July 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This central moment in American history has shaped our national self-perception for 250 years even as writers and scholars have debated the origins and meaning of the events of 1776 from the time they occurred until today. Inspired by these discussions and the national commemoration of independence, the David Center for the American Revolution at the American Philosophical Society is convening a conference in June 2026. What beliefs turned a diffuse movement protesting imperial policy into a radical republican revolution in 1776? How did the events of 1776 play out in the communities that experienced them? How did independence change American society? And how have the legacies of independence shaped America? We seek to bring together scholars, public intellectuals, leaders of cultural organizations and others who have an interest in the Revolution and its commemoration to examine and debate these and related questions. We call for papers on topics including,  but not limited to:

• The failure of imperial reform and collapse of imperial control in British North America.
• The Revolution’s ideological and social origins.
• The Declaration as document and artifact.
• The coming of the Revolution in Philadelphia and its consequences.
• Popular sovereignty in revolutionary theory and constitutional practice.
• The impact of political independence on the enslaved and African American understandings of the Revolution.
• The opponents of independence.
• The impact of independence on family and gender relations.
• Foreign reaction to the Declaration.
• Artistic representation, material culture and their transformation in the revolutionary age.
• Revolutionary biography and the personalities of revolution.
• Warfare before and after independence.
• The impact of the Revolutionary War on Native American nations.
• Memory and national celebration of independence over time.
• The meaning of 1776 in 2026.

Applicants should submit a title and a 250-word proposal along with a C.V. by June 23, 2025 via Interfolio.

Decisions will be announced by Fall 2025.

America’s 1776 will take place between June 4-6, 2026 in Philadelphia, PA. It will be held in conjunction with the APS’s 2026 exhibition, In Pursuit of Happiness: Understanding the Declaration of Independence. Conference participants and attendees will have opportunities to view the exhibitition.

All presenters without their own travel funds will receive travel subsidies and hotel accommodations. Accepted papers will be due a month before the conference and pre-circulated to registered attendees. Papers should be no longer than 15 double-spaced pages. Presenters may also have the opportunity to publish revised papers in the APS’s peer-reviewed quarterly journal Transactions.

America's 1776 is one of three conferences co-hosted by DCAR and the APS in 2026. These conferences seek to examine the American Revolution in global, national, and local contexts, to view the American Revolution in relationship to the Age of Revolutions, and to debate the central forces of change at work in the period. The other events are:

Global 1776: Imperial World in Upheaval (Hong Kong, March 12-14, 2026)

Europe’s American Revolution (Paris, October 2026; details forthcoming)

For more information, contact Brenna Holland Assistant Director of Library & Museum Programs at [email protected].

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