Revolutionary Ideas Symposium

Two days. Leading scholars. Charleston's most storied stage.

Join us for this landmark symposium: Revolutionary Ideas: Origins, Contexts, and Legacies of American Independence. Presented by SC250 Charleston and Charleston Literary Festival.

What makes a revolution—and how do its meanings endure? This two-day symposium brings together an extraordinary group of international scholars to explore the origins, experiences, and legacies of the American Revolution from a variety of perspectives.

An extraordinary journey through the various facets of the American Revolution

Peter Mancall joins us to examine the roots of revolutionary change, while Vince Brown situates the era within the wider Atlantic world of the slave trade, the Caribbean, and South Carolina. Andrew O’Shaughnessy offers insight into the British view of the conflict, and Maya Jasanoff reconsiders loyalism and those who resisted independence. Katharine Carté explores the role of religion, and James Grant traces the Revolution’s intellectual legacies (and lingers on some key figures from the time).

Pulitzer-prize winning historian Jon Meacham reflects on the broader arc of history through primary source documents and their contemporary importance. The symposium will culminate in a panel moderated by the UK’s Ditchley Foundation featuring a number of speakers including Sir Michael Fallon, the former UK Secretary of Defence, on the American Revolution’s lessons for today.

Over two days, these conversations invite us to reconsider not only what made the American Revolution possible, but why it still resonates today.

June 24–25 at Dock Street Theatre.

In collaboration with International African American Museum (IAAM), Charleston Library Society, South Carolina Historical Society, and the Ditchley Foundation (UK).

The Ditchley Foundation works to renew democratic societies, states and alliances to sustain peace, freedom and the rule of law. We do this by bringing together influential people with diverse expertise and very different viewpoints to address the challenges of today and tomorrow. https://www.ditchley.com/

The Ditchley Foundation is a globally trusted, independent forum for frank conversations and strategic thinking across partisan divides, based at one of the United Kingdom's finest stately homes, Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire. Since 1958, Ditchley has worked to renew democratic societies, states, and alliances to sustain peace, freedom, and the rule of law — convening influential people with diverse expertise and very different viewpoints to address the challenges of today and tomorrow. Visit ditchley.com for more information.

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

What Makes A Revolution
Peter Mancall
8:30 AM

Revolution and Empire: The British Perspective
Andrew O'Shaughnessy
10:30 AM

Slave Trade, the Caribbean, and South Carolina
Vincent Brown with Malika Pryor
12:30 PM

Panel: Where It All Began - The Origins of the American Revolution
Featuring Andrew O’Shaughnessy, Peter Mancall, and Vincent Brown. Moderated by John M. McCardell Jr.
2:30 PM

Loyalism in the American Revolution
Maya Jasanoff with Ben Zeigler
4:30 PM

VIP Reception with Jon Meacham
*Limited to VIP Two-Day Pass Holders*

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Thursday, June 25, 2026

Religion and the American Revolution
Katharine Carté
8:30 AM

Panel: The World of Ideas Informing the American Revolution
Featuring Katherine Carté and Maya Jasanoff. Moderated by Elizabeth Chew, CEO, South Carolina Historical Society

American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union
Jon Meacham
12:30 PM

Friends Until the End: The Intellectual Legacies of American IndependenceJames Grant
2:30 PM

Legacies of American Independence—Presented with The Ditchley Foundation UKFeaturing Sir Michael Fallon KCB, Jon Meacham, and Christy Coleman. Chaired by James Arroyo, CEO, The Ditchley Foundation.4:30 PM