Bicentennial Lecture

This lecture will be live streamed on the YouTube Page

What Do We Want History to Do to Us?: Maine’s Bicentennial and Commemoration
A presentation with Liam Riordan, Professor of History, University of Maine.

This illustrated presentation and discussion explores Maine’s long statehood process that culminated in 1820 with separation from Massachusetts. That struggle engaged a range of challenging public issues that are still recognizable today. Four broad themes that bridge 200 years in telling ways include:

• the “two Maines” and sharp partisan conflict
• the explosive place of slavery vis-a-vis the Maine-Missouri Crisis
• Wabanaki sovereignty
• the uncertain location and meaning of the international border

Resources about the Maine statehood process as well as videos from the recent Maine Bicentennial Conference at the University of Maine are available at Fogler Library’s Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/me200/

This presentation is co-sponsored by the Belfast Historical Society & Museum in celebration of the Maine Bicentennial.