February 25, 2026 from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Museum of the American Revolution

Dr. Julia Gaffield, Associate Professor of History at William & Mary, and Dr. Marlene L. Daut, Professor of French and African Diaspora Studies at Yale University, will join the Museum on Wednesday, February 25 to present the second public program in the Museum’s 2025-2026 Read the Revolution Speaker Series with a joint lecture and discussion inspired by their recent biographies on Haitian Revolutionaries and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Tracing the story of Haiti’s Declaration of Independence from France in 1804, Gaffield will explore the early days of the nation's independence from the perspective of its first political leader in I Have Avenged America: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti’s Fight for Freedom, while Daut will tell the story of how Dessalines’s successor, Henry Christophe, became Haiti’s only king in The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe. Citing archival discoveries in Haiti and around the world, Gaffield and Daut will reflect on how, after declaring independence, these formerly enslaved leaders defined freedom and shaped a legacy for a new nation. Following the presentation, Museum President and CEO Dr. R. Scott Stephenson will host an interview conversation and facilitate a live Q&A with both onsite and online audiences.  

This special program will be held in the Museum’s third-floor Liberty Hall and will be broadcast live via Zoom. Guests with onsite tickets are invited to arrive early to view The Declaration’s Journey from 5:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. Doors open to Liberty Hall at 6 p.m. for onsite guests to see a featured artifact, enjoy refreshments at a cash bar, and purchase signed copies of the featured books.  

• Purchase Tickets
  $25 General Admission Onsite includes The Declaration’s Journey (5:15-6pm) and Cash Bar
  $15 Member Admission Onsite includes The Declaration’s Journey (5:15-6pm) and Cash Bar 
  $12 General Admission Zoom 
  $10 Member Zoom  
  FREE - Revolution Society Onsite with Exclusive Author Reception (5:30-6pm) 
  FREE - Revolution Society Zoom