How did the United States get involved in the conflict in Vietnam? When did this involvement escalate, and for what reasons? How did LBJ - who became president after JFK's assassination and had spent most of his political career focusing on social issues - react to these events and shape them? Dig deeply into these questions and others using a diverse set of original documents, including previously-classified internal White House meeting minutes and Defense Department memos. All attendees of this…

Join teachers from the Chicago area to study the origins of the Cold War, beginning with pre-WW2 documents and moving into the years immediately after the end of the war. This seminar-style program will consist of three 90-minute discussion sessions, each focused on a set of documents, and facilitated by a one of our graduate faculty. These open-ended sessions will enable participants to get to know this topic at a greater depth, through a set of original documents. Lunch and…

Progressive political theory was a driving force behind the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Both men defined progressivism in their own way but both men wished to use the presidency to intervene in American life in ways not previously imagined. Join us in a conversation about the ideas, proposals and legacies of the Roosevelt and Wilson administrations. Each participant will receive a reading packet of primary sources, free lunch, and a tour of the Wilson home and museum.…

The Civil Rights Movement in America has endured a difficult and tumultuous path. The Emancipation Proclamation ended the institution of slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment should have guaranteed freedoms, equality and civil rights for all men, however it would take many generations of hardships and court cases for that reality to be achieved. This seminar addresses the complicated road endured by African Americans. Lunch will be provided at this free program, as well as a certificate for continuing education. All registrants…

  In 1800, America experienced what could be called its second partisan election, and this one more clearly separated into camps than in 1796. Engage with the ideas and debates of the times as Americans tested whether their new constitutional system could withstand the growing power of political parties, and how and divided country would respond to a transfer of power. Lunch will be provided at this free program, as well as a certificate for continuing education. All registrants will…

Study the context around, ideas of, and debate over the Civil Rights Act of 1964, through primary sources and discussion. Lunch and a certificate for continuing education will be provided at this free program. Access digital copies of program materials here after 12 MAR 20; all registrants will be mailed paper copies in advance of the program. REGISTER HERE

This Seminar will focus on the institution of Congress: its powers, the evolution, expansion, and sometime-reinterpretation of its role in American politics and public life. Perfect for Government teachers, this program is also well-suited to American History teachers, as the documents included in the reader and considered during the program form a series of case studies of Congressional activity throughout American history. Lunch will be provided at this free program, as well as a certificate for continuing education. All registrants…