American Democracy Project
MTSU 250
American Semiquincentennial Celebration
Upcoming Semiquincentennial Events
MTSU Semiquincentennial events are made possible by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
FALL 2026 SEMESTER
Honors Buchanan Lecture Series: “Legacies of the American Revolution“
Lectures take place in Honors 106 on Mondays at 3 pm.
This lecture series kicks off at Cannonsburgh Village on August 31 at 3 PM, where Honors College Dean and Political Science Professor John Vile speaks on the history of the celebration of America’s founding.
Center for Popular Music America 250 Exhibit
September 14-17
Constitution Day readings across campus
- Monday, September 14 at 3 PM – Honors College lawn
- Tuesday, September 15 at 1:45 AM – Jones College of Business courtyard
- Thursday, September 17 at 10:30 AM – Peck Hall courtyard
Thursday, Sept. 17, 2:40 pm, Tucker Theatre
Constitution Day Public Program with Law Professor Sheryll Cashin, moderated by MTSU students on current issues and decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and how they fit with the vision of the Founding Fathers. The program will include a tribute to Liz McPhee with a reception to follow.
Free public parking is available.
About Sheryll Cashin
Sheryll Cashin writes about race relations and inequality in America. Her book White Space, Black Hood: Opportunity Hoarding and Segregation in the Age of Inequality (September 2021) shows how government created “ghettos” and affluent white space and entrenched a system of American residential caste that is the linchpin of US inequality—and issues a call for abolition. Her book Loving: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy explores the history and future of interracial intimacy, how white supremacy was constructed, and how “culturally dexterous” allies may yet kill it. Her book Place Not Race was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction in 2015. The New York Times Book Review named her book The Failures of Integration an Editors’ Choice. Cashin is also a three-time nominee for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for non-fiction (2005, 2009, and 2018). She has written commentaries for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Salon, The Root, and other media and is currently a contributing editor for Politico Magazine.
Cashin is Professor of Law at Georgetown University, where she teaches Constitutional Law and Race and American Law among other subjects. She is an active member of the Poverty and Race Research Action Council and worked in the Clinton White House as an advisor on urban and economic policy, particularly concerning community development in inner-city neighborhoods. She was law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Cashin was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, where her parents were political activists.
September 28, 3 PM, HONR 106
Dr. Antoinette van Zelm – “Heroines Aplenty: Portrayals of Revolutionary-Era Women in Tennessee over the Years” (part of the Buchanan Lecture Series)
October 10
Sycamore Shoals State Park Field Trip (transportation provided)
- Limited to current students
- Deposit required
October 15 – Debate, 6 PM, BAS
“Has America Lived Up to the Promise of its Founding?”
Organized by the Steamboat Institute and hosted by the Political Economy Research Institute, debaters will include Coleman Hughes and Manhattan Institute & University of Austin) and Adam Harris (The Atlantic).
The event will be live-streamed by the Steamboat Institute.
October 19 – Yorktown Day
- 10:20 AM – Reading of Declaration of Independence on Honors College lawn
- 12-3 PM – print your copy of the preamble to the Declaration in TODD 350
- 3 PM – Senators Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander speaking at Tucker Theatre on “Leadership and Public Service: Past, Present, and Future,” reception to follow
October 26 – November 9
- Five-panel traveling exhibit in the Walker Library, “Revolutionary Rutherford: The Revolution’s Legacy in Rutherford County”
November 2 – 3 PM, HONR 106
Dr. John Lodl is speaking about “Revolutionary Rutherford: The Revolution’s Legacy in Rutherford County” (part of the Buchanan Lecture Series)
November 9 – 3 PM, HONR 106
Professor Rebecca Haddaway – “Writing a New American Literature” (part of the Buchanan Lecture Series)
November 16, 3 PM, HONR 106
Stones River National Battlefield Ranger Jim Lewis – “Self-Evident Truths to a New Birth of Freedom” (part of the Buchanan Lecture Series)
November 16 – 7 PM
History Department’s Strickland Lecture featuring Janet Polasky
Also in November – Collaboration with Athletics and Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center
SUMMER 2026
Free Course
As the U.S. nears its 250th anniversary, now is the ideal time to better understand the Constitution. Harvard offers a FREE, nonpartisan, self-paced six-part course (about 30 minutes each) you can start anytime and finish at your convenience. Link to the free course. (Select “Audit” to access the free version.)
June 16
Exhibit at Cannonsburgh Village; Honors College Dean John Vile presenting at 10 AM, 12 PM and 2 PM
June 24-26
Alumni Summer College Party in the USA
June 30 – July 3
“Lunch and Learn” at Cannonsburgh Village. Bring your own lunch.
All events take place from 12-1 PM.
- Tuesday, June 30, Lynn Nelson, “What the American Revolution Meant to Tennesseans at the Time”
- Wednesday, July 1, Andrew Maginn, “Revolutionary Republics: The United States and Haiti”
- Thursday, July 2, Robb McDaniel, “Abolition Before and After the Revolution”
- Friday, July 3, Angela Tipps, “The Music of Liberty”
July 4
Voter Registration Drive in partnership with Daughters of the American Revolution
- Downtown Square before fireworks – more information
August 22 – 4 pm
University Convocation will feature Edward J. Larson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters at the Murphy Center
SPRING 2026 SEMESTER
Buchanan Lecture Series: “Revolutions” (Click image to see full list of lectures for the Spring semester; visit the website to watch videos of the lectures.)
Lectures take place in Honors 106 on Mondays at 3 pm.
February 5
Nashville PBS partners with MTSU for a day of activities connected to the Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt documentary, “The American Revolution”
- 1 pm in Tucker Theatre: Campus showing of the documentary followed by a Q&A with historians of the Revolution
- 3 pm in Learning Resources Center, Room 101: PBS Outreach director will conduct a workshop with students from the College of Education about educational materials connected with the documentary in partnership with the local Sons of the American Revolution chapter and their Patriot Chest program
- 6 pm in Tucker Theatre: documentary viewing with Q&A, open to the public
March 16
12:40 to 2:05 pm at STU SGA Parliamentary Room: Learn more about the Patriot press with Carol Humphrey, author of The American Revolution and the Press
March 17
Celebration of Evacuation Day
MTSU Celebrates America’s 250th Anniversary with Hands-On History Event – Video
- Noon to 4 pm at TODD 350: printing copies of the Declaration of Independence preamble on MTSU’s replica Franklin Printing press
- 1 pm at Honors College lawn: campus reading of the Declaration of Independence preamble and distribution of copies printed
SPONSORS
Special thanks to our Civic Partner, Redstone Federal Credit Union.
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Contact ADP
Dr. Amy Sayward
American Democracy Project
HONR 221
615-904-8241
At MTSU, the American Democracy Project is a program of the University Honors College.
