Nation-based histories cannot do justice t
o the rowdy\, radical interchange of ideas around the Atlantic world durin
g the tumultuous years from 1776 to 1804. National borders were powerless
to restrict the flow of \;enticing new visions of human rights and uni
versal freedom. In this talk\, explore how the revolutionary ideas that sp
urred the American and French revolutions reverberated far and wide\, conn
ecting European\, North American\, African\, and Caribbean peoples more cl
osely than ever before.
\;
Historian Janet Polasky focuses
on the eighteenth-century travelers who spread new notions of liberty and
equality. It was an age of itinerant revolutionaries who ignored borders a
nd found allies with whom to imagine a borderless world. As paths crossed\
, ideas entangled. Investigate these ideas and how they were disseminated
long before the days of instant communications and social media or even an
international postal system. Polasky analyzes the paper records&mdash\;bo
oks\, broadsides\, journals\, newspapers\, novels\, letters\, and more&mda
sh\;to follow the far-reaching trails of revolutionary zeal. What emerges
clearly from rich historic records is that the dream of liberty among Amer
ica&rsquo\;s founders was part of a much larger picture. It was a dream em
braced throughout the far-flung regions of the Atlantic world.
Rev olutions Without Borders is the August selection for the Nonfiction Book Club that meets monthly at Memorial Hall Lib rary and welcomes new members. Continue the discussion on August 5th at 7: 00pm in the Activity Room. \;
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