“Frontier Rebels: The Fight for Independence in the American West”
“Frontier Rebels: The Fight for Independence in the American West”
- September 13, 2018
- Ryder Hall at LancasterHistory.org, 230 N. President Avenue
- Reception 4pm | Presentation 4:30pm
- FREE | Registration Required To Guarantee Seat
On Thursday, September 13, Dr. Patrick Spero will explore the untold story of the “Black Boys,” a rebellion on the American frontier in 1765 that sparked the American Revolution. Join LancasterHistory.org as we kickoff our 2018-19 Regional History Colloquium series with the book launch of Frontier Rebels: The Fight for Independence in the American West and a presentation by Dr. Spero. For event details and how to register, please scroll to the bottom of this event.
In 1763, the Seven Years’ War ended in a spectacular victory for the British. The French army agreed to leave North America, but many Native Americans, fearing that the British Empire would expand onto their lands and conquer them, refused to lay down their weapons. The British, battered from the costly war, needed to stop the violent attacks on their borderlands. Enter George Croghan, a wily trader-turned-diplomat with close ties to Native Americans. Under the wary eye of the British commander-in-chief, Croghan organized one of the largest peace offerings ever assembled and began a daring voyage into the interior of North America in search of Pontiac.
Meanwhile, a ragtag group of frontiersmen set about stopping this peace deal in its tracks. Furious at the Empire for capitulating to Native groups, whom they considered their sworn enemies, and suspicious of Croghan’s intentions, these colonists turned Native American tactics of warfare on the British Empire. Dressing as Native Americans and smearing their faces in charcoal, these frontiersmen, known as the Black Boys, launched targeted assaults to destroy Croghan’s peace offering before it could be delivered.
The outcome of these interwoven struggles would determine whose independence would prevail on the American frontier―whether freedom would be defined by the British, Native Americans, or colonial settlers. Drawing on largely forgotten manuscript sources from archives across North America, Patrick Spero recasts the familiar narrative of the American Revolution, moving the action from the Eastern Seaboard to the treacherous western frontier.
Patrick Spero is the Librarian and Director of the American Philosophical Society Library in Philadelphia. As a scholar of early American history, Dr. Spero specializes in the era of the American Revolution. He has published over a dozen essays and reviews on the topic. He is the author of Frontier Rebels: The Fight for Independence in the American West, 1765-1776 (Norton, 2018) and Frontier Country: The Politics of War in Early Pennsylvania (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016) and the edited anthology The American Revolution Reborn: New Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016). Prior to his appointment at the American Philosophical Society, Dr. Spero taught at Williams College where he served on the faculty of the History and Leadership Studies Department and received recognition for his integration of new technology in the classroom.
EVENT DETAILS & HOW TO REGISTER
A book signing of the newly-released book, Frontier Rebels, and a wine and cheese reception will begin at 4pm on Thursday, September 13 at LancasterHistory.org, 230 N. President Ave., Lancaster. The main presentation will begin at 4:30pm in Ryder Hall.
The program is free and open to the public but requires advance registration to guarantee a seat at the presentation. Register online by clicking “Buy Tickets” below or by calling (717) 392-4633. This presentation will also be livestreamed on the LancasterHistory.org Facebook page. Questions and accessibility requests may be directed to info@lancasterhistory.org or (717) 392-4633.
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