Our Story

It all started when...

Project Director Marlene Arnold became interested in the history and the people and cultures of Lancaster and other communities in southeastern Pennsylvania in the decades leading up to the American Revolution, after meeting with author, Professor Jacob Needleman, of San Francisco State in the late 1990’s. At the time, Needleman was writing a book called The American Soul (2002) in which he suggests that original American values arose in the Lancaster area and in other small communities in southeastern Pennsylvania. Professor Arnold was so taken with the subject, she began a ten-year period of examining accounts of the people of the region and the events that shaped their lives.  In 2013, while on sabbatical leave, Dr. Arnold began in earnest to undertake more extensive research. It soon became apparent that the material was not only exciting, but that it had great potential to inspire many Americans about the momentousness of the birth of America and of the American Dream.

In the fall of  2014, Professor Arnold reached out to (now Project Chair) Dr. Thomas Ryan, the President and CEO of LancasterHistory.org. He was enthusiastic about the project and took the idea of officially partnering with Millersville University on the project to his board. In April of 2015, LancasterHistory.org and Millersville University together launched the Providence Project Council, an advisory group that set the stage for broader community engagement in the support of the Providence Project. Many amazing stories have been gathered around fascinating and perhaps unexpected characters. While well-known members America’s national history, such as William Penn and Benjamin Franklin are included, the world of southeastern Pennsylvania was populated with strong, independent women in every cultural group, as well as Africans, both free and enslaved, and, of course, Native Americans. Characters come from many different European and West African locales at a time when “American” referred only to those peoples native to North America. 

When once asked about her greatest hope for the Providence Project Arnold said, “I envision a woman in Georgia, or a man in Kansas, or a teen in Oregon, turning off the TV after viewing one of our episodes and saying, “Wow, that’s what it means to be an American.” The Providence Project story has the potential to guide our own personal and national journeys today. This TV series represents an extraordinary opportunity, a great opening for America to explore a new frontier—our past—in a way that has never been done. And in so doing, we can arrive at a new shore, with a new understanding of who we are and of our place in the world.

Project Director Marlene Arnold became interested in the history and the people and cultures of Lancaster and other communities in southeastern Pennsylvania in the decades leading up to the American Revolution, after meeting with author, Professor Jacob Needleman, of San Francisco State in the late 1990’s. At the time, Needleman was writing a book called The American Soul (2002) in which he suggests that original American values arose in the Lancaster area and in other small communities in southeastern Pennsylvania. Professor Arnold was so taken with the subject, she began a ten-year period of examining accounts of the people of the region and the events that shaped their lives.  In 2013, while on sabbatical leave, Dr. Arnold began in earnest to undertake more extensive research. It soon became apparent that the material was not only exciting, but that it had great potential to inspire many Americans about the momentousness of the birth of America and of the American Dream. In the fall of  2014, Professor Arnold reached out to (now Project Chair) Dr. Thomas Ryan, the President and CEO of LancasterHistory.org. He was enthusiastic about the project and took the idea of officially partnering with Millersville University on the project to his board. In April of 2015, LancasterHistory.org and Millersville University together launched the Providence Project Council, an advisory group that set the stage for broader community engagement in the support of the Providence Project. Many amazing stories have been gathered around fascinating and perhaps unexpected characters. While well-known members America’s national history, such as William Penn and Benjamin Franklin are included, the world of southeastern Pennsylvania was populated with strong, independent women in every cultural group, as well as Africans, both free and enslaved, and, of course, Native Americans. Characters come from many different European and West African locales at a time when “American” referred only to those peoples native to North America. When once asked about her greatest hope for the Providence Project Arnold said, “I envision a woman in Georgia, or a man in Kansas, or a teen in Oregon, turning off the TV after viewing one of our episodes and saying, “Wow, that’s what it means to be an American.” The Providence Project story has the potential to guide our own personal and national journeys today. This TV series represents an extraordinary opportunity, a great opening for America to explore a new frontier—our past—in a way that has never been done. And in so doing, we can arrive at a new shore, with a new understanding of who we are and of our place in the world.