The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society is launching ‘The Original Promise of America’ series as part of the America250 initiative.

Submitted

The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society announces its first series of programs aligned with America250 initiatives that are developing across the nation. The Original Promise of America features three lectures with West Hartford’s Gene Leach, Professor of History & American Studies at Trinity College over a 40-year career.

The Original Promise of America series will “explore how the Revolutionary generation – Noah Webster’s generation – defined the purposes and prospects of their new nation,” said Leach. “While focusing on Revolutionary Americans’ thinking about the promise of the United States in its infancy, this series considers how much of their vision has survived, how much ought to be preserved … and why.”

Jeffrey Mainville, executive director at the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society, explained that “as the birthplace of Noah Webster, a major player in the early development of the nation, our museum hopes to contribute at a local level to conversations surrounding the past, present and future of the United States; our triumphs, our failures, and the inevitable changes to come.”

In 2016, Congress created the United States Semi-Quincentennial Commission “to plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.” The Commission launched America250, which will run through July 4, 2026.

This series is being presented free of charge at the Noah Webster House, but due to the very limited number of seats, pre-registration is required. The July 18 event is already SOLD OUT, but tickets are still available online for “Liberty” on Sept. 19 and “All Men Are Created Equal” on Nov. 21. Register here:  www.noahwebster.yapsody.com.

All three lectures will begin at 6:30 pm on the scheduled dates and held at the Noah Webster House, 227 South Main Street, West Hartford, CT, 06107.

For more information on The Original Promise of America, please visit www.noahwebsterhouse.org or call 860-502-3247.

About the presenter

Gene Leach is a long-time resident of West Hartford and taught United States history and American studies at Trinity College in Hartford until his retirement in 2012. Leach came to Trinity College in 1975 with degrees from Harvard, Michigan, and Yale; at various points in his long tenure, he directed the American Studies Program, chaired the History Department, and directed the graduate programs in both fields. His scholarship has centered on American social thought and this country’s working class. Leach has written, lectured, and served on governing boards for several organizations devoted to Connecticut history and culture.

The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society interprets the life & legacy of Noah Webster; American founding father, educator, author and lexicographer, and preserves his boyhood home (a National Historic Landmark) in West Hartford, Connecticut. The West Hartford Historical Society is a repository of three centuries of artifacts & archives from the town’s storied past. The historic house and exhibit spaces are open for public hours Monday through Saturday, 1-4 p.m. The West Hartford Gift Shop, supporting the mission of the Noah Webster House, is available online anytime at https://noahwebsterhouse.org/shop/.

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