Countdown to 250 Trifecta at New Haven Museum

New Haven, Conn. (December 5, 2025) –In what amounts to a “250 trifecta,” on February 25, 2026, New Haven Museum will kick off a lively, year-long celebration of the nation’s semi quincentennial, with the first of three presentations offering fresh perspectives on the American Revolution. From social movements co-opting the concept of “liberty,” to little-known tales of Paul Revere, to neoclassical fashion from the somewhat cynical perspective of John and Abigail Adams, the thought-provoking NH250 series will appeal to anyone who has ever marveled at the “great American experiment” of democracy, freedom, and self-governance.

The series begins with historian and author Michael D. Hattem presenting, “An Unfinished Revolution at 250” at the New Haven Museum on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 6 p.m. Hattem will discuss the unique role that the Revolution has had in American life and the longstanding tradition in American history of remembering the nation’s founding as an “unfinished revolution.” The free event will be preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m.

Hattem notes that the principles of the Revolution have been constantly redefined to fit the needs of the times. “Countless social movements —including abolitionists, suffragists, and the civil-rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s—have tried to win popular support by depicting their causes as attempts to fulfill the ideals of the American Revolution,” he says. He notes that abolitionists were the first Americans to celebrate the Declaration of Independence specifically for its preamble and the statement that "all men are created equal."

On March 28, 2026, nationally renowned textile expert Lynne Bassett will present “Federalist Fathers and Republican Mothers: The Fashions of John and Abigail Adams. ” Using letters, garments, portraits, fashion plates, and satirical cartoons from the period to keep things buoyant, Bassett will demonstrate how both early and contemporary Americans have expressed their national and personal character through their clothing choices. The free event will be held at 2 p.m. and preceded by a reception at 1:30 p.m.

Bassett maintains that fashion isn’t frivolous. “It’s an important document manifesting a period’s culture, economy and labor,” she says, “and a valuable means of examining women’s history.” She notes that John and Abigail both expressed their personal and national character through their choice of clothing. Their judgment of others’ choices in fashion, though, brings some levity to the subject. One example includes a letter in which Abagail quips, “Most of [the Ladies]…wear their Cloaths too Scant, upon the body & too full upon the Bosom for my fancy; not content with the Show Which nature bestows, they borrow from art, and literally looke like Nursing Mothers.”

On Saturday, April 18, 2026—the anniversary of the most famous horse ride in American history —author Kostya Kennedy will present little-known aspects of the story in, “The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America,” based on his book of the same title. The free event will be held at 2 p.m. and preceded by a reception at 1:30 p.m.

Revere, the Boston-based silversmith, engraver, and staunch anti-British political operative, inspired the poem and legend of “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” But, according to Kennedy, the story of Revere’s ride to warn of approaching British troop is deeper and richer than previously assumed. “That night in in 1775 was 12 hours that changed the world,” Kennedy says.

Revere was not the only rider that April night in 1775, but he was by far the most critical. The patriots’ best and most trusted “express rider,” Revere had already completed at least 18 previous rides throughout New England, disseminating intelligence about British movements. But this ride was like no other, Kennedy asserts, and its consequences in the months and years following—as the American Revolution transitioned from isolated skirmishes to a full-fledged war—became one of our founding tales.