Dr. Michael Toomey is a retired professor of history from Lincoln Memorial University where he was a member of the faculty of the Paul V. Hamilton School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. He was the recipient of the LMU prestigious Houston Award for Teaching Excellence. He was also managing editor of the Journal of East Tennessee History and curator of history for the East Tennessee Historical Society. He has written chapters to many peer-reviewed books, authored numerous articles, and given professional presentations. Dr Toomey received his BA degree in history from the University of Tennessee - Chattanooga and his masters and PhD degrees from UTK.

We are all familiar with the many roles that slaves and slavery played in the Civil War. And, we are familiar with the 3/5th compromise made during the formulation of the Constitution regarding slavery. However, less known is the active role that many slaves and their families played during the Revolutionary War. Many ran away from their owners to take refuge in the promise of the British to protect them while granting them freedom and many died. Dr. Toomey will give us a deep dive into this part of our history - which in many ways was setting the stage for the inevitable Civil War.

The Lunch With the League (LWL) is scheduled for the first and third Tuesdays of each month (except September 2026) from September through May. The League meets in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Lunches may be purchased for a nominal fee beginning at 11:30 a.m. (eastern time) or attendees may bring their own lunch. Coffee and tea will be provided. The presentation by the speaker begins at 12:00 noon, followed by a question-and-answer session. Members of the public are welcome to attend these interesting and informative events. 

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, the LWL Lecture Series will devote most of our Fall season with some of the most eloquent and fascinating historians on early American history in our area; each presentation will have a twist that you may not anticipate. Because of some schedule constraints or conflicts, two of these lectures will be held during the Spring season.