Welcome to ESU Happy Hour! The ESU has planned a series of programs to connect and reach out to our members through programs that are engaging, fun, and informative on a wide variety of topics. Happy Hour programs bring to you guest speakers live and free of charge.  Speakers may also suggest a unique cocktail for you to create and enjoy at home. These programs are designed so ESU members and guests can learn and interact with our outstanding speakers. Many speakers will provide exciting participation opportunities with fun give away books and products at the end of each program.

We invite members to suggest topics for future ESU Happy Hour Programs at this link. Cheers!

Philadelphia, PA., America’s first capital, held a pivotal role as the cradle of American democracy. When George Washington took the oath of office in 1789, Philadelphia had the largest free and literate community of Africans in the entire British Atlantic. This community raised families, built institutions, created opportunities for self-emancipated Africans to continue north, fought for equal rights, and they participated in public life. They exemplified the ideals of the new republic.
 
Oliver St. Clair Franklin is the creator and co-executive producer of a feature length documentary of our Founding Era through the lens of the Black Philadelphia community of that time. Franklin’s documentary, Becoming American: Philadelphia’s Story, explores how diverse groups that included European colonists, Native Americans, free Black communities, and enslaved Africans lived and worked side-by-side to shape the new United States.
 
Join this ESU Happy Hour as Oliver Franklin describes his film as a shared national and international historical record that explains how America came to be, how it expanded, and how its founding ideals continue to resonate today. This Happy Hour is sponsored by the ESU Philadelphia Branch. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members and the public. Registration is required to receive the webinar link.

Daniel Boone (1734-1820) was an American pioneer, trailblazer, outdoorsman, revolutionary, and adventurer whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. The story of the early settlement of Kentucky is well documented, and Daniel Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the U.S. state of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of the Thirteen Colonies.

There is a difference between the myth and the man who actually existed. Daniel Boone lived an extraordinary life—even if he didn’t wear a coonskin cap! Boone was celebrated in his own lifetime especially after stories of his adventures were published in 1784, making him famous both in America and Europe.

This ESU Happy Hour welcomes acclaimed actor, Kevin Hardesty, who has created a one-man play “Daniel Boone: The First Kentuckian.” Hardesty brings the famous frontiersman to life as he portrays Boone as a man who established himself as an accomplished hunter and explorer in Kentucky. We will see Hardesty live, in-person, as well as watch some recorded segments from his one-man play.

As ESU continues to celebrate America’s 250^th anniversary, it is noteworthy that Daniel Boone moved to Kentucky and established a settlement just over 250 years ago in 1774.

Join us for this special ESU Happy Hour sponsored by the ESU Kentucky Branch. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members and the public. Registration is required to receive the webinar link.

Today our ESU Happy Hour takes us on a journey through the pivotal events that shaped America 250 years ago, this time in the great state of Virginia, where revolutionary ideas became constitutional action. On May 15, 1776, at the Fifth Virginia Convention in Williamsburg, delegates in Philadelphia proposed to transition Virginia from a British colony into an independent commonwealth, to establish a new state government, and urged the Continental Congress to declare full national independence from Great Britain.

Their work produced the Virginia Declaration of Rights—one of the most important documents in American history. It was a landmark statement of liberty and limited government and laid out the basic rights and freedoms that all people should have and set limits on what the government could do. The Virginia Declaration of Rights also influenced other state bills of rights, the U.S. Bill of Rights, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

Join us for a lively step back into this revolutionary moment with Professor A.E. Dick Howard, who will present “From English Rights to American Constitutions: Americans Transcribe Their Values and Aspirations in State Constitutions.” This special ESU Happy Hour is sponsored by the ESU Charlottesville, VA Branch. The program is online, free, and open to ESU members and the public. Registration is required to receive the webinar link.

Christmas in America has a much richer and stranger history than the cozy images we know today. This festive ESU Happy Hour explores why early New Englanders outlawed Christmas, how rowdy wassailing gangs once filled the streets, and how German, Dutch, and English traditions eventually blended into the modern Santa. We’ll trace the journey from medieval St. Nicholas and Alpine mischief-makers to Thomas Nast’s German-American illustrations, the Civil War era’s sentimental reinvention of the holiday, and the 20th-century rise of Rudolph, department-store Santas, Coca-Cola branding, and iconic Christmas foods. With a pint in hand, you’ll learn how a mix of immigrant customs, reform movements, and cultural trends brought today’s version of American Christmas into being.
 
Join us as Erica Benson brings a story-packed journey tracing how America invented its own version of Santa and reshaped Christmas into the celebration we recognize today. The ESU Kansas City Branch sponsors this special ESU Happy Hour. The program is online, free, and open to ESU members and the public. Registration is required to receive the webinar link.