Celebrating the 250TH anniversary of the united states of america: creating and sustaining access to founding ERA / early REP [the collaborative project, celebrating the 250TH anniversary of the…

The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the University of Virginia $10 million on January 1, 2026, under the Promotion of the Humanities Research program (CFDA 45.161) to research, edit, publish, and promote documentary heritage of the founding era and early republic through collaborative partnerships. The award funds four critical outcomes: increasing understanding of the founding era and early republic; refining and strengthening technical and institutional infrastructure; creating a dynamic, freely-accessible website; and providing hands-on training and knowledge-sharing opportunities. Period of performance runs through December 31, 2030, with all work performed in Virginia.

The University of Virginia pass-through three sub-awards to deliver the work. The Montpelier Foundation will integrate documents from The Papers of James Madison and The Dolley Madison Digital Edition into Montpelier's existing geodatabases using StoryMaps and GIS technologies to create a user-friendly public interface linking primary sources to regional maps, archaeological sites, historic roads, property boundaries, and excavated artifacts. In Year 2, Montpelier will collaborate with Mount Vernon and Monticello to develop their GIS data for integration and will partner with the Center for Digital Editing to create workshops on GIS and StoryMap use in editorial projects. The American Philosophical Society will hire resident scholars and a digitization technician to develop The Revolutionary City portal, launch a transcription internship program using AI-focused training data generation, and digitize and transcribe founding era materials from the American Philosophical Society and partner institutions for integration into IndependenceHub through November 2027. The University of South Carolina will perform treatment of approximately 6,159 founding and early republic era documents organized by five-year periods from 1786 through 1825, with treatment scheduled across multiple phases concluding March 2030.

Celebrating the 250TH anniversary of the united states of america: creating and sustaining access to founding ERA / early REP [the collaborative project, celebrating the 250TH anniversary of the united states of america: creating and sustaining access to founding ERA / early republic primary sources, represents a timely and transformative investment in researching, editing, publishing, and promoting the documentary heritage of the founding ERA and early republic. With support from this grant, the university of virginia and its partners will achieve four critical outcomes: increasing our understanding of the founding ERA and early republic; refining and strengthening the technical and institutional infrastructure; creating a dynamic, freely-accessible website; and providing hands-on training and knowledge-sharing opportunities. By uniting editorial expertise, technological innovation, and public outreach, this initiative ensures that the ideas, voices, and experiences that shaped the founding of the united states of america remain available, understandable, and enduring for future generations.]