While many Supreme Court cases have shaped American policies and history, this seminar explores cases that focus on the Constitution and Federalism, the Constitution and the Commerce Clause and Civil […]
In creating what James Madison referred to as a "compound republic," the framers of the U.S. Constitution established a political system that was bound to generate collisions between state and […]
The Holocaust was the greatest horror of World War II, and the Allies obtained evidence of Nazi Germany’s genocide of Europe’s Jewish population during the war. How did Allied leaders, especially President Franklin Roosevelt, respond to the Holocaust? Did the Allies attempt to disrupt the death camps’ operations in order to halt the mass murder? […]
The presidencies of George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson established precedents and dealt with issues of executive power. This seminar will examine documents from the Washington, Adams and Jefferson administrations including topics like the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Louisiana Purchase. This program will be conducted as a discussion, utilizing primary source documents […]
This seminar will focus on America’s westward expansion and its “Manifest Destiny” to expand from sea to shining sea. This seminar will consider the purposes for westward expansion, Jackson’s Indian Removal Policy and westward expansion’s impact on slavery. This program will be conducted as a discussion, utilizing primary source documents as the only readings, and […]
This seminar explores major themes in the African American tradition by considering speeches, essays, and literature at several key inflection points across history. Participants will reflect upon different forms of literary and political expression in order to learn how African Americans navigated the challenges posed by slavery, emancipation, modernity and civil rights. Throughout, the readings […]
The decade that preceded Abraham Lincoln’s presidential election and the onset of secession and civil war saw an America increasingly divided over the future of slavery in the United States. This seminar will explore the events and turmoil that ultimately led to the greatest conflict this nation endured. The readings that follow present a diversity […]
Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. both argued that the proper foundation for civic education is the belief that America has a moral essence derived from the principles of […]
This seminar will focus on the roots of Jim Crow in the late 19th century. What was the catalyst for Jim Crow legislation? How did the laws and customs of […]
This seminar offers an overview of the debates at the Constitutional Convention. We will examine the purposes of the American political order, the defects of the Articles of Confederation, the […]
