The recent commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord begins the celebration of the nation’s Semiquincentennial. At first glance, the struggle of eighteenth-century America may seem unrelated to the issues we face today and for many, the American Revolution can seem like a distant event, completely removed from the modern American, and therefore easy to ignore. This is a mistake: the American Revolution should not be treated like a relic or merely a holiday to be celebrated. It is an ongoing experiment, and the people of Amherst and of the United States today are as much a part of it as the early patriots of 1776.
