A local nonprofit, the Williamsburg-Yorktown American Revolution Roundtable, is bringing history, civics, geography and economics back into America’s classrooms.
The newly-formed organization, called the American Revolution Institute for Civic Education, will be based out of Williamsburg and Yorktown, but will bring various seminars, workshops and classes to all of the original thirteen colonies, according to a release from the organization.
The decision to form the organization comes after a positive response from thousands of American and international visitors who attended symposiums and lectures at the new American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, the release said.
The Yorktown museum features galleries and exhibits from the start of the colonial era to the time of the Constitution.
The Institute for civic education was formed by Williamsburg-Yorktown American Revolution Roundtable President Jeffrey Lambert and Vice President Randolph G. Flood. The two met when they were both historical re-enactors with the First Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line in the 1990s, according to the release.
The roundtable leaders are now using their experiences and community engagement to prepare their seminars and lectures for the road, the release said.
The two formed the idea for the new educational organization over a series of years, but it finally came to fruition when the pair helped organize twelve of the thirteen days of the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown’s grand opening in late March and early April, the release said.
The days were a series of guest speakers from historians, authors, archaeologists and hereditary societies. The event was a success as several thousand visitors attended the various activities, according to the release.
From January through October 2017, the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown has had 178,864 paid visitors, according to Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation spokesperson Tracy Perkins.
Since its opening, 50,000 visitors have participated in educational lectures and presentations, Perkins said.
“An overwhelming portion of that 50,000 number — including those attending lectures during the twelve days — have urged that these presentations be expanded throughout the country, so we’re doing just that,” Flood said.
In addition to running the Williamsburg-Yorktown American Revolution Roundtable, Lambert also is executive director of the Sons of the Revolution. The Sons of the Revolution is a nonprofit founded in 1876 dedicated to promoting the knowledge and appreciation of American independence, according to their website.
Flood is a former U.S. Senate staff member and government relations consultant. He has developed and taught over a dozen education presentations about leaders, battles, events and international alliances, the release said.
Other roundtable members, including Larry Blanchfield and Mike Crookshank, have also worked in the classroom, the release said. Blanchfield specializes in talking about the American Militia dressed in colonial attire, while Crookshank has focused on international leaders and countries that had alliances with the Americans during the American Revolution.
Lambert and Flood hope the trained members will be successful in spreading the history classes across the nation, the release said.
“To our knowledge, no basic, fundamental classes about the American Revolution are taught anywhere in America on a daily basis,” Flood said.
For more information about the new American Revolution Institute for Civic Education, call 703-732-9049. For more information about the Williamsburg-Yorktown American Revolution Roundtable, visit williamsburg-yorktownarrt.weebly.com, contact [email protected] or call 336-671-1098.
Correction: The original version of this article stated the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown opened in March 2016. The grand opening took place in 2017.
A previous version also stated the museum has had over 50,000 visitors since its opening, but that number reflects only those who have attended educational lectures and presentations.
