CfP: Freedom, Slavery, and Race in the American Revolution

Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina/United States, 29-31 May 2026

All Men Are Created Equal: Freedom, Slavery, and Race in the American Revolution

The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) invites proposals for papers to be presented at its Seventeenth Annual Conference on the American Revolution. 

The conference will examine the experiences of African American people and the ideologies of freedom, slavery, and race in the War for American Independence and the founding of the United States. The SAR, as part of its Congressional mandate to encourage historical research, is sponsoring this conference in alliance with Wake Forest University.

In his 1776 essay Liberty Further Extended, Lemuel Haynes denied that “Liberty is so contracted a principle as to be Confin’d to any nation under Heaven; nay, I think it not hyperbolical to affirm, that Even an African, has Equally as good a right to his Liberty in common with Englishmen.” This Black patriot and soldier connected freedom, citizenship, and nation. How actors in the American Revolution experienced, articulated, or contested these ideas is the question that drives this conference.

The conference intends to examine perspectives from Black and White men and women aligned with the Patriots or Loyalists. We also invite comparisons between the young United States and the broader revolutionary Atlantic World.

The SAR invites proposals based on new research from graduate students, established scholars, and public history practitioners. 

Proposals should include a 250-word abstract introducing the author’s research and how their topic advances our field. Please include a short (two-page) vita. 

Submit proposals by October 1, 2025 to John Ruddiman, Department of History, Wake Forest University at Ruddimja@wfu.edu with the subject line “2026 SAR Conference.” Acceptances will be sent by early December 2025.

The SAR anticipates publication of the accepted, revised papers in an edited volume. To facilitate that, participants will submit their papers (approximately 5,000-6,000 words) for pre-circulation by May 1, 2026.

The SAR will offer a $500 honorarium and cover presenters’ travel and lodging expenses.

The 2026 SAR Annual Conference will honor Annette Gordon-Reed, Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. The SAR recognizes her distinguished scholarship and public service in history, especially to the histories of race, slavery, and the pursuit of dignity and liberty in the Revolutionary generation.