To mark the 250^th anniversary of the Fairfax Resolves, a central document in the coming of the American Revolution co-authored by George Mason and George Washington, join emerging and leading historians for a two-day conference this July 24th and 25th which will examine the origins and causes of the War for American Independence. George Mason’s Gunston Hall, the George Washington Presidential Library and the David Center for the American Revolution at the American Philosophical Society are co-hosting this conference that explores the origins of the Revolutionary War with a particular attention paid to the Fairfax Resolves.

Tickets

In Person: $50
Virtual $10

Schedule

Wednesday, July 24th – at George Mason’s  Gunston Hall

6:00 p.m.  Reception in the Ann Mason Room and tours of the historic mansion

7:00 p.m.  Keynote Discussion

Moderator: Kate Steir, Senior Curator and Head of Collections, George Mason’s Gunston Hall

Fairfax’s Final Three: The Resolutions that Forced Ideals into Existence
Catherine Treesh (Independent Scholar; Yale Ph.D. 2021)

[W]hen they left their native Land, and settled in America’: The Fairfax County Resolves and the Revolutionary Debate on the Origins of Colonies and Empire
Steven Sarson (Professor of American Civilization, Jean Moulin University, Lyon 3)

The Sons of Liberty and the Genesis of Revolutionary Protest
Micah Alpaugh (Professor of History, University of Central Missouri)

Thursday, July 25th – at the George Washington Presidential Library

8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m. Welcome and Introductions

9:15 a.m. Panel 1: Virginia

Moderator: Amanda Moniz, David M. Rubenstein Curator of Philanthropy, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Measuring Submission in the Tidewater: Virginia Gentry Resistance and the Road to Fairfax, 1765-1774
John Patrick Mullins (Associate Professor of History and Public History Director, Marquette University)

Adaptive Justice: How Virginia Courts Remained Open in 1774
Turk McCleskey (Professor Emeritus, Department of History, Virginia Military Institute)

Bonds of Charity: Slavery, the Fairfax Resolves, and Aid to Boston
Spencer Wells (Lecturer, Master of Interdisciplinary Studies, Southern Utah University) and Jeremy Snow (independent scholar)

10:30 a.m.  Break

11:00 a.m. Panel 2: The Backcountry

Moderator: Brendan McConville, Professor of History, Boston University

A Western Wall: American Nationalism on the Virginia Frontier Before Independence
Jay Donis (Assistant Professor of History, Thiel College)

this is the border beyond which for the advantage of the whole empire, you shall not extend yourselves”: Western Land Policy as a Precondition to Revolution
Brandon Downing (Associate Professor History, Marietta College, OH)

Committees, Conventions, and Court Closings in Revolutionary Massachusetts
Tristan New (PhD Candidate, Boston University)

12:15 p.m. Lunch : Founders’ Terrace

1:30 p.m. – Panel 3: Commerce

Moderator TBA

Arming the Revolution: The Trusted Dutch Trade Channels, 1774-1776
Pauline Wittebol (PhD Candidate, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Sibling Rivalry: British and American Mercantile Competition on the Eve of Revolution
Jeremy Land (Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Gothenburg, Sweden)

Founding Debt: Merchants, the Continental Association, and the Slave Trade
James R. Fichter (Associate Professor of European and American Studies, University of Hong Kong)

2:45 p.m. Break

3:15 p.m. Panel 4: Self-Fashioning

Moderator: Michelle McDonald, Director of the Library and Museum at the American Philosophical Society

True Merit: Horatio Gates as a Case Study of Radicalization
Kieran O’Keefe (Assistant Professor of History, Lyon College)

George Washington: Fashion Icon
Chloe Chapin (Assistant Director of Course Development, Derek Bok Center for Teaching & Learning, Harvard University; Harvard PhD 2023)

Sovereignty, Constitutionalism, and Self-Government: Thomas Burke and the Coming of the Revolution in North Carolina
Aaron N. Coleman (Professor of History, University of the Cumberlands)

4:30 p.m.  Wrap-up Discussion

Denver Brunsman (Chair, Department of History, George Washington University)

Rosemarie Zagarri (Distinguished University Professor, George Mason University)

Patrick Spero (Executive Director, George Washington Presidential Library)

Contact Information:

Sandra Vieira, Gunston Hall,
Director of Marketing and PR
[email protected], 703.550.9220

Stephen A. McLeod
Director, Library Programs
[email protected]
703.799.8686