Lincoln Lecture: Globalizing the American Revolution

Presented by Richard Bell, a scholar and teacher at the University of Maryland and a popular America250 speaker. The author of The American Revolution and the Fate of the World, a book that received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews. It reveals the full breadth and depth of America’s founding event. The American Revolution was not only the colonies’ triumphant liberation from the rule of an overbearing England; it was also a cataclysm that pulled in participants from around the globe and threw the entire world order into chaos. Repositioning the Revolution at the center of an international web, this narrative ranges as far afield as India, Africa, Central America, and Australia. As Bell's lens widens, the “War of Independence” manifests itself as a sprawling struggle that upended the lives of millions of people on every continent and fundamentally transformed the way the world works, disrupting trade, restructuring penal systems, stirring famine, and creating the first global refugee crisis. Bell conveys the impact of these developments at home and abroad by grounding the narrative in the gripping stories of individuals—including women, minorities, and other disenfranchised people. The result is an unforgettable and unexpected work of American history that shifts everything we thought we knew about our creation story. The presentation is free and open to the public. The W. Bruce Lincoln Endowed Lecture Series brings distinguished scholars to campus to address topics of interest to both the academic community and the general public. The lectures engage key issues and are often interdisciplinary, in the spirit of Professor Lincoln’s research, writing and teaching.