Summer College I: The Founding of an Independent Nation at 250

On June 11, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a Committee of Five to draft a Declaration of Independence. This committee included Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. On June 11, 2026, 250 years later, Washington and Lee University will gather a collection of scholars, alumni, and friends to discuss the significance of what that Committee of Five started so long ago. This timely and celebratory Summer College experience will not only reflect on the events that led to that Declaration but its legacy in the lives of presidents, government institutions, and the American people.

There will be no better time or location to discuss the legacy of 1776 in America than at W&L with a group of our own incisive professors, led by Lucas Morel, John K. Boardman Jr. Professor of Politics and Provost Faculty Fellow. Morel will offer a perspective about the founding that comes from his own much-cited work on Abraham Lincoln, his appointment as the Mellon Academic Leadership Fellow, and his long career in explicating the soul of American politics. Joining Professor Morel will be Associate Professor of Politics Brian Alexander, whose recent work on Jefferson has made a huge impact on the state of current federal procedure. His definitive edition of Thomas Jefferson’s “A Manual of Parliamentary Practice” was just published, and it has already officially changed how Congress currently conducts itself. We will also be joined by distinguished guest Cara Rogers Stevens, author of the award-winning “Thomas Jefferson and the Fight against Slavery” (University Press of Kansas P 2024) and associate professor of history at Ashland University. 

Program Cost: $1,000 per person
On-campus Housing (private room in dormitory setting): $125 per person
Request to be notified when registration opens