Five Historians Discuss Their Books on America’s Founding Era at Mount Vernon

The event, titled “Meet the Authors: 2026’s Best Books on the Founding Era,” brought together finalists Richard Bell, Joyce Chaplin, Steven Sarson, Paul Staiti and Amy Watson. Hosted at the Ford Orientation Center’s Smith Theater, the program gave readers an opportunity to hear the authors discuss their recently published works and the historical questions that shaped their research.

The discussion was part of the events surrounding the 2026 George Washington Prize, an annual literary award recognizing important books about the Revolutionary and founding eras of American history. The prize is presented by George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Washington College.

The five finalist books cover a wide range of subjects, demonstrating the different ways historians can examine the period surrounding the creation of the United States.

Richard Bell’s The American Revolution and the Fate of the World examines the American Revolution within a broader international setting. The book considers the conflict not simply as an isolated event in North American history but as part of developments that affected and were influenced by the wider world.

Joyce Chaplin’s The Franklin Stove: An Unintended American Revolution takes a different approach by focusing on an invention associated with Benjamin Franklin. Through the history of the Franklin stove, Chaplin explores how technology and innovation can provide another way of understanding the society and culture of the period.

Steven Sarson’s The Course of Human Events: The Declaration of Independence and the Historical Origins of the United States examines the historical background of the Declaration of Independence. The work looks at the ideas and circumstances that contributed to one of the most significant documents of the founding era.

Paul Staiti’s The Killing of Jane McCrea: An American Tragedy on the Revolutionary Frontier focuses on the story of Jane McCrea, whose death became a notable episode during the Revolutionary War. Staiti places the event within its broader historical setting and examines how individual experiences can illuminate larger developments during wartime.

The fifth finalist, Amy Watson, wrote Patriots Before Revolution: The Rise of Party Politics in the British Atlantic, 1714-1763. Her book explores political developments in the British Atlantic before the American Revolution, providing background on the political environment that preceded the conflict.

Although the books address different subjects, they share a common purpose: using detailed historical research to offer readers a deeper understanding of the period surrounding the American Revolution and the formation of the United States.

The timing of the event is particularly notable because 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Museums, historical organizations, libraries and publishers across the country are using the anniversary as an opportunity to introduce audiences to new research and revisit important aspects of early American history.

Events such as the Mount Vernon discussion also demonstrate the continuing importance of historical nonfiction in the publishing industry. While many readers encounter history through museums, documentaries and educational programs, books remain an important way for historians to present detailed research and develop complex narratives.

The George Washington Prize places particular emphasis on books that contribute meaningfully to public understanding of the Revolutionary and founding eras. The finalists selected for the 2026 award reflect that goal by examining subjects ranging from political development and international history to technology, individual experiences and influential historical documents.

For readers interested in nonfiction and American history, the event provided an opportunity to discover several books that approach familiar periods from different perspectives. Hearing directly from the authors also offered insight into the research and interpretation involved in producing historical works for a general audience.

The 2026 George Washington Prize winner will be announced later this year. Until then, the five finalists represent a diverse group of historians whose books contribute to ongoing conversations about how the nation's early history is researched, interpreted and presented to modern readers.

The Mount Vernon gathering ultimately highlighted an important feature of historical publishing: there is rarely only one way to explore a major period in history. By examining people, inventions, political developments, documents and international events from different angles, historians can give readers a broader understanding of the forces that shaped the past.

For Today’sRead readers, the event offers a useful introduction to five notable works in historical nonfiction while highlighting the continued interest in books that make scholarly research accessible to a wider audience.