Atlas of Independence: John Adams & the American Revolution — Presentation and Book Signing

In early fall 2025, Quincy Historical Society received an inquiry about the sculptor of the Merrymount Park bas relief depicting John Adams and John Quincy Adams in conversation. This perfectly ordinary inquiry turned into a months-long exchange with author Chris Mackowski as he put the final touches on his new book Atlas of Independence: John Adams and the American Revolution. On Thursday, April 30th, the Historical Society is delighted to host Dr. Chris Mackowski for a presentation and book signing.

John Adams is widely heralded, by historians and by his contemporaries, as the Architect of American Independence. But what did Adams do to earn a moniker of such esteem, while simultaneously cultivating a reputation for being stubborn and combative?

Atlas of Independence sets the record straight about John Adams’ significant contributions to the Second Continental Congress, where he worked tirelessly behind-the-scenes to nudge – and sometimes shove – his colleagues towards the inevitable conclusion that America must declare independence from Britain. This program will explore those efforts, and the great personal sacrifices that Adams made in pursuit of principle. It will lay out an overview of Adams’ seminal role in that tumultuous Founding time.

This event is open to all and free to attend.

Chris Mackowski, Ph.D., is a writing professor in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, NY, where he also serves as associate dean for undergraduate programs. He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Emerging Civil War and the series editor of the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series, published by Savas Beatie. He is also historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, a historic property on the Spotsylvania battlefield in central Virginia. He has worked as a historian for the National Park Service at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, where he gives tours at four major Civil War battlefields (Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania), as well as at the building where Stonewall Jackson died. An award-winning writer, Chris has authored or co-authored nearly two dozen books and edited a half-dozen essay collections on the Civil War. Atlas of Independence: John Adams and the American Revolution is his first foray into Revolution-era history.