The BGSU Department of History is hosting author Marla R. Miller, a historian who has researched and written extensively on women's work in the U.S. before industrialization. Miller will discuss her book, Betsy Ross and the Making of America, followed by a question-and-answer session.

In her talk, "Betsy Ross: The Life Behind the Legend," Miller will draw on decades of research into women and work, gender and artisanry in early America, to consider "Betsy Ross" and the legendary making of the first flag against the context of Elizabeth Griscom Ross's lived experience in Revolutionary Philadelphia and the decades that followed. Along the way, she will consider how we know what we know about Ross and other early American craftswomen, and the ways the present always shapes our questions about the past. 

This event is part of the Threads of Democracy Project, which is supported by a National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grant. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov. We also want to acknowledge Arts Midwest, which is supporting the implementation of this grant project.

Free and open to the public.