An Unfinished Revolution at 250
Historian and author Michael D. Hattem will present “An Unfinished Revolution at 250” at the New Haven Museum on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. Hattem will discuss the unique role that the Revolution has had in American life and the longstanding tradition in American history of remembering the nation’s founding as an “unfinished revolution.” The free NH250 event will be held at 6 p.m. and preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m. Register here.
Hattem is an American historian with interests in early America, the American Revolution, and historical memory. His lecture will be based on his newest book, “The Memory of ’76: The Revolution in American History”(Yale University Press, 2024), which was a finalist for the 2025 George Washington Prize.
Hattem notes that the principles of the Revolution have been constantly redefined to fit the needs of the times. “Countless social movements —including abolitionists, suffragists, and the civil-rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s—have tried to win popular support by depicting their causes as attempts to fulfill the ideals of the American Revolution,” he says. He explains that abolitionists were the first Americans to celebrate the Declaration of Independence specifically for its preamble and the statement that “all men are created equal.”
While sharing his hope that visitors gain an understanding that the 250th anniversary offers an opportunity to redefine those principles for our own times, Hattem adds,“ As we commemorate the anniversary of American independence, this long and surprising history serves as a critical reminder of the importance of redefining the Revolution in ways that are meaningful and useful in the present.”