Empire\, and the transnational Atlantic world. He is an Associate Professor in the History Department at Temple University in Philadelphia\, PA\, and an Affiliated Faculty member of Temple’s Global Studies Program. He completed his MA and PhD at Columbia University and graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and LaSalle Academy in Providence\, Rhode Island. Glasson is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has received grants and fellowships from institutions including the Whiting Foundation\, the John Carter Brown Library\, the Huntington Library\, the Harvard University Atlantic Seminar\, the American Historical Association\, and Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge. His publications include the books\, Nobody Men: Neutrality\, Loyalties\, and Family in the American Revolution (Yale University Press\, 2025)\, Mastering Christianity: Missionary Anglicanism and Slavery in the Atlantic World (Oxford University Press\, 2012)\, and articles in journals including the William and Mary Quarterly and the Journal of British Studies. \n  \nSee his new book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300258899/nobody-men/ \n\nAbout the 2026 Fall Speaker Series – Reflecting at 250 \nJoin the Fairfield Museum for a series exploring how American history is interpreted and retold today now that the United States has marked the milestone of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Prominent historians will examine how storytelling shapes our understanding of history\, highlight whose voices are amplified versus whose are marginalized\, and offer contemporary perspectives on our nation’s past. Together\, we will discover how the choices about what to remember—and what to overlook—shape national identity and ongoing debates about the American past and future. \n  \nAdditional Lectures in the Series: \nSeptember 20 | Stories of Connecticut’s Black Patriots | John Mills \nOctober 4 | The Will of the People | T.H. Breen \nOctober 18 | From Liberty to Legacy: Exploring American Ideals in the Musicals 1776 and Hamilton | Michael Langlois \n  \n  \nLight refreshments provided. \nRegistration is required. $15 for Members; $20 for Non-Members; $75 for the series; $60 for Members. \n  \n\nTicketing Policy \n\nNo refunds will be given unless the program is cancelled by the Fairfield Museum.\nWe do not pro-rate fees for missed days of the series.\n\n  \n 
URL:https://www.fairfieldhistory.org/event/2026-fall-speaker-series-nobody-men-neutrality-and-loyalties-in-the-american-revolution/
LOCATION:Fairfield Museum\, 370 Beach Road\, Fairfield\, CT\, 06824\, United States
CATEGORIES:America 250,Fall Speaker Series,Lectures & Programs
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