The Disaffected in The Revolutionary City, A Conversation

The American Revolutionary war came to Philadelphia’s streets and homes in 1777, when the city was taken and occupied by the British army. During the nine month occupation, many of the city’s inhabitants were pursued, pressured, and at times persecuted, not because they chose the wrong side in the conflict, but because they tried not to choose a side at all. The British occupation and this problem of unfixed allegiances is the topic of historian Aaron Sullivan’s The Disaffected: Britain’s Occupation of Philadelphia During the American Revolution (Penn Press, 2019). It is also a major theme in the APS’s 2025 exhibition Philadelphia, The Revolutionary City.

Join us for a Lunch at the Library conversation with Aaron Sullivan and Caroline O’Connell, Curator of Philadelphia, The Revolutionary City, about how each of them grappled with how to tell the story of this pivotal moment in the history of the American Revolution.

This event will take place on Thursday, May 29, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. ET in Benjamin Franklin Hall and will also be livestreamed. This event is free to attend but registration is required.