A United States but a Divided America: How We Have Celebrated the Nation's Birthday During Turbulent Times

Join the Georgia Historical Society for a conversation with Dr. William Hitchcock, James Madison Professor of History at the University of Virginia and expert on the Cold War, and his wife, Dr. Elizabeth Varon, Professor of History and Associate Director of the Nau Center for Civil War History at UVA, for a panel discussion with Stan Deaton.

The United States will commemorate its 250th anniversary during one of the most partisan periods in American history. Once again, our national commemoration will take place during a divisive era—much like the centennial of 1876 followed the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the bicentennial of 1976 followed the tumultuous 1960s, Vietnam, and Watergate, all in the midst of the Cold War.

How did those two earlier critical and pivotal events—the Civil War and the Cold War—shape those commemorations, and what can we learn from the leadership of those who steered the American ship of state through the political, social, and economic upheaval and vicious partisanship of those divisive eras?

Presented by: UVAClub of Savannah and The Coca-Cola Company