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SCHOLAR TO LECTURE ON THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE What's the real story behind Thomas Jefferson's role in drafting the Declaration of Independence? Dr. Pauline Maier, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of American History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reveals these and other historical secrets at the 15th annual Abram Kartch/Thomas Jefferson Lecture on Wednesday, May 5 at William Paterson University in Wayne. More than 400 students from area high schools are expected to attend the lecture, "Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence," which will begin at 9:45 a.m. in Shea Center on campus. A limited number of seats for the free program will be available to the public. Maier is one of today's foremost authorities on the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. Her most recent book, "American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence," was on the New York Times Book Review editors' choice list of the best 11 books of 1997. In it, Maier reexamines the development of independence, the writing of the Declaration, and its transformation during the 19th century into a statement of principles to guide established governments. The book also examines some 90 state and local "declarations of independence" written between April and July 1776 that have generally been forgotten but which, Maier claims, make a better case for independence than Jefferson's Declaration. A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Maier received her B.A. from Radcliffe College in 1960, was a Fulbright Scholar at the London School of Economics in 1960-61, and received her Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1968. She has taught at Harvard, the University of Massachusetts (Boston), University of Wisconsin, Yale University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she has been William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of American History since 1990. Other books she has written include "From Resistance to Revolution," "The Old Revolutionaries," and "The American People: A History," a single-authored text for junior high school, as well as numerous other articles and reviews. She has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The Abram Kartch/Thomas Jefferson Lecture series began in 1985 after Abram Kartch, a retired Paterson businessman and Jefferson scholar, provided William Paterson with an endowment to establish and continue the series. Designed to provoke discussion about the relationship of Jefferson's words and thoughts to modern society, the series has presented lectures by many of the country's leading Jefferson scholars, including Henry Steele Commager and James B. Shenton. Kartch, who in later years resided in Wayne, died on February 27, 1997 at the age of 93. An essay contest for high school and college students will be conducted by the university in connection with the Jefferson lecture. Certificates and monetary prizes will be awarded to students who write the two best essays on the theme developed in Maier's lecture. Contest judges include Robert Wolk, Sarah Byrd Askew Library; Len Rosenberg, William Paterson professor emeritus, political science; and George Robb, assistant professor of history at William Paterson. Essays must be postmarked no later than May 24, 1999 and sent to Robert Wolk, Sarah Byrd Askew Library, William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey 07470. For additional information about the essay contest, call Wolk at 973-595-2289.
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