Events

Victoria Johnson, American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic

David Hosack (1769-1835) transformed medicine and surgery, medicinal and agricultural botany, and the intellectual and cultural life of New York City.  He knew virtually every major European scientist, and virtually every American Founder – he was the physician who attended both Hamilton and Burr at their duel.  Lively and learned, American Eden was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History (2019) and the National Book Award for Nonfiction (2018), among many other awards and prizes.  Victoria Johnson is Professor of Urban Policy and Planning at Hunter College in New York City.

This lecture will be held at Bedford Playhouse (633 Old Post Rd, Bedford, NY) due to ongoing construction at John Jay Homestead.

6:00 – Reception with light refreshments
6:30 – Lecture begins
7:30 – Book signing

Purchase In-Person Tickets Here

Interested in becoming a member of the Scholars Committee? Click here.

Akhil Reed Amar, Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840–1920

The second in a trilogy about America’s Constitution, Born Equal follows The Words That Made Us:  America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840; Amar asks us to consider 10 possible meanings of the word “equal.”  A widely published and cited Constitutional scholar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale and winner of their DeVane Medal for excellence in teaching, he has spoken twice at the John Jay Homestead, about New York and the US Constitution, and in an interview with Albie Sachs, about the Constitution of South Africa.  He is sometimes called a “liberal originalist,” and that is what he calls Lincoln.

This lecture will be held at Bedford Playhouse (633 Old Post Rd, Bedford, NY) due to ongoing construction at John Jay Homestead.

6:00 – Reception with light refreshments
6:30 – Lecture begins
7:30 – Book signing

Purchase In-Person Tickets Here

Interested in becoming a member of the Scholars Committee? Click here.

James Traub, The Cradle of Citizenship: How Schools Can Help Save Our Democracy

The Founders wanted schools to teach students to understand our political system and to engage in reasoned political debate as adults; the Schoolhouse at John Jay Homestead was built for Jay children and also for the children of tenant farmers and farm hands.  Historian, journalist and former Friends of John Jay Homestead speaker on his renowned John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit, Traub spent a year exploring how schools now teach students–or fail to teach them–the essentials of American history and government, as well as how to use that knowledge in respectful, informed debate.  Note: the talk will be preceded by a short business section of our Annual Meeting.

This lecture will be held at Bedford Playhouse (633 Old Post Rd, Bedford, NY) due to ongoing construction at John Jay Homestead.

6:00 – Reception with light refreshments
6:30 – Lecture begins
7:30 – Book signing

RSVP Here

Interested in becoming a member of the Scholars Committee? Click here.