As the 250th birthday of the United States approaches this summer, MTSU is arranging to celebrate during the 2026 spring and fall semesters.

In a celebration of America’s semiquincentennial, MTSU is presenting special events, along with weekly lectures on the American Revolution and the early years of the country.

The events aim to celebrate America’s beginning and promote the country’s founding principles, according to a press release. Many events are organized by university departments partnering with various student organizations and people from the community.

The press release also mentioned that the National Endowment for Humanities provided a $25,000 grant to support the events and lectures, promoting historical engagement with both the student population and community.

Most of the events include weekly Monday lectures on subjects relating to the American Revolutionary War, the state of Tennessee and America’s founding. 

On Monday, April 27, several honors students will present their theses on the American Revolution.

On Thursday, Feb. 5, in a partnership with Nashville PBS, the university presented a showing of excerpts from the Ken Burns documentary “Examining the American Revolution” with a question-and-answer session presented by a panel of historians from both MTSU and other schools, in addition to a historical society.

Following this, the Stones River chapter of the Sons of the Revolution held a Patriots’ Chest presentation with special colonial artifacts.

The weekly lectures continue into the fall 2026 semester, focusing on the theme of “Legacies of the American Revolution.” This will also feature a “Historians in Conversation” virtual program from the History Department, featuring discussions on the significance of the American Revolution.

In addition to the lectures, MTSU will hold other special events this semester for the semiquincentennial.

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