In this seminar, Abraham Lincoln and Reconstruction, we will consider the issues of slavery, secession, and reconstruction. As seceded states came under the control of Union armies, Lincoln grappled with the problem of their eventual readmission or reconstruction. What should the status of disloyal whites be once they had been forced to resubmit to the […]
Following the Civil War, African American businessmen and women began to invest, build, and thrive despite white-controlled financial and commercial networks. But what happened in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma? Why will it become a target of a racial massacre in 1921? Using primary documents, we will read and listen to the stories of […]
Where does one draw the line between protected and punishable speech? Is “hate speech” entitled to First Amendment protection? Are there boundaries of free expression? Join us as we explore the crucial role of free speech in a democratic republic and the Supreme Court’s evolving standards of jurisprudence since the first opinion was handed down […]
Study the origins of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War and focus on Lyndon Johnson’s understanding of and approach to the war during his presidency. This seminar is based on primary documents and will help to shed light on the rationale for LBJ’s efforts in Vietnam, as well as the challenges and issues he faced […]
“The moral certainty therefore is that there will be an Anti-federal Majority in the Ensuing Legislature, and this very high probability is that this will bring Jefferson into the Chief Magistracy . . . the scruples of delicacy and propriety . . . ought not to hinder the taking of a legal and constitutional step, […]
Following the Civil War, African American businessmen and women began to invest, build, and thrive despite white-controlled financial and commercial networks. But what happened in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma? Why will it become a target of a racial massacre in 1921? Using primary documents, we will read and listen to the stories of […]
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? […]
Liberty and equality are powerful words in American political discourse. How have they been interpreted throughout American history? Are liberty and equality in tension with each other, or are they compatible? This seminar explores three different views in American history and thought about the relationship between liberty and equality. This program will be conducted as […]
“May be to the world . . . the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government.” -Thomas Jefferson, letter to Roger C. Weightman, 1826 Jefferson lives! Join us on this chilly December morning […]
The decade that preceded Abraham Lincoln’s presidential election, the onset of secession, and eventual 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 […]
