Inside the Vault

Upcoming Program

Inside the Vault: James Forten’s Letters from a Man of Colour

Date: February 5, 2026
Time: 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT)
Guest Historian: Dr. Julie Winch, historian and author
Featured Document: Letters from a man of colour, on a late bill before the Senate of Pennsylvania

Born free in colonial Pennsylvania, James Forten witnessed Black troops march through Philadelphia with Washington’s army on his fifteenth birthday, an experience that cemented his commitment to the revolutionary cause. While serving as a privateer for the Continental Army, Forten spent seven months in British captivity, despite a remarkable offer to evade capture by betraying the patriots. After the war, when his home state introduced legislation to severely restrict the rights of free Black Pennsylvanians, Forten published an anonymous set of letters that invoked the Declaration of Independence and rejected the proposed bill. Join us on February 5, 2026, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT) when our curators discuss James Forten’s Letters from a Man of Colour with Dr. Julie Winch, historian and author of A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten.

Submit questions to Dr. Winch.

Register

James Forten's "Letters from a Man of Colour"

Related Resources for the Upcoming Program

Historical Documents

Spotlights on Primary Sources

Each Spotlight on a document from the Gilder Lehrman Collection provides explanatory text, a transcript, and an image of the featured document.

Essays

Gilder Lehrman Essays

“African Americans in the Revolutionary War” by Michael Lee Lanning, retired US Army lieutenant colonel and military historian (History Now 46, “African American Soldiers,” Fall 2016)
“James Forten, Sailmaker” by Julie Winch, UMass Boston (History Now 72, “Black Entrepreneurship in America,” Fall 2024)
“Slavery and Anti-Slavery” by David Brion Davis, Yale University
“The Social and Intellectual Legacy of the American Revolution” by Gary B. Nash, UCLA

Online Exhibitions

The Gilder Lehrman Institute has more than eighty online exhibitions that cover American history from the colonial era to the present day.

Videos

Book Breaks

Book Breaks is a free weekly public program where hosts interview scholars about their new books.

Between Slavery and Freedom: Free People of Color in America from Settlement to the Civil War with Dr. Julie Winch
The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence with Dr. David Waldstreicher

Inside the Vault highlights unique primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection each month.

Lesson Plans

Elementary School Students

The American Revolution: The Boston Massacre, “Yankee Doodle,” and the Declaration of Independence, 1770–1783

Middle and High School Students

Future Programs

“Another Declaration of Independence,” illustration by Paul Stahr, Harper’s Weekly, May 14, 1910.

“Another Declaration of Independence”: The 1848 Seneca Falls Convention and the Declaration of Sentiments

Our curators will discuss the Seneca Falls Convention and the Declaration of Sentiments with Dr. Judith Wellman, Professor Emerita, State University of New York at Oswego, and Director, Historical New York Research Associates.

March 5, 2026
7:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT)

Register

Smallpox Epidemic During the American Revolution

Our curators will discuss the smallpox epidemic during the American Revolution with Dr. Ann Becker, Professor of History, SUNY Empire State College.

April 2, 2026
7:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT)

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Program Archive

View the complete archive of Inside the Vault recordings, presentation slides, and related resources. Our past programs have featured documents from throughout American history and guest presentations by historians, teachers, curators, and Hamilton cast members.

View the Program Archive