From time to time, a group blog really ought to do some collective thing. At the suggestion of Manan Ahmed, this evening Cliopatria will be doing a collective thing: a symposium. Here's the reading assignment for it: Barry Gewen,"Forget the Founding Fathers," New York Times, 5 June. Take the time to read through it carefully. If you need your pump to be primed even further, Derek Catsam reflects on the piece over at Rebunk. Later today, I'll post responses to Gewen's article from several of the Cliopatriarchs. You can then join the discussion in comments, but read Gewen's article first.