Earlier this month, the interns had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Alan Taylor, Thomas Jefferson Chair in American History at the University of Virginia. Taylor is prolific writer and two-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize (first in 1998 for William Cooper's Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic and then in 2014 for The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832).
Professor Taylor has written widely on the early history of the United States and Canada, taking a ‘continental’ or ‘borderlands’ approach to his study of events like the American Revolution and the War of 1812. His approach considers competing visions of U.S citizens, British Subjects, and Indigenous peoples in shaping the continent over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In keeping with his continental approach, Taylor has long thought it important to teach Americans about the importance of Canada and Indigenous nations like the Haudenosaunee in U.S. history.
During our time with Professor Taylor, we learned about the foundation of Upper Canada in the wake of the American Revolution, along with the social, political, and religious development of early Canada and the United States. Taylor also discussed his new book which describes how the U.S. Civil War compelled leaders in British North America to create a federation of Canadian provinces in the 1860s.
Turning to the present, we also talked about the commemoration of historical figures from U.S. and Canadian history and how their legacies are reevaluated over time. In Taylor’s view, the United States has never been united by a single narrative or story about the nation’s history. Every generation of Americans have contested the meaning of the country’s founding and purpose. Lastly, Taylor lent us his vast knowledge of nineteenth century North America to illuminate the present state of U.S.-Canada relations.
The interns would like to extend our sincerest thanks to Professor Taylor for taking the time to teach us about the history of the early United States and British North America. We also appreciated his fashionable Canadian flag tie and action figures depicting key individuals from Canadian history. We hope to cross paths once again.