Past Institutes

America After the American Revolution (Spring 2026 Webinar)

On March 30, 2026, Humanities Texas held a webinar exploring the immediate and long-term legacies of the American Revolution. This was the sixth and final webinar in a series 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

This session explored the immediate and long-term legacies of the American Revolution. Scholars use the term “American Revolution settlement” to describe how the various issues and debates of the revolutionary era played out or “settled.” In the immediate aftermath of the Revolution, a burst of participatory democracy at the state level, combined with an ineffective central government under the Articles of Confederation, led to the U.S. Constitution. In the longer term, the so-called Jeffersonian Revolution of 1800 helped to shape government and politics until the Civil War. In the 250 years since 1776, different groups in the United States and around the world have further used the ideals of the American Revolution, particularly the notion that “all men are created equal,” to agitate for expanded and equal citizenship rights. In this way, the Revolution is still living, perhaps to never be fully settled.

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

Denver Brunsman (George Washington University) led the webinar.

Schedule

The webinar took place on Zoom from 5:00-6:15 p.m. CT on March 30, 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.