The Princeton University Office of Community and Regional Affairs is pleased to share this July edition of Regional Roar, a monthly newsletter for regional thought leaders, policymakers, and community stakeholders. Regional Roar offers updates about forward-looking perspectives, innovation, and collaborative partnerships that support the growth and vitality of our region.



Throughout the year, Princeton University has examined its role in the American Revolution as the nation prepares to celebrate its semiquincentennial. Festivities began this winter with a ceremonial session of the New Jersey Legislature in Nassau Hall's Faculty Room. In spring, Princeton University Library opened its landmark “‘Nursery of Rebellion’: Princeton and the American Revolution” exhibition in Firestone Library. The exhibition, which includes rare original printings of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, is on display through July 12.

More American 250 events are set to take place through the fall including Re-visioning America, a community-based arts exhibition and programming series co-organized by Princeton's Humanities Initiative. Details about public visiting hours planned for Nassau Hall's Faculty Room will be announced this fall.

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Is there an event, research, or activity at Princeton University that you would like to learn more about? Please reach out to us at pucra@princeton.edu with questions or comments.

America 250: Princeton Celebrates

Princeton in the service of a new nation

In the 1770s, Princeton was a sleepy crossroads a hard day’s ride up the King’s Highway from Philadelphia. But that didn’t stop the town and The College of New Jersey — today’s Princeton University — from playing an outsize role in the founding of our nation.

“Princeton witnessed a kaleidoscope of revolutionary experiences,” said Michael Blaakman, an associate professor of history at Princeton. “Students and professors were swept up in colonial resistance and seized by revolutionary fervor, becoming leading advocates for the patriot cause and theorists of republican government. 

“The town and campus were occupied by the British, ravaged by battle, overrun by competing armies, and turned briefly into the fledgling nation’s makeshift capital,” he said. “The people of 18th-century Princeton — patriot and loyalist, free and enslaved — experienced these events in wildly different ways, but all saw their world transformed.”

As the nation marks its semiquincentennial — the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 — we take a look back at the University’s remarkable Revolution-era history as told through historical records (many of which are housed at the Princeton University Library), in reference works, and by the library’s marquee “‘Nursery of Rebellion’: Princeton and the American Revolution” exhibition and its curators, Blaakman and Gabriel Swift. Continue reading

More about America 250 at Princeton University:

Princeton is commemorating America 250 with exhibitions and events on campus and in the community

This is America 250 at Princeton University: YouTube Series

Photo illustration by Matilda Luk, Office of Communications; photo of Nassau Hall by Denise Applewhite, Office of Communications

America 250: Princeton Discovers

“Revolution in the Archives”: Students delve into Princeton University Library archives to understand America’s past and help curate landmark exhibit

As the country has prepared to celebrate its 250th anniversary, a Princeton undergraduate history course has welcomed students into Special Collections at Princeton University Library during the past year for an extraordinary opportunity to study documents from the Revolutionary era and explore Princeton’s role in America’s founding.

“I was holding Thomas Jefferson’s letters, holding George Washington’s letters, every week,” said Princeton senior Luke Johnston, a history major who took the course, “Revolution in the Archives,” last year.

Yena Choe, a junior majoring in the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) who is enrolled in the class this spring, called the opportunity to study American history during the 250th anniversary year a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Students in the course conducted original research that contributed to a landmark exhibition at Princeton’s Firestone Library, “‘Nursery of Rebellion’: Princeton and the American Revolution,” on display through July 12 in the Ellen and Leonard Milberg Gallery. Continue reading

More about Nursery of Rebellion:

Princeton University Library's “Nursery of Rebellion” exhibition immerses visitors in region's revolutionary history during milestone America 250 celebration

Photo by Matthew Raspanti, Office of Communications

America 250: Princeton Collaborates

Princeton University Humanities Initiative collaborates with community partners to explore the past, present, and possible futures of America

Re-visioning America is a community-based, collaborative initiative featuring exhibitions, lectures, artist conversations and film screenings that grapple with the complexity of America and its histories. This initiative, led by the Princeton University Humanities Initiative in partnership with the Princeton University Art Museum and several community partners, invites the community to reflect on the past, present, and possible futures of America. . 

Re-visioning America includes exhibitions at Princeton University Art Museum, Historical Society of Princeton, William Trent House Museum, Princeton Public Library, Art@Bainbridge, Arts Council of Princeton, and Morven Museum and Garden. In addition to the exhibitions that are free and open to the public, community members will be able to explore the themes of the initiative at a curatorial panel discussion, gallery crawl, and film series planned for the fall. 

Professor Rachel Z. DeLue, Director of Princeton Humanities Initiative, hopes visitors to Re-Visioning America exhibitions “will come away with a sense of the complex history of the idea of ‘America.’” Professor DeLue shared with us the impetus behind Re-Visioning America and what visitors can expect to see at affiliated exhibitions. Continue reading

More about Humanities:

Re-visioning America: A Community-Curated Art Exhibition Series in Princeton and Trenton

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