Liam Riordan

This illustrated presentation and discussion explores the statehood process in Maine that culminated in 1820 with formal separation from Massachusetts. That struggle engaged a range of challenging public issues that are still recognizable today. Commemorating statehood can help us to better understand: the explosive place of slavery vis-a-vis the Maine-Missouri Crisis, the uncertain location of the international border and regional diversity, sharp partisan conflict and the “two Maines”, Wabanaki sovereignty and more.

Liam Riordan is an early American historian specializing in the Revolutionary era (ca. 1760-1830), and has been a faculty member at UMaine since 1997. He has done considerable Public History work to commemorate the bicentennial of the state of Maine and organized a public scholarly conference on the statehood era and its legacy in 2019.

To sign-up for a Zoom link for this event, please email elewis@rocklandmaine.gov no later than 4 PM  on the day of the event.