sepia toned photo of a train car with four white men in suits standing in front and a Black men in a chef's uniform behind them on the train

2026 USS Conference

“The United States at 250: The Evolution of Liberty”

Per our agreement upon joining the Universities Studying Slavery (USS) consortium, the University of Maryland will host the international Universities Studying Slavery Conference in the fall semester of 2026.

The 1856 Project’s advisory board intentionally selected the year 2026 as it corresponds with the United States Semiquincentennial—the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776. The 1856 Project is currently working with state, university, and local community partners to plan and program the 2026 USS conference. Keeping in line with the significance of the year 2026, our advisory board chose “The United States at 250: The Evolution of Liberty” as the overarching conference theme, with a particular focus on the evolutions of and struggles over slavery and freedom in the nation’s first two and a half centuries.

The conference will be held on the University of Maryland College Park campus in October of 2026. It is expected to attract nearly 500 participants, including historians, scholars, archivists, community researchers, and students from across the country. A formal announcement and a call for papers will be made in 2025.

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