Political and cultural division is not new in American history. This conversation explores how the Declaration of Independence defined belonging by exclusion, and how communities labeled as outsiders have worked to claim rights, dignity, and opportunity. The struggle began in the Revolutionary Age itself, quickly spreading beyond the borders of the United States to the Caribbean. Participants will examine how ideas of “the people” have been challenged and reshaped over time and why those struggles still matter today in America and Haiti.
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Hosted by: Kislak Center
Political and cultural divisions have a storied history in the United States. America’s Declaration of Independence spoke in the name of “the people”, but cast Indigenous Americans and enslaved Africans as threats to this new body, drawing sharp lines of belonging and exclusion. Those boundaries shaped American law, culture, expansion, and power long after independence was declared. But the Declaration also gave excluded people the language and the ideals to demand inclusion. Not only in America, but also in Haiti, enslaved Africans’ calls for liberty rang out across the Revolutionary Age. Led by Toussaint L’Ouverture, a slave revolt against French colonial rule began in 1791. The result was a free republic founded for the Black Haitian people. As they observed Haitians fleeing the uprising to cities like Philadelphia, many Americans remained opposed to Africans’ rights to enjoy liberty.
WHYY and the McNeil Center for Early American Studies at Penn are partnering to facilitate a community convening that explores how the American and Haitian Revolutions improved the lives of citizens, helping them claim their liberties and pursue their happiness. Participants will learn how ideals of “the people” have been challenged, resisted, and reshaped across generations.
Hosted by the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books & Manuscripts at the Penn Libraries against the backdrop of a new exhibition in the Goldstein Gallery on the Haitian and French Revolutions, historians will share how these revolutions sparked change in the Western world 250 years ago and explore the unique role played by the Haitian immigrants who traveled to Philadelphia. The conversation will be accompanied by a Haitian musical performance and tours of the exhibition.
This event is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial.
The University of Pennsylvania, located in the heart of the city, was at the center of the dramatic events of 1776 and the Revolution that followed. 250 years later, partners across the university are exploring how history can help us better understand the present and create a sustainable and inclusive future.
The exhibition The Time to Right All Wrongs surveys the revolutions that shook the Atlantic world in the 1790s, and the profound changes that resulted, from France to Haiti to Philadelphia.