All Inclusive* 5-night Program Starting At:
$1,075/person - Double Occupancy
$1,450/person - Single Occupancy
* Includes lodging, meals, program activities and access to optional daily activities and recreational equipment. Learn More about the Great Camp Sagamore experience.
Program Overview
Background
Great Camp Sagamore has always provided a phenomenal setting for learning new ideas and having deep conversations. The Sagamore Seminars in History provide guests the opportunity to learn about key historical ideas, issues, and events with expert instructors and historical guides. No prior expertise is required: while these are information-packed programs that approximate college learning, they are designed to welcome all levels of knowledge and experience. All you need to bring is an inquisitive mind!
Sagamore Seminars in History: The American Revolution at 250
250 years ago, representatives from 13 British colonies along North America’s eastern seaboard declared their independence—that, in the immortal words of the Declaration of Independence, “are and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.“
The impacts were immediate. For the next seven years, those colonies hosted a series of conflicts simultaneously constituting both an anti-imperial war for independence against the British Empire, a civil war between Americans, a system of fights between different Native American alliances, an international conflict between great powers, and a series of guerilla battles. It matched the highest ideals of human liberty with some of the most desperate conditions Americans have ever experienced.
The effects have been felt ever since. As those 13 colonies became first a transcontinental nation and then a global superpower, they carried their culture, constitution, and civic faith with them. How Americans interpret their revolutionary heritage now truly has global consequences. And our debates over the founders, their original intent, and just what role both should play in our present continues to impact not just Americans' memory of the past, but their politics in the current moment and the possibilities of the future.
In this seminar on “The American Revolution,” participants will explore all of these themes while surveying the broader course of the Revolution itself – – from the colonial crisis beginning in 1763 through the course of the war itself from 1776 to 1783, and continuing through its aftermath to the creation of the Constitution and its ratification in 1787. Over the course of five nights and six days, guests will have the opportunity to consider all these themes through a series of lectures that present the actual facts and relevant events of the age. They will also read and discuss those documents and ideas that remain contentious today, while also learning from nationally renowned experts who Zoom in twice a day. Optional supplemental evening activities will also be provided.
The seminar leader is Connor Williams, who (in addition to serving as Sagamore's staff historian) also teaches American History at Middlebury College in Vermont. While the list of speakers changes for each seminar, past guests have included several Pulitzer Prize winners, university Presidents, Lincoln and Bancroft Prize winners, as well as recipients of many other high honors.
After class and during the downtime, participants can also enjoy relaxing, hiking, swimming, and paddling amongst Sagamore‘s carefully preserved 125-year-old buildings and grounds, all while reflecting on a revolutionary story twice as old. We will end by thinking and reflecting together on just where exactly the American Revolution stands at 250.
K-12 Educators: If you are hoping to take this seminar as part of a Professional Development opportunity, please feel free to e-mail Connor Williams at cwilliams@greatcampsagamore.org--he is happy to provide proper documentation to your school administration.
Note: Great Camp Sagamore is a nonprofit institution with no official political stance or ideology. While guests are always encouraged to share their own perspectives, our conversations will be deliberate and work towards a perspective of pluralism.
Program Instructors
Connor Williams - Sagamore Historian
In addition to being Sagamore’s staff historian, Connor Williams is a formally trained American historian with degrees from Middlebury College, Dartmouth College, and Yale University. His past professional experience involves writing, speaking, teaching, consulting, and working for the United States Congress. In all these pursuits, he has enjoyed being able to keep one foot in the traditions and standards of formal academia, and one foot in the exigencies and politics of the present. The Sagamore Seminars in History provide a terrific chance to share his varied experiences and expertise with terrific participants in an exceptional, historical, and rejuvenating setting.
All Program Sessions
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