About Summer Scholars Lunchtime Talks
The Summer Scholars season of lunchtime talks is hosted by the Eccles Institute for the Americas and Oceania at the Library and showcases the exciting and wide-ranging research into our Americas collections by the Institute’s Visiting Fellows and associates, as well as Library staff.
Free. No need to book, just drop-in.
The U.S. Supreme Court and the Working of American Democracy
Depending on political persuasion, the courts in the US at the current time are either standing in the way of the policies of a democratically elected president or the final bulwark against autocratic rule. This is not new in US history: at times of political tension the Supreme Court has often become the focus of debates about the present and future of democracy in the United States. Emma Long looks at some of those past tension points to consider whether the current moment is history repeating or something new.
'Liberty in North America Triumphant': A Triumphal Arch near Boston Spa, Yorkshire, and its Meaning During the American Revolution
In 1783 the Whig politician Sir Thomas Gascoigne (1745–1810) constructed a large triumphal arch dedicated to 'Liberty in North America Triumphant'. Once a politically powerful monument, the arch today stands crumbling in a field near the British Library’s site in Boston Spa. Alexander Lock outlines the reasons why a British politician would make such a seemingly unpatriotic architectural statement and explore its impact on Anglo-American relations in the years after the American War of Independence.
More information
About the speakers
Emma Long is Associate Professor of American History and Politics at the University of East Anglia. Her research interests include the history and politics of the US Supreme Court, and the role of religion in American politics. She is a 2025 Eccles Institute Visiting Fellow at the British Library.
Alexander Lock is Lead Curator of North American Collections at the British Library.
About the Eccles Institute
The Eccles Institute builds, curates and preserves the Americas and Oceania contemporary collection at the Library and champions knowledge and understanding of these regions through a rich programme of fellowships and awards, cultural events, research training, guides to the collections and initiatives for schools.
For more information about the Institute and our collections, contact eccles-institute@bl.uk or visit our blog.
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