This seminar will examine Lincoln’s speeches and letters, as well as those of select contemporaries, on emancipation, civil war, and reconstruction. We will focus on Lincoln’s consistencies and inconsistencies on race, his changing war goals, and his vision for a postwar reconstructed nation rededicated to the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Historic Site: […]
In the wake of the Confederacy’s defeat, some white leaders of the South sought to modernize the region by promoting 1) sectional reconciliation, 2) a resolution to the region’s race problem, and 3) the creation of a new economic order based on industry, commerce, and a diversified agricultural system. In short, these leaders advocated for […]
This seminar explores the presidential transition initiated by the assassination of President Kennedy and how President Johnson responded in his first year in office in terms of policy and executive leadership. The seminar will cover Johnson's first week in office and the flurry of actions he took to transition the government from his predecessor to […]
World War II brought about the formation of what Winston Churchill called the "Grand Alliance" of the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain. But while this alliance proved remarkably effective in bringing about the defeat of the Axis Powers, it was less obvious whether the partnership could last beyond the end of the […]
Wallace Stegner, “the dean of Western writers,” called Hoover Dam “one of the world’s wonders,” marveling how everything about it “is marked by the immense, smooth, efficient beauty that seems peculiarly American.” The colossal structure Stegner admired in the Nevada desert inaugurated an era of prolific construction in the United States, when dams arose as […]
The era of Reconstruction is among the most consequential—but also misunderstood—periods of all American history. This seminar introduces participants to the purpose and implications of Reconstruction. It devotes particular attention to the ways in which Americans restored formally rebellious states into a federal republic; the definition and scope of liberty in the wake of emancipation; […]
The results of the Civil War clarified many fundamental issues regarding the nature of the American government and the enlightenment ideals that rooted its founding. Many new theories of government—some native, some imported from Europe—promised progress beyond political equality, individual liberty, and representative government. The United States did not escape the influence of these ideas. […]
This seminar considers some of the causes and consequences of the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. Among the topics it covers are the rise of militant Islam, the American response to international terrorism, aspects of the Patriot Act, intelligence failures, the U.S. attack on the Taliban, the subsequent war in Afghanistan, the […]
This workshop will examine primary documents to consider how American participation in World War I transformed American society. We will analyze debates over entering the war and expanding the postwar role of the United States in the world, the homefront mobilization required to fight overseas, challenges to civil liberties during the conflict, the wartime fight […]
With the death of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman inherited one of the most challenging national security environments to ever greet an incoming president, as he was forced to both complete the great work of securing a lasting victory in World War II and navigate the complex dynamics of the emerging Cold War. By the […]
