1776: How the Magnificent Seven made America great – Vital people who influenced the fight for independence

The very same year that the Manchester Lit&Phil was founded in 1781, British troops surrendered to George Washington’s make-shift army in Yorktown, Virginia – and the United States of America was on its way to independence and future ‘greatness.’

Today, as America celebrates its 250th anniversary since Thomas Jefferson’s defiant Declaration of Independence in 1776, the world reflects on how and why that landmark moment was achieved, and who were the prime movers.

No doubt Donald Trump will claim the credit, even though his grandfather didn’t arrive until the late 19th Century from Bavaria, with his mother arriving from the Scottish isles in 1930.

Writer Lindsay Sutton believes that success was largely down to the influence and actions of those he calls ‘The Magnificent Seven.’ Individually, this disparate collection of individuals from across the Atlantic – one a radical British writer and thinker – made a huge contribution to ‘the cause’, seeking liberty and freedom from colonial rule.

Rather than be overly military with a ‘battle, battle, battle’ offering, Lindsay has opted for human interest stories about vital people who influenced the fight for independence from the British colonial yoke.

About the speaker

Lindsay Sutton is an award-winning, trans-Atlantic journalist, author and travel writer, and a former TV broadcaster and producer. He has worked for the Daily Mirror, the Daily Mail and The Times, and for ITV, Sky and the BBC. As a political writer and broadcaster, he is happy not to be pigeonholed.

He specialises in all things American – a passion since his teenage days – and has reported on the USA since he covered the 1976 Presidential election with Jimmy Carter’s campaign. He has met most Presidents since then, and yes, that includes ‘The Donald.’

More recently, he has been an American-focused travel writer, and has won three top awards, including IPW American Travel Writer of the Year, and Visit USA’s Destination of the Year Award.

Apart from his American Revolution project, he is in talks to publish his other main American work: ‘Great Brits who earned their Stars and Stripes.’