Historical figures who helped shape America from its colonial beginnings to the Civil War era will appear in the reincarnated flesh through a new program this summer at the Northeast Georgia History Center.

The inaugural season of the New Gainesville Chautauqua is a summer series of Living History Character performances happening during the regular forums during June, July and August. It will focus on the theme of “Becoming America” by exploring how the United States came to be and how it changes in response to the needs and actions of its people. During the course of the series, the legends of Patrick Henry, Abigail Adams and Harriet Tubman will tell a part of the story of America’s development using their own perspectives.

Sessions are at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month in the History Center amphitheatre at 322 Academy St. NE in Gainesville. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Presenting the first installment is the History Center’s Curator of Education Ken Johnston as Patrick Henry on June 14. He will focus on “Empire or Liberty?” as it is June 1788, and the recently independent United States are debating the new Constitution of the United States. Henry, the noted patriot, argues for rejecting, not ratifying, the document and the government it would establish.

On July 12, Colonial Williamsburg’s Abigail Schumann will portray Abigail Adams and discuss “Times in Which a Genius Would Wish to Live.” In the waning months of 1800, Adams has learned the results of the presidential election — often referred to as the “Revolution of 1800,” in which her husband John was defeated by Thomas Jefferson — and reflects on public and private affairs as witnessed by her during the United States’ founding generation.

Finally, History Center associate Artist Chiara Richardson will portray Harriet Tubman on Aug. 9 and present “Never Lost a Passenger.” In 1870, after publication of the first biography about her the previous year, Tubman reflects on her life as a former slave, abolitionist, conductor on the Underground Railroad network and scout and spy for the U.S. military during the Civil War. She also and looks ahead to the cause of women’s suffrage, which she has embraced as the next chapter of her life.

For more information, call 770-297-5900 or email gkyle@brenau.edu.