LEXINGTON, Va. Sept. 4, 2025 — Virginia Military Institute will commemorate Constitution Day Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. in Marshall Hall’s Gillis Theater on post. Guest speaker will be Dr. Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy, author of several books including, “The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind: Thomas Jefferson’s Idea of a University,” and “An Empire Divided: The American Revolution and the British Caribbean.” His book, “The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire,” won eight national prizes, including the New York Historical Society Prize, the George Washington Prize, and the Society of Military History Prize.

O'Shaughnessy’s most recent book, which he will launch with his talk at VMI, “Republic and Empire Crisis, Revolution, and America’s Early Independence,” was co-authored with the late Trevor Burnard. In addition to his many books, O’Shaughnessy served as vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and Saunders Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello from 2003 to 2022. 

Lt. Col. Mark Boonshoft, associate professor in the Department of History and holder of the Conrad M. Hall ’65 Chair in American Constitutional History, stated O’Shaugnessy is one of the most decorated historians of early America of the last 25 years. “The history department is honored to host him for this year’s Constitution Day commemoration. Dr. O’Shaughnessy’s talk promises to offer new insights about the origins of the revolution that created our republic, a timely topic on the eve the 250^th anniversary of American Independence.”

The event is sponsored by the Department of History and the Jackson-Hope Fund. It is free and open to the public.

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE