Events

The War of 1812 represented the first instance that the young republic declared war on another nation. This seminar will explore the causes and events that led to the war, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 the Declaration of Independence, and that America’s history and purpose—its past, present, and future—is the story of our struggle to live up to those principles. […]

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 debates over the reform of the Confederation government and squaring the institution of slavery. In our study, we will attempt to understand the interests and […]

This seminar will examine the lives of African American women from Reconstruction through the latter twentieth century. Using primary source materials from leading African American female intellectuals, activists, and organizations, we will concentrate on African American women’s experiences in politics, the workplace, race and social movements, and on historical debates about men and women’s private […]

From a young age Abraham Lincoln was a voracious reader, especially of the writings of William Shakespeare. He was known to carry a worn-out pocket-sized copy of Macbeth while law circuit riding and later campaigning. Why was Lincoln so interested in Macbeth, a play about tyranny? Join us as we consider Shakespeare passages, writings of […]

Women’s political, social, and economic status has undergone several transformations in American history. This seminar will explore readings and documents in those stages: Women of Reform and Revolution, Women in […]