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Vermont Humanities Council Presents First Wednesdays Lecture

UVM Professor and Former Deputy Secretary of State Debate Vermont Secession at Newport’s Goodrich Memorial Library

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Montpelier ~ University of Vermont Professor Frank Bryan and former Deputy Secretary of State Paul Gillies will debate whether the time has come for a Second Republic of Vermont at Goodrich Memorial Library on June 4. The event, "The Great Debate: Is it Time for a Second Vermont Republic?" is part of the Vermont Humanities Council's First Wednesdays lecture series and takes place at 7:00 p.m. (This talk was rescheduled from March 5 due to weather.)

Americans, including New Englanders, have periodically contemplated secession since the Union began. Frank Bryan and Paul Gillies will consider this question from Vermont’s perspective in an informative and good-spirited debate moderated by Ethan Allen Institute President John McClaughry.

Frank Bryan is the author of Real Democracy: The New England Town Meeting and How it Works, and teaches in the Political Science Department at the University of Vermont. Paul Gillies is partner in the law firm of Tarrant, Marks & Gillies. He served as Deputy Secretary of State of Vermont from 1981-1993.

The Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays series is held on the first Wednesday of every month from October through May, featuring speakers of national and regional renown. The series alternates between Goodrich Memorial Library in Newport and Stanstead College in Stanstead, Quebec. First Wednesdays is also presented in Brattleboro at Brooks Memorial Library; in Burlington at Fletcher Free Library; in Manchester at First Congregational Church (hosted by Mark Skinner Library); in Middlebury at Ilsley Public Library; in Montpelier at Kellogg-Hubbard Library; and at St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. The program is free, accessible to people with disabilities and open to the public.

The Newport-Stanstead series is sponsored by Donner Canadian Foundation. First Wednesdays in Newport is supported in part by the Institute of Museum & Library Services through the Vermont Department of Libraries.

For more information, contact Goodrich Memorial Library at 802.334.7902, Stanstead College at 819.876.7891 x270, or contact the Vermont Humanities Council at 802.262.2626 or [log in to unmask], or visit www.vermonthumanities.org.

The Vermont Humanities Council is a private nonprofit working to bring the power and the pleasure of the humanities to all Vermonters—of every background and in every community. The Council envisions a state in which every individual learns throughout life—a state in which all its citizens read, reflect, and participate in public affairs.

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