Two-Day Conference with Leading Historians Will Examine Origins and Causes of the War for American Independence
Mount Vernon, VA, July 15, 2024 – To mark the 250th anniversary of the Fairfax Resolves, emerging and leading historians will convene for a two-day conference on July 24 – 25, 2024, at Gunston Hall and the George Washington Presidential Library. Hosted by the George Washington Presidential Library, George Mason’s Gunston Hall, and the David Center for the American Revolution at the American Philosophical Society, both in-person and virtual attendance is available.
Written by George Washington and George Mason at Mount Vernon, the Fairfax Resolves were a bold, detailed, and influential statement of fundamental constitutional rights and a revolutionary call for an association of colonies to protest British anti-American actions. Adopted on July 18, 1774, in Fairfax County, Virginia, the Fairfax Resolves set the stage for America’s Declaration of Independence, clearly calling for equal rights under the British constitution: representation in Parliament, control over taxation, control over military forces within their borders, control over judicial powers, and control over commercial actions.
The event will include an opening reception and discussions at Gunston Hall on the evening of July 24, 2024, followed by a full day of discussions on July 25, 2024, with top scholars examining the origins and causes of the War for American Independence. Read the full schedule and speaker biographies.
George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, the oldest national historic preservation organization in the United States. The estate is open to visitors and includes the Mansion, a museum and education center, gardens, tombs, a working farm, a functioning distillery, and a gristmill. It also includes the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. Learn more at www.mountvernon.org.
George Mason’s Gunston Hall is an educational agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia governed by the Board of Regents of Gunston Hall comprised of members of The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. Gunston Hall is the Home of American Rights and the historic home of Founding Father, George Mason. The mission of Gunston Hall is to stimulate the exploration and understanding of principles expressed by George Mason in the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights. Learn more at: https://gunstonhall.org.
The American Philosophical Society, established in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin for the purpose of “promoting useful knowledge,” is the nation’s oldest learned society. An intellectual bedrock of the early United States, the APS counts nearly all of the nation’s founders as Members of the Society. Election to Membership honors those who have made exceptionally significant contributions to science, the arts and humanities, and public life. The Society promotes scholarly research through its Library, including 40 fellowships each year, and through its research grant program. The Society sustains an informed citizenry through twice-yearly meetings and topical conferences and symposia. Public programs and museum exhibitions are inspired by the Society’s Library & Museum collections, which include 14 million pages of manuscripts, 275,000 books, and approximately 3,000 artifacts and fine art objects. The collection is strongest in early American history, Native American history and culture, and the history of science. The APS Press is the oldest continuously operating scholarly press in the country, and it is dedicated to publishing research that reflects a broad range of useful knowledge. Learn more at https://www.amphilsoc.org/.
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