To celebrate the country's 250th anniversary, the library is hosting a series titled America250PA focusing on local history. This film screening of Fries Rebellion will be presented by Lee Lichtenwalner of the Lower Macungie Township Historical Society in Lehigh County.

This local docudrama features historical events from the Fries Rebellion of 1798-1799 as told through modern-day characters and has been aired on PBS.

 It happened here – in Bucks, Montgomery and Lehigh County. This film tells the story of the Pennsylvania Germans in this area that protested the actions of the newly formed Federal government. Local farmers and others joined together to voice strident opposition to the way they perceived the new nation was going under President John Adams’s administration and rebelled against a new federal tax. Named after its leader, John Fries (pronounced “freeze”), the Fries Rebellion made waves at the highest levels of the new government. 

Synopsis: After moving back to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, Kayla, a teenage schoolgirl, struggles with a local history report until her Uncle Steve, an area history professor, drives her around to places influential in the Fries Rebellion. Through immersive visions of the 1798-99 tax revolt, Kayla experiences the protest against the Federalist government’s first Federal House Tax led by patriotic Pennsylvania-German veterans of the American Revolution first hand and uncovers something important about herself along the way.

Enjoy the efforts to make the film and the film itself. The presenter will answer any questions or entertain comments after the showing.

To learn more about the film, visit its website: https://friesrebellionfilm.com/the-film/.

There will be no salespeople present, no forms to complete, and the presenter will not receive a list of program attendees.

This program fulfills the Civic and Social Literacy for PaLA's PA Forward Gold Star program.