On Wednesday, September 17, Hackney Library will be hosting a celebration of Constitution Day with a program and reception from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Refreshments will be served at the event, which is open free of charge to the public as well as to the Barton community. (Constitution Day is held each September 17 to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on that date in 1787.)

Troy Kickler will be the featured speaker at the event. Dr. Kickler is the author of The King’s Trouble Makers: Edenton’s Role in Creating a Nation and State (2013). In the book, Dr. Kickler explores an often overlooked history of northeastern North Carolina and the founding of America, including, among other things, that many passages of the U.S. Constitution originated from townsmen of Edenton, North Carolina. His talk will also be titled “The King’s Trouble Makers” and will address eastern North Carolina’s role in the Founding Era, including the development of the Constitution.

Kickler has also published numerous introductions and forwards to scholarly works, written articles and reviews for a variety of scholarly historical journals and publications, edited or co-edited anthologies, and more. Other recent publications include “Why the Constitution is Essential for Liberty” as part of the State Policy Network’s We the People series, and “Caught in the Crossfire: African American Children and the Ideological Battle for Education in Reconstruction Tennessee” (in Children and Youth During the Civil War Era, New York University Press, 2012, James Marten, ed.).

In addition to being a frequently published author, Kickler is also founding director of the North Carolina History Project and editor of its web site, NorthCarolinahistory.org. According to its web site, the North Carolina History Project, which is a special project of the John Locke Foundation (a non-profit, non-partisan think tank in Raleigh, North Carolina), aims

not only to encourage a wide variety of historical questions and provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas but also to emphasize overlooked or forgotten historical themes. Such themes include entrepreneurship, private sector problem solving, the importance of individuals and ideas, and the positive role of free markets.

The Project’s site is a free online encyclopedia of North Carolina and also includes commentaries, lesson plans, and a community calendar.

Kickler holds an M.S. in Social Studies Education from North Carolina A&T State University and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Tennessee. He has taught at Barton College, at the University of Tennessee, and at North Carolina State University, and he serves on the Scholarly Advisory Board of The Religion in North Carolina Digital Collection (a collaborative project of Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest University).

Please join us for an interesting program reflecting on the link between eastern North Carolinians and the Constitution as we commemorate the signing of that enduring document 227 years ago this year.