As the leading nonprofit preservation and history organization in Annapolis, MD, Historic Annapolis strives to offer informative and engaging lectures that promote the organization’s legacy in the history of preservation of Maryland’s capital city.
Historic Annapolis is pleased to announce the 2025 Virtual Lecture Series. Connect with the amazing history of Annapolis and our nation as we welcome a great lineup of professors, writers, poets, and historians.
Please join HA for one – or all – of our world-class virtual lectures, being offered free of charge in 2025 thanks to a generous anonymous donor.
Connect with the amazing history of Annapolis and our nation as we welcome a great lineup of professors, writers, poets, and historians.
Please find the full line-up of dates and topics on our Calendar of Events.
AUGUST
The first Africans had been brought to Virginia as slaves in 1619 but it wasn’t until the 1670s that slavery began to dominate parts of the American economy. That process continued apace in the 18th century transforming every aspect of most southern colonies, from Virginia to South Carolina and Georgia. Learn More »
SEPTEMBER
Presented by Daniel J. Sieh: The United States, or “Gold Mountain” as it was known in Asia, was often seen as a very distant but promising destination for many in the East looking for opportunity. New research puts the beginnings of Asian immigration much earlier than expected, with some even making their way to the American Revolution… Learn More »
WEDNESDAY, September 17, 2025Join Gilda Daniels, Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, and voting rights expert, for an engaging Constitution Day program that explores the enduring promises and persistent challenges of America’s founding document through the lens of a “living Constitution” This thought-provoking event will examine how the Constitution’s vision for liberty, equality, and justice has been interpreted, expanded, and sometimes constrained over time. Learn More »
Tuesday, September 30, 2025, 7:30 pm EST – Major Developments in American Constitutional History
Dr. Francene Engel, Scholar for the Maryland Council for Civics and History Education, will explore major events in history that shaped the document’s meaning and affected the trajectory of our constitutional democracy. The first program will discuss the development of judicial review through the landmark Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison (1803). We also examine the evolution of the due process clauses of the 5th and 14th Amendments. Learn More »
OCTOBER
Storyteller Jefferson Holland presents a delightful program of original tall tales and songs inspired by the people and places of the Bay, from the Native Americans who feasted on oysters along her shores to the modern-day sailors who ply her waters. Learn More »
North Slavery in Colonial America We tend to think of slavery as a labor system that was confined to the American South. But it turns out that that’s not the full story. Slavery was also a fact of life in many northern colonies before the American Revolution. Northern slavery was never as widespread or as essential to the economy as it was in the south, but it was there nonetheless. What did it look like? What forms did it take? And what forms of resistance to it were possible? Learn More »
DECEMBER
The American colonies were full of strangers—new arrivals born far away. Among the white population, those colonies teemed with immigrants from all across western Europe and elsewhere. Why did they come? Where did they settle? How did they live? To answer these questions, we’ll examine the demographic makeup of the British colonies in 1700… Learn More »
Can’t watch live? All lectures will be recorded. Please register and you’ll receive the link to watch the recording after the event. Registration for lectures close one half-hour prior to the lecture’s start time.