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"Tyrants and Rogues"

Understanding the Declaration of Independence

Thursday, November 5, at 6:30 p.m.

Join us for the final program in Morven’s Generation Declaration series,"Tyrants and Rogues": Understanding the Declaration of Independence, with Robert G. Parkinson, an Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer and Professor of History at Binghamton University. This is a fully virtual program.

FOR MORVEN MEMBERS

Please note that you must login into your Morven Member account in the upper righthand corner of the registration page in order to access the member rate.

Robert G. Parkinson, an Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer and Professor of History at Binghamton University, will deliver a live virtual presentation based on his latest book. In this talk, Parkinson argues that we have been reading the Declaration of Independence wrong for 250 years. He goes beyond the famous philosophical preamble, "All men are created equal...", to focus entirely on the 27 specific grievances leveled against King George III and British officials. Parkinson reveals that the Continental Congress viewed these grievances—the actions of actual "tyrants and rogues"—as the true heart of the document, born out of panic, anger, and desperation.

Please note: This is a fully virtual program held via Zoom webinar. You will receive a link upon registration. The link will prompt you to enter your name and email address to access the program online. A reminder will be sent via email with this link once again the day of the program. 

About the Speaker

Robert Parkinson is professor of history at Binghamton University. His research interests include the American Revolution, colonial America, the history of American slavery, Native American history, and nation-making and race in the early modern world.

He is the author of "Tyrants and Rogues: Understanding the Declaration of Independence" (2026); "The Heart of American Darkness: A Story of Murder and Revolution on the Early Frontier" (2024), a microhistory about how the grisly murder of nine Natives on a tributary of the Ohio River in 1774 exerted a surprisingly powerful influence in the political and rhetorical life of the early American republic; "Thirteen Clocks: How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence" (2021); and "The Common Cause: Creating Nation and Race in the American Revolution" (2016), which explores how questions of race collided with pressing issues of nation-building at the Founding and won OAH's James Rawley prize for the best book on US race relations. 

Parkinson has held fellowships at the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Rockefeller Library at Colonial Williamsburg, the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, the David Library of the American Revolution, the Clements Library at the University of Michigan, and the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello.

About the Generation Declaration Series

2026 will mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Join Morven, the home of a Signer, as we dive into all things Declaration with a new public program series. Generation Declaration invites public historians, scholars, and writers to share their work researching little known or underrepresented aspects of America’s founding document. 

Join us in discovering: Who was this document written for and why? How was it printed and represented visually? What did news outlets have to say about it? In what ways has the document been repurposed for other movements for justice and independence?