A far-reaching revolution

ANN ARBOR—Letters bear signatures that read Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, John Paul Jones, and Thomas Jefferson. Maps, political cartoons, peace treaties, reports, and legal documents join the letters to and from the familiar names of America’s Revolutionary period to illustrate the influence that movement had upon the rest of the world.

In its exhibit “Atlantic Perspectives on American Independence: 1750-1815,” the University of Michigan’s Clements Library presents a glimpse into the repercussions the American movement had upon the rest of the world, especially Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and South America. An outside observer in 1750 would have found it most unlikely that Americans, then considered “the luckiest people on earth being prosperous, free and optimistic about their future,” would soon violently reject their political ties with Britain and fight an eight-year war for independence while establishing a radically new form of government. But it happened. And the rest of the world reacted and commented on the movement and its far-reaching consequences.

“Atlantic Perspectives on American Independence” will continue through the year at the Clements, located on South University Street on the U-M’s Central Campus. The Library is open Monday-Friday, 1-4:45 p.m. Admission to the exhibit is free.

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Atlantic Perspectives on American Independence: 1750-1815U-M News and Information ServicesUniversity of Michigan