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Lest We Forget of Southwest Michigan is planning their annual reenactment weekend scheduled for July 18 - 19, 2026 at Riverview Park in St. Joseph.  Previous themes have included WWII, Korea, Vietnam, The U.S. Navy, Women in Service, The Cold War, the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day and Saipan Battles and in 2025 the Sandbox Wars of Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan.  This year Lest We Forget will highlight our Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the United States.

In anticipation of this event, the public is invited to attend eight Tuesday evening sessions at Lake Michigan College, Benton Harbor Campus, Room D-105, to learn from distinguished professors.  The sessions begin on April 7, 2026.

The Revolutionary War

April 7, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.  “Boston and the Road to Independence”

Professor Eric Hinderaker, Ph.D. University of Utah

In the events leading to the US Declaration of Independence, the town of Boston played a major role.  What made Boston different—why did it become the crucible of American independence?  In this talk, Eric Hinderaker will sketch Boston’s history with an eye to its unique characteristics and consider the events that brought thirteen colonies into war with the British empire.  He will consider the detailed list of grievances contained in the Declaration of Independence, their connection to events in Boston and their relevance for our time.

April 14, 7:00 - 8:00 P.M.  “Afoot at Lexington: Uncertainty, Memory, and the First Shots of April 19, 1775”

John Hodgson, Local Historian

On the night the Revolution began, the people of Lexington were operating on limited information, rumor, and instinct. This presentation reconstructs the events of April 18–19 strictly from their perspective, separating documented evidence from later embellishment. The result is a portrait not of legend, but of ordinary people making decisions in uncertainty at a hinge point in history.

April 14, 8:00 - 9:00 P.M.  “The Masters of Massachusetts”

Cherisse Havlicek, Local Author

Cherisse will discuss the 12 years of events leading up to the signing of the Declaration and the people who pushed things forward to that epic moment that began our country.

 April 21, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.  “Creating an American Way of War”

Professor Fred Johnson, Ph.D. Hope College

Professor Johnson’s presentation will include a rousing account of Trenton, Saratoga and Valley Forge.

April 28, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. The Crossing (Movie with Jeff Daniels as George Washington)  The Continental Army, under the command of General George Washington, was on the brink of utter defeat. Low on men, cannons and supplies, Washington decides to risk everything on one last desperately daring attack on the town of Trenton where over 1000 of the feared Hessian mercenaries are garrisoned. However to do that, the army must cross the Delaware to a seemingly hopeless battle.

May 5, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.  “It’s complicated: France, the United States and the building of an unlikely alliance.”

Professor Guillaume de Syon, Ph.D. Albright College

Between 1754, when George Washington first encountered “them” and 1784, when the French openly praised him, the United States and France experienced distrust, ideological differences and religious antagonisms. That such a poor beginning led to a solid alliance was the result of circumstances, but also military success, and the work behind the scenes of multiple personalities in both nations. This two-part presentation proposes to look at how the relationship evolved militarily and diplomatically. The ideals of the Enlightenment were shared among elites, but less so among the military and general

populations. Yet, the result, considering the twin revolutions (1775-76 and 1789-99) led to the founding of the American and French Republics and the building of a special relationship between nations.

May 12, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.  “The Die is Cast: The Intolerable Acts and the American Revolution."

Professor Andrew Shankman, Ph.D. Rutgers University

The year 1774 and the passage by the British Parliament of the Coercive (or Intolerable) Acts changed forever American colonists' understanding of Britain and their place in the British empire.  The reaction to the Coercive Acts led to a rejection of monarchy, revolutionary struggle, the massive disruption of everyday life, and previously unthinkable aspirations and expectations for what should replace the discredited and rejected British Monarchy.

 May 19, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. “State Constitutions of the Revolutionary Era”

Professor Sally Hadden. Ph.D. Western Michigan University

She will discuss state constitutions at a general level and some of the oddities (New Hampshire's and Georgia's first constitutions), showcase Massachusetts I and then explain how Massachusetts II created the model that the rest followed and that we still follow.

May 26, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.  “What Was the Founders’ Original Intent: The Lessons of Europe and the Origins of the Constitution”

Professor James Lewis, Ph.D. Kalamazoo College

Kalamazoo College history professor James E. Lewis Jr. will talk about what the Framers of the Constitution meant by a "more perfect union" and how their "original intents" for the Constitution bear little or no relationship to our contemporary concerns about "original intent."  Come learn about the Constitution you never knew and how the thinking behind it shaped American domestic and foreign policy for decades after 1787.

 T-Shirts: D-Day and Sandbox $5.00

 while limited supplies last.