H-Early-America Call for Papers: Remembering the American Revolution at 250

H-Early-America Call for Papers: Remembering the American Revolution at 250

In 2026, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. There will be a host of events throughout the country to commemorate this momentous milestone, but also deep soul searching about the meanings of the revolution, independence, and liberty, and the proper way to commemorate such an event. To participate in these conversations, H-Early-America invites essay submissions for Remembering the American Revolution at 250, a peer-reviewed publication hosted and freely available on the H-Net Publications Platform. Published essays will appear online on an open-access model, ensuring a broad readership.

Scope and Subject Matter: Remembering the American Revolution at 250 will bring together historians, public historians, and other practitioners as the country commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We invite submissions in five broad categories:

* Global Revolution: How are the Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Founders remembered overseas? What are the stories of George Washington statues in Europe? How have states that joined the Union after 1776, such as Florida and Louisiana, remembered the revolution?
* Texts of Revolution: How do we remember and interpret various, especially lesser-known, documents from the American Revolution? How have resource projects enhanced the availability and accessibility of these documents? How can we use these documents in our teaching?
* Revolution–-or Not? : How did those indifferent or antagonistic to the American Revolution or who viewed the British as the side of liberty view and remember the events? How have African Americans processed the tension between their remembrances of freedom and enslavement and national remembrances of independence and the Revolution? How did families with divided loyalties work through their differences? 

* Remembering Revolution: How have we remembered the American Revolution? What aspects of the Revolution have we willfully forgotten because they were unpleasant or inconvenient? How have books, historians, and popular media contributed to the remembering or forgetting of the American Revolution?
* Revolution for a New Century: How do we adjust the teaching of the American Revolution as we face new challenges from political leaders? How do historic sites address the need to include a broader set of voices? How do we communicate the history of the Revolution to the U.S. public in the 21st century?
* We are also interested in essays that discuss teaching, teaching experiences, or lesson plans, which we plan to publish in cooperation with the H-Teach Network.

Editorial Process: All essays considered for Remembering the American Revolution at 250 will undergo peer review. Authors will receive detailed feedback both from the reviewer and from the editorial team. The editors will conduct an initial review of submissions on a rolling basis to judge each essay’s suitability as well as its general quality and potential for revision. Upon completion of initial revisions, the editors will move essays on to peer review by external, anonymous reviewers with relevant topical expertise. If the external reviewer recommends additional revisions, the editors will work with authors to move the essay towards publication. 

Submission Process: Please send an initial proposal to the editorial team. The proposal should indicate the thematic area and length of the essay and should provide a 300-500 word synopsis that also indicates how the essay will contribute to the field. Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis but should be submitted no later than October 31, 2023. Questions about potential essay topics, formatting guidelines, and the review and publishing process may be sent to the editors at america250@mail.h-net.org.

The Editors:

Abby Chandler, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Darcy R. Fryer, The Brearley School
Patrick Luck, Florida Polytechnic University
Niels Eichhorn, VP of Research and Publication, H-Net