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Lessons from 250 years ago

The following is a list of interdisciplinary events and exhibitions funded by these grants. Programming includes public talks, panel discussions, educational events, exhibitions, and interactive activities, including a quiz bowl on 1776 trivia.

Topics range from the reading habits of the Founding Fathers and the historical experiences of the Declaration’s signers to the role of espionage in the Revolutionary War, the evolution of American ideals, the contributions of the Founders to American healthcare, the history of the U.S. Census, and the continuing responsibilities of citizenship.

Events and exhibits

Census Technology, Politics, and Institutional Change, 1790-2020

Dr. Steven Ruggles, Regents Professor of History and Population Studies at the University of Minnesota, traced the history of the methods and technology used by the Census Bureau to convert individual census responses into published tabulations. Political considerations shaped the content and applications of the census, as well as the mechanics of census taking. Its history reflects the critical and shifting role of the state and the private sector in the development of technology.

Dr. Ruggles is best known as the creator of IPUMS, the world’s largest population database. IPUMS provides information about over two billion people residing in 167 countries between 1703 and 2025, including every respondent to the surviving U.S. censuses of 1790 to 1950. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2022 in recognition of his work on IPUMS.

1776 Family Trivia Night

Participants enjoyed a 1776-themed trivia night at the IMU, presented by IU’s quiz bowl team, In the Know at IU. Attendees brought friends and creative 1776-themed team names, competed for prizes awarded to the top three teams, and enjoyed light refreshments throughout the evening.

The American Founders and Their Roman Names

Why did America’s founders author political arguments under Roman pseudonyms? Participants joined a discussion on the role of Roman names in the political debates of the founding era. Featuring Julia Mebane (Classics) and Noah Eber-Schmid (Political Science), this interactive event explored how ancient Rome provided both language and legitimacy for modern constitutional arguments.

United We Care

April through July 4 | IU Health Sciences Building

In addition to signing the Declaration of Independence, several Founding Fathers were also physicians and medical reformers whose work helped shape early American health care and public health. The United We Care exhibit honors these physician-patriots and their contributions to both the founding of our nation and the development of its early healthcare system. More than an exhibit, United We Care is a reminder that the pursuit of health and the pursuit of freedom have always gone hand in hand.

What is Freedom? The Struggle Over an American Ideal: An Evening with Professor Nicholas Buccola, Dr. Jules L. Whitehill, Professor of Humanism and Ethics, Claremont McKenna College

Monday, April 6 | 6:15–8 p.m. | GISB Auditorium (GA 0001)

In (Princeton University Press, 2025), Nicholas Buccola explored the opposing visions of freedom championed by Barry Goldwater and Martin Luther King Jr., who never met but engaged in a fierce public debate that shaped modern American politics. The book uses a dual biography and history approach to show how King's fight for social and racial justice and Goldwater's push for individual liberty and limited government represented two fundamentally different ideas of what "freedom" means in America, a conflict that continues to define the nation's political divide today.

Indiana University professors (AAADS; PACE) and (AAADS; Religious Studies) offered responses to Prof. Buccola's book, and (Political Science, Jewish Studies, PACE) moderated a panel discussion among them and the author, with ample time for questions and answers with an audience that included Ï㽶ÊÓƵs from American Studies, African American African Diaspora Studies, History, Political and Civic Engagement, and Political Science.

What Did the Founding Fathers Read in College?

This workshop was an interactive group exercise in which attendees read short passages that the Founding Fathers themselves would have studied in college. Participants interpreted those passages in the context of colonial America and considered how they continue to resonate today. The workshop focused on selections from Horace’s Odes and Epodes and Cicero’s De Officiis (On Moral Obligations), exploring texts commonly assigned in pre-revolutionary American colleges that influenced revolutionary thought.

Embodying the Principles of the Declaration of Independence through Understanding and Action

The O’Neill School hosted a symposium open to Ï㽶ÊÓƵs from across campus that explored how the principles and philosophies of the Declaration of Independence connect to themes relevant today, including personal values, academic goals, and future professional pathways.

Who Were the Signers and What Happened to Them?

On July 4, 1776, The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America was adopted by the Continental Congress and released to the public, signed only by John Hancock, president of the congress. With the War for Independence already underway for more than a year, George Washington received his copy on July 9 and had it read at six o’clock that evening to the troops encamped with him on York Island. By August 2, 55 signers had put their pens to parchment, leaving only Matthew Thornton from New Hampshire to sign in November. Everyone knew the risks they were taking.

Who were the signers and what happened to them? A moderated panel discussion reviewed the available data about the signers and assessed their intent, the risks they took, and how today’s citizens might now think about what was done.

Bringing the Declaration of Independence to Life for Indiana Teachers and Students

Thursday, May 14 | 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. | Center on Representative Government (201 N. Indiana Ave, Bloomington) with a visit to the Lilly Library and the Eskenazi Museum of Art

This project brought approximately 20 Indiana teachers to the Bloomington campus for a one-day workshop and professional development session focused on the principles articulated in the Declaration of Independence. Throughout the day, educators closely examined the language of the Declaration and discussed its key principles; visited the Lilly Library to view the document and learn about its history at Indiana University; connected the themes of the Declaration with their curriculum standards; and began creating lesson plans that link these themes to primary sources in CORG's digital interactive . The resulting lesson plans have been posted on the . For more information, please contact Elizabeth Osborn, Director of Education, at eosborn@iu.edu.

The Role of Espionage in Bringing Victory to the Colonials in the American Revolution

Thursday, April 16 | 12:30–1:45 p.m. | Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies (talk by Gene Coyle)

From the time fighting began in the American colonies in April 1775 until the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolution in 1783, the British held the military advantage. Better equipped and better trained than the colonials, British forces were widely expected to prevail. General George Washington understood those advantages firsthand from his earlier service alongside the British Army during the French and Indian War, but he also recognized the importance of intelligence gathering, or "spying" as it was commonly called at the time. Intelligence played a major role in the American victory.

In this presentation, professor emeritus, former CIA field operations officer, and author Gene Coyle examined five key figures involved in espionage during the American Revolution and the critical intelligence activities that contributed to the creation of the United States: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Nathan Hale, James Armistead Lafayette, and Benedict Arnold.

Coming soon

Such Now the Necessity: The Declaration, Secession, and the Opinions of Mankind

Fall 2026, Date TBD

The Declaration of Independence is revered as the formative expression of American values. However, it was designed primarily as a legal and rhetorical address to the world—"to the opinions of mankind"—justifying a radical project: secession. The Declaration advances the two principal arguments that are familiar justifications used by secession movements today: an inherent right to self-government based on "consent of the governed," and "remedial secession" in response to "a long train of abuses." Our symposium, with both IU experts and invited scholars, will ask, given this founding DNA, why is the United States no longer a pro-secession advocate? What would it mean to take the Declaration’s arguments seriously today—both in America’s foreign relations and for America’s own territories (such as Puerto Rico) and the 50 states?