LEXINGTON, Ky. — As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding this year, the University of Kentucky's Department of History is encouraging the campus and broader community to reflect deeply on 1776 — not only as a moment of celebration, but as an opportunity for critical examination.

The department launched its "Celebrating 1776" series, which includes lectures, public events, film screenings and courses designed to explore the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence and their lasting impact on the nation. The initiative brings together historians, public scholars and UK experts to examine how founding principles continue to shape contemporary American discourse.

In a recent episode of the university's "Behind the Blue" podcast, Amy Murrell Taylor, the T. Marshall Hahn Jr. Professor of History at UK, discussed America 250 and Kentucky's complex relationship to the founding era. Taylor, whose scholarship focuses on Civil War history, slavery and emancipation, connected the anniversary to broader questions about how Americans remember their past.

"These are moments, yes, of celebration, but moments that encourage people to stop and think: what are we celebrating exactly?" Taylor said in the podcast. "What is this nation? What is this Declaration of Independence that we're celebrating?"

Taylor noted that while Kentucky was not yet a state in 1776, the region played a crucial role during the Revolutionary era through westward expansion, Indigenous resistance and settlement. Lexington itself was named for the Battle of Lexington in 1775, and what would become Kentucky was part of Virginia during the Revolutionary period.

"Kentucky is part of what we might consider to be the traditional revolutionary story," Taylor said. "But it's also part of this other side to the revolution that hasn't gotten as much attention in our collective memory."

The "Celebrating 1776" series features prominent historians and public scholars throughout 2026. Upcoming events include lectures by Pulitzer Prize winner Joseph Ellis and Christy Coleman, executive director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation; a September screening of Ken Burns' PBS film "The American Revolution"; and an October lecture by Patrick Spero, chief executive officer of the American Philosophical Society, on the "Kentucky Conspiracy" of 1793.

The department has also integrated the anniversary into coursework, with students engaging directly with founding documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Rather than memorizing these texts, Taylor emphasizes helping students understand their origins and meaning, and how Americans have invoked them across generations.

For Taylor, America 250 represents an important opportunity for public reflection beyond traditional celebration. "I would love for people in this moment to ask some questions about what they're celebrating," she said. Learn more about the department's "Celebrating 1776" series online.