Historians, Scholars and Educators Discuss New Jersey’s Critical Role in War for Independence at Teaching Revolutionary NJ Symposium

MAYS LANDING — Nearly 100 middle school, high school and college level history educators, as well as scholars, independent historians, history buffs and many others, interested in New Jersey’s role during the revolutionary era convened at Atlantic Cape Community College for the Teaching Revolutionary New Jersey Symposium on May 23 in Walter E. Edge Theater on the College’s Mays Landing campus.

Designed by Atlantic Cape’s Arts & Humanities Department, the Symposium brought together some of the State’s preeminent revolutionary era minds for a series of 30-minute discussions that focused on relevant content, pedagogical strategies and approaches that may be utilized by educators, scholars and historians in their respective classrooms and elsewhere in advance of the 250^th anniversary (the Semiquincentennial) of the American Declaration of Independence in 2026.

Atlantic Cape Adjunct Instructor of History, Sociology and Geography Mark “Paulie” Wenger was the architect behind the vision for the symposium as a way to create a space where scholars and educators could exchange ideas and grow as professionals in preparation for the anniversary of the signing.

“I firmly believe that history must be taught outwards, centering local history to illuminate the broader national narrative of our country's enduring pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Emphasizing local history is essential because our students are tomorrow's community leaders. If they don't care about the past beneath their feet, then we are condemning our history to apathy or destruction,” said Wenger.

Keynote speaker Dr. Jennifer Janofsky, a Megan Giordano Fellow at Rowan University and executive director at Red Bank Battlefield, presented on the battlefield’s extraordinary history and recent unearthing of more than a dozen remains of Hessian soldiers.

“A primary goal of the Red Bank Archaeology Project is to challenge people’s understanding of a Revolutionary War battlefield and who constituted ‘the enemy.’ These battlefields saw tremendous pain and suffering. Red Bank Battlefield Park is one of a few sites where people can visit a mass burial site and have these conversations,” said Janofsky, who earned her Ph.D. from Temple University in Early American History and Public History, and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

“The project brings together scholars from across multiple disciplines including history, archaeology, forensic anthropology and bioarcheology. The last thing we want is for people to see these remains as a pile of bones. They were human beings and our mission is to share their stories and connect contemporary audiences with their lived experiences.”

Chris Slaby, a Ph.D. student at William and Mary University in Williamsburg, Virginia, presented on the revolution’s impact upon the indigenous peoples of Lenapehoking, or New Jersey, and how they sought to ensure their survival by predominantly siding with the patriots over the loyalists.

“The Lenape had already been largely displaced from their homelands by the time of the war, yet as a way to maintain what they could, they sided with the patriots. The Lenape Nation was among the first foreign states to recognize the new United States as a country. While other Native nations and people either sought neutrality or supported the British, the Lenape took the side of the U.S.,” said Slaby.

“Indigenous history is similar to the founding of the United States. It is important for everyone to understand how they are intertwined. Lastly, the Lenape and other Indigenous peoples are still here today, both on their reservations elsewhere and on Lenapehoking. The American Revolution was neither the beginning nor the ending of their story, and while it is crucial to talk about them as part of the revolution, one of the things that I hope people, and students in particular, take away from this is that this is an on-going story.”

Additional presenters discussed a wide range of revolutionary era topics, including from exploring history through music and the local Lenni-Lenape tribe to revolutionary archaeology and women’s experiences during the revolution. Read a complete listing of the symposium’s presenters and their topics at atlanticcape.edu/revolutionarysymposium.

When the idea for the symposium was initially conceived more than one year ago, Senior Dean of Liberal Studies and Culinary Arts Dr. Denise-Marie Coulter received enthusiastic approval from Dr. Josette Katz, senior vice president of Academic Affairs, who studied history as an undergraduate student; Dr. Augustine Nigro, chair of Arts & Humanities Department and professor of History; and Chris Weisbecker, assistant professor of History.

Tasked with organizing the symposium, a planning committee secured critical funding from the Atlantic Cape Community College Foundation and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.

“This financial support was key to sharing the magic of the day broadly throughout New Jersey, in a variety of formats. We were able to hire a videographer to record the event and an editor to transform the footage into individual film clips that educators will be able to review, learn from and share with their classes,” said Coulter. “Additionally, with the help of Stockton University’s South Jersey Culture and History Center, we will be issuing an ePub book, which will feature papers by all eleven presenters, and video recordings of each presentation will be shared at atlanticcape.edu/revolutionarysymposium later this summer.”

With the overwhelming positive response that has been received, Atlantic Cape is excited by the possibility of hosting another symposium in the near future. Coulter is optimistic that the information provided during the symposium will be used to educate the public on New Jersey’s place in our country’s nascent beginnings.

“I'm hoping our symposium and the educational materials generated as a result of it, will provide teachers with a basis of knowledge from which to build their lessons in the coming academic year. I hope they are able to spark the interest of a new generation of students, a broad range of learners, helping them secure a better understanding of our country's origins and specifically New Jersey's role within that history,” said Coulter.

The Teaching Revolutionary New Jersey Symposium was proudly sponsored by RevolutionNJ, New Jersey Council for the Humanities, Stockton University’s South Jersey Culture & History Center and Atlantic Cape Community College Foundation.

For more information, please visit atlanticcape.edu/revolutionarysymposium or email TeachRevNJ@atlanticcape.edu.

About Atlantic Cape Community College

Atlantic Cape Community College is a Middle States accredited, 2022 Achieving the Dream Leader College and Hispanic Serving Institution proudly serving the residents of Atlantic and Cape May counties. As a comprehensive, two-year community college, Atlantic Cape offers 47 undergraduate degree programs, and 32 certificate and professional series programs at its Mays Landing, Atlantic City and Cape May County campuses. Atlantic Cape is home to the renowned Academy of Culinary Arts, rated the top culinary school in New Jersey, and for more than 50 years, our highly-acclaimed Nursing program. Atlantic Cape also partners with more than 30 colleges and four-year universities to offer students the opportunity to seamlessly earn a bachelor’s degree upon graduation.