"This fifth symposium ... does not deal directly with the history of the Revolution but is rather in the nature of a stocktaking. What has the Revolution meant to America? Have we achieved our dreams or fallen short of them? What new problems face us as we - still a young nation in many ways but a world leader with heavy responsibilities - observe our Bicentennial...?"
These questions - posed by Assistant Librarian of Congress Elizabeth Harner Kegen in her introductory remarks - and many like them were discussed in sessions held at the Library of Congress on May 6 and 7, 1976, under a grant from The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Departing from the approach taken in organizing the four previous symposia in this series, the Library of Congress invited representatives from disciplines other than history to evaluate America today in the light of the events of 200 years ago.
