The Founders famously created a "Constitution against parties" and yet political parties emerged and organized during George Washington's administration. At the center of this partisan contest was Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. This seminar will examine their arguments and their competing visions for the United States. Historic Site: George Washington’s Mount Vernon Hotel: Hilton Alexandria […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
