*The Ten Paradigm Events that Made America and Changed the World (1776-2026)
Join Dr. Richard Benfield for an extraordinary presentation! 2026 will be America’s semi quincentennial anniversary - 250 years of nation building However, nation building is not linear, rather it is a progression interrupted by periods of dramatic events and resultant change. This change has been popularized by Thomas Kuhn and more recently by Malcom Gladwell in “The Tipping Point”.
In this presentation we will look at a subjective top-ten of American turning points, from Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776) through the Louisiana Purchase/Lewis & Clark, the Titusville oil boom, the Gilded Age, the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, the Great Depression/Dust Bowl and resultant New Deal, and the Battle of Midway (1942) — plus side excursions on the Alaska Purchase and a closing "three I may have missed" list (Edison, Ford, Armstrong, mapping the human Genome and the 1947 transistor). Come prepared to add your own!
Registration required. Fee: Free to Members and $5 for non members
Monday, September 28 from 3:30-4:30pm