Prelude to Independence

Dr. Barbara Terzian discusses the origins and beginnings of the American Revolution, from "taxation without representation" to "the shot heard 'round the world." April 19, 2025, marked the 250th anniversary of British troops' engagement with colonists on the green of Lexington Village and the streets of Concord, MA. Ralph Waldo Emerson later wrote that "the shot heard round the world" was fired that day at Concord, presaging the War for Independence that would come. Prof. Terzian will pick up the story of "Prelude to Independence" by explaining how the Boston "Tea Party" led to actions by Parliament that caused the events of April 19th. Dr. Barbara Terzian is a professor in the Department of History at Ohio Wesleyan University. She is a specialist in U.S. legal and women's history and teaches women's history and other courses in U.S. history from the colonial period through the Civil War. Her research focuses on Ohio's constitutional history in the 19th century, particularly as it affected African Americans and women. Her publications include "Ohio's Constitutions: An Historical Perspective" in the Cleveland State Law Review and "Let Us Agitate: Woman Suffrage at Ohio's Constitutional Conventions, 1850-1913" in The History of Ohio Law.