Liberty hosts multiple events this spring to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary

As celebrations continue across the country marking our nation’s founding 250 years ago, several Liberty University departments are offering faculty, staff, students, and guests a chance to celebrate the milestone together.

The Helms School of Government kicked off the celebrations last week with a black-tie 250th Anniversary Gala, held in conjunction with its sixth annual public policy conference on March 31 in the Montview Student Union, Alumni Ballroom. Sponsored by the LU ONE office, the event featured historical reenactors Thomas Jefferson (performed by Bill Barker) and Patrick Henry (performed by Patrick Henry Jolly, a direct descendant of Patrick Henry). Jolly delivered his ancestor’s iconic “Give me Liberty, or Give me Death” speech, originally given on March 23, 1775, to rally the Second Virginia Convention toward armed resistance against Great Britain. Liberty’s a cappella group Shine performed a patriotic medley. The evening concluded with a ceremonial cake cutting by Helms School Dean Maj. Gen. Jason Q. Bohm, USMC (Ret.), who used a sword to cut the cake.

Upcoming Events

History Conference

This month, the Department of History is hosting the America’s Founding: Legacy and Influence 250^th commemorative conference on April 17–18 at the School of Business building. This multidisciplinary conference will explore our country’s beginnings, the development of its constitutional ideals, and its influence around the world. Through research presentations, public history initiatives, and scholarly dialogue, participants will reflect on the biblical principles and visionary leadership that shaped our nation and consider how those same foundations continue to inspire faith, freedom, and service today.

Bohm will deliver the keynote session,“Washington’s Marines: The Origins of the Corps and the American Revolution,” scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 17.

There will be multiple concurrent panels on April 18 along with two plenary sessions. The first plenary session, “Legacy of Religious Liberty in America,” will begin at 9:45 a.m. and feature Department of History chair Dr. Samuel Smith and Executive Director of the Standing for Freedom Center and Senior Vice President of Communications & Public Engagement Ryan Helfenbein. The afternoon plenary, “The War for America: The Revolutionary War as a Global Conflict,” will begin at 3:15 p.m. and feature Associate Professor of History Dr. Christopher Smith.

Representatives from multiple regional museums and other historical organizations will be in attendance and hosting tables within the conference venue.

Tours will be available at the Liberty University Chaplains Museum, located on the terrace level of the Jerry Falwell Library.

The conference is free and open to the public. Registration is not required. For more information, email history@liberty.edu.

Historical Plaque

During the conference, the history department will also celebrate the dedication of a plaque at the historical Bedford Alum Springs Hotel property in nearby New London, which has been found to be the site of a former Continental Army arsenal that played a vital role in both the American Revolution and the securing of the Northwest Territory.

The plaque is being donated by the Poplar Forest and Peaks of Otter chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and will be unveiled during a ceremony at 4 p.m. on April 17. Local dignitaries, officers from national and state DAR chapters, and the general public are invited. The event is part of the VA250 movement commemorating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Revolutionary War, and the Independence of the United States in Virginia.

Since Liberty acquired the property in 2018, it has become a living laboratory for archaeological, architectural, and landscape investigation. During the Revolutionary War, the property’s owner leased the site to the Continental Army to house a key arsenal which supplied Nathaniel Greene’s southern campaign and later housed British weapons seized at Yorktown. The arsenal operations relocated to Harper’s Ferry by 1812.

School of Music Celebration

On May 5, the School of Music will present the “I Love America: A Celebration of America’s 250th Anniversary” concert at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for Music and the Worship Arts, Concert Hall.

The event will pay homage to a part of Liberty’s own history. In 1975, Liberty founder Dr. Jerry Falwell kicked off his “I Love America” tour, in which he traveled to state capitals around the country to unite conservative Christians around social and moral issues. He was joined by student music groups who performed patriotic music on the capitols’ steps. They traveled to 112 major U.S. cities through the fall of 1976.

The upcoming concert will include performances from music groups such as Liberty University Symphony Orchestra, a 300-voice choir, Chamber Singers, E-41 (bluegrass), and Shine. The ticketed event is open to the public.

Also in honor of the 250th celebration, the School of Music is debuting a “Sound of America” suite, an original six-movement work by School of Music faculty member Jon Werking featuring soloists Patrick Shorts, Dr. Mindy Damon, and Charles Billingsley. The world premiere of the work will be during the concert.