Past Institutes

The American Revolutionary War: Part I (Spring 2026 Webinar)

On January 27, 2026, Humanities Texas held a webinar examining the American Revolutionary War from its beginnings in 1775 through the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. This was the fourth in a series of webinars held in 2025–2026 to commemorate the United States Semiquincentennial.

The series featured leading scholars sharing the latest research on the American Revolutionary War and the consequences of American independence. Special attention was given to the long struggle to secure independence and the many groups and perspectives of the revolutionary era, including American patriots, British soldiers and loyalists, women, Native Americans, and African Americans.

Curriculum and Faculty

This session examined the Revolutionary War from its beginnings in 1775 through the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 to show how fighting an international war fundamentally shaped the character of the American Revolution in its first years. The webinar considered important questions about how the war both confirmed and challenged ideas about power in society that were at the heart of the Revolution: How did the mobilization and creation of the Continental Army and its leadership relate to republican ideas about military power? How did winning and losing battles (or even avoiding some battles) relate to the political legitimacy of the new nation as the United States declared its independence? Why did it matter who was allowed to fight in American military forces? How did everyday men and women express their political ideas by either supporting or opposing the war? Would the Declaration of Independence matter if the United States lost the war, and how did the war itself influence other global powers to view the infant United States of America? Participants learned how the Revolutionary War developed in ways that really mattered for the beginnings of the nation in the first years of the American Revolution.

Content aligned with the TEKS for U.S. history and government. Like all Humanities Texas teacher programs, the webinar was content-based and teacher-centered, with an emphasis on teaching with primary sources and developing effective pedagogical strategies.

Faculty

Sarah Purcell (Grinnell College) led the webinar.

Schedule

The webinar took place on Zoom from 5:00–6:15 p.m. CT on January 27, 2026. The schedule is available here.

Sponsors

This webinar was made possible with major funding from the State of Texas, with ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.