Library Events & Programs

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 which will examine the origins and causes of the War for American Independence. 

In-Person tickets are sold out for this event. Please contact Stephen McLeod (703.799.8686) if you would like to be added to the wait list. 

Virtual tickets are still available.

Tickets

Join us for lunch and compelling discussion with Mottahedeh President Wendy Kvalheim, who will discuss her new book, Splendid Settings: 100 Years of Mottahedeh Design. This beautiful new publication is for china and porcelain collectors everywhere, and includes tips on entertaining and many beautiful illustrations.

This event is part of the Washington Library's new Lunch at the Library series. A boxed lunch (including sandwich or salad, fruit, pasta, cookie, chips, and drink) will be provided.

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Bring your lunch and learn about Library Fellow Lindsey M. Fisher-Hunt's research project, Mapping Their Influence: The Widespread Reach of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. This project explores the deep social, educational, and familial connections between women of the postbellum world and how they used those connections to save not just George Washington’s house, but historic sites across the Atlantic World. Created as both a digital history project for students and a coffee table book for a general audience, this work of public history will visualize the soft power that postbellum women utilized to create a culture of historic preservation across the United States and beyond.

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The U.S. Supreme Court has a history stretching back far earlier than 1787. Its English, colonial, Revolutionary, and even Confederation era forebears influenced the court's creators when they met in muggy Philadelphia to design America's new government system. Learn more about governors' councils in this event devoted to our judicial history.

Bring your lunch and learn about Library Fellow Sally Hadden's research project, One Supreme Court.

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Hear from University of Notre Dame professor Katlyn Carter, author of Democracy in Darkness: Secrecy and Transparency in the Age of Revolutions. 

Dr. Carter examines how debates over secrecy and transparency in politics during the eighteenth century shaped modern democracy. This new book reshapes our understanding of how government by and for the people emerged during the Age of Revolutions.

Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions and have their books signed.

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Bring your lunch and learn about Library Fellow Meg E. Roberts's research project, Caregiving and Crisis in the American Revolutionary War.

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Join us for lunch and compelling discussion with author Jennifer London, who will discuss her new book, Profiles in Character: Sixteen Americans and the Traits that Defined Them. This fascinating new publication delves into individual character attributes that shaped and informed these important Americans in their vital roles in history.

This event is part of the Washington Library's new Lunch at the Library series. A boxed lunch (including sandwich or salad, fruit, pasta, cookie, chips, and drink) will be provided.

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Hear from historian Tyson Reeder, author of Serpent in Eden: Foreign Meddling and Partisan Politics in James Madison's America.

This is the story of espionage, shadow diplomacy, foreign scheming, and domestic backstabbing in the formative years of the American republic.

Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions and have their books signed.

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Hear from historian Michael D. Hattem, author of The Memory of '76: The Revolution in American History. 

In this new book, Dr. Hattem examines the surprising history of how Americans have fought over the meaning and legacy of the Revolution for nearly two and a half centuries.

Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions and have their books signed.

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The Supreme Court Historical Society and the Washington Presidential Library are joining together to present two lectures focused on George Washington, the history of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the nation's founding.

This segment, taking place at Mount Vernon, features an authoritative account of the second president of the United States that shows how John Adams's leadership and legacy defined the office for those who followed and ensured the survival of the American republic.

A book signing and reception with complimentary beer, wine, and hors-d'oeuvres will take place after the lecture. 

Join us for lunch and compelling discussion with historian Elizabeth Reese, who will discuss her new book, Marquis de Lafayette Returns: A Tour of America's National Capital Region. This fascinating new publication allows readers t walk in the footsteps of the Marquis de Lafayette as he made his historic final trip through the young United States.

This event is part of the Washington Library's new Lunch at the Library series. A boxed lunch (including sandwich or salad, fruit, pasta, cookie, chips, and drink) will be provided.

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Bring your lunch and learn about Library Fellow Matthieu Haroux's research project, Rochambeau and the American War of Independence (1780-1783).

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Hear from historians David Head and Timothy C. Hemmis, editors of A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers, and Adventurers Who Created a New American Nation. 

The Founding Fathers are often revered as American saints. This new book provides interesting stories of those Founders who were schemers and scoundrels, vying for their own interests ahead of the nation’s.

Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions and have their books signed.

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Hear from historian Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, author of The Age of Revolutions: And the Generations Who Made It. 

This is a panoramic, persuasive and inspiring new history of the revolutionary decades between 1760 and 1825, from North America and Europe to Haiti and Spanish America, showing how progress and reaction went hand in hand.

Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions and have their books signed.

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