Hillsdale College Blake Center to Host ‘America at 250’ Lecture Series
The series will highlight figures whose contributions to early American culture helped define what it means to be an American.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College’s Blake Center for Faith and Freedom in Somers, Connecticut, is hosting a lecture series this year titled “America at 250.” In celebration of the semi-quincentennial of American independence, the series will highlight influential figures whose contributions to early American culture helped define what it means to be an American.
“At the Blake Center, we seek to perpetuate America’s heritage of faith and freedom,” said Alan Crippen, executive director and chaplain of the Blake Center. “We hope this series fosters a deeper understanding and renewed appreciation of the ideals, institutions, and people that helped shape America’s culture and define what it means to be an American.”
The Story of the Declaration of Independence
Jan. 16
Speaker: Matthew Spalding, vice president of Washington operations and dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College and author of “The Making of the American Mind: The Story of the Declaration of Independence”
John Calvin’s Influence on the American Revolution
Feb. 13
Speaker: D.G. Hart, professor of history at Hillsdale College and author of “Calvinism: A History”
Jonathan Mayhew’s Pulpit of Resistance
March 27
Speaker: Glenn Moots, professor and chair of political science and philosophy at Northwood University and author of “Politics Reformed: The Anglo-American Legacy of Covenant Theology”
Mercy Otis Warren’s History of the American Revolution
April 10
Speaker: Wilfred McClay, Victor Davis Hanson Chair in Classical History and Western Civilization at Hillsdale College and author of “Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story”
John Locke: Philosophy and the Revolution
May 1
Speaker: Joseph Loconte, New York Times bestselling author, educator, filmmaker, and author of “God, Locke, and Liberty: The Struggle for Religious Freedom in the West”
Noah Webster: Education and Revolution
June 5
Speaker: Jonathan Den Hartog, chair and professor of history at Samford University’s Howard College of Arts and Sciences and author of “Patriotism and Piety: Federalist Politics and Religious Struggle in the New American Nation”
John Witherspoon: Teacher of Revolutionaries
July 24
Speaker: Jeffry Morrison, professor of American studies at Christopher Newport University and author of “John Witherspoon and the Founding of the American Republic”
Joseph Addison: Playwright of Liberty
Aug. 7
Speaker: David West, associate professor of history at Ashland University
William Billings and the Making of American Music
Sept. 25
Speaker: Derek Staff, associate professor of music at Hillsdale College and author of “Lutheran Music and the Thirty Years War: Confession, Politics, Devotion”
James Fenimore Cooper: American Storyteller
Oct. 23
Speaker: Kelly Scott Franklin, associate professor of English at Hillsdale College
Charles Wilson Peale and Early American Portraiture
Nov. 6
Speaker: Sam Knecht, artist and professor emeritus of art at Hillsdale College
Benjamin Latrobe and Early American Architecture
Dec. 4
Speaker: Alice Arnn, architect and associate at Michael G. Imber Architects
- Photos of the Blake Center
- Photos of Hillsdale College
- High-resolution copy of the Hillsdale College clocktower logo
About the Blake Center for Faith and Freedom
Philanthropists Prestley and Helen Blake donated the buildings and acreage of their estate in Somers, Connecticut, to Hillsdale College in 2019. The Blake Center for Faith and Freedom is a religious institution that includes an exterior replica of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s renowned neo-classical home in Virginia. The College utilizes the property to host events that further its mission, focusing on the foundational principles of faith and freedom. To this end, most events held at the Blake Center have clear religious themes, focusing on topics relating to Christianity, man’s relationship to God, and faith generally. For more information, visit blakecenter.hillsdale.edu.