Gordon Wood is the Alva O. Way University Professor Emeritus at Brown University.  He is the author of several books, including Revolutionary Characters: What made the Founders Different,  The Purpose of the Past: Reflections on the Uses of History, and most recently, Empire of Liberty: a History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815. The topic of his presentation will be centered on the theme of the presidential exhibits, "Arise Citizens! From the Founding of a Nation to the Crisis of the Union." This event is free and open to the public.