Professors Kenneth Jackson and Karen Markoe explore one of the most exciting and important periods in American history: the quarter century between the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. Lectures focus on the rise of machine politics, the transportation revolution, the development of new social elites, the changing role of women, the literary figures who helped define the age, housing for the rich and poor, and an examination of the city at the center of the Gilded Age, New York.

From the Minnesota Historical Society website:

"The newest art standards call for highlighting contributions of Minnesota's American Indian communities. Whether you teach art or social studies, this workshop will provide you with new ideas and resources for creating student projects using different types of media. Sessions will focus on Dakota and Ojibwe artistry past and present, and will include conversations with American Indian artists and educators. Attendees will demo the Minnesota Historical Society's new Ojibwe Shoulder Bag Activity kit."

Through the Institute, teachers begin an investigation of the history of the Holocaust, the systematic, planned annihilation of European Jews and other groups by Nazi Germany from 1933–1945. Participants will also broaden their depth of knowledge about current genocides and continued episodes of man's inhumanity to man during the 20th and 21st centuries. The institute includes a wide range of age-appropriate resources and strategies being modeled through exploration of the best practices in an integrated teaching model. Educators will be equipped to return to their classrooms with the knowledge and pedagogical resources to teach in a manner that leads to an investigation of the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping. Educators will examine what it means to be a responsible and respectful person for the purpose of encouraging tolerance of diversity in a pluralistic society and for nurturing and protecting democratic values and institutions.

Over the past five years, pre-service through first-year teachers have enriched their teaching and content knowledge by completing this program. Its goal is to expose beginning and future teachers at the elementary, middle, and high school levels to strategies and programs which will help them be better civic educators. The institute content includes discussions and practical application of concepts dealing with local, Texas, and national government and the U.S. Constitution. In addition, each level has special programs designed for that grade level. All materials distributed are correlated with the TEKS standards and the TAKS test. Lessons also include gifted and talented/advanced placement extensions.

The Gilder Lehrman Summer Seminars are designed to strengthen participants' commitment to high quality history teaching. Public, parochial, independent school teachers, and National Park Service rangers are eligible. These week-long seminars provide intellectual stimulation and a collaborative context for developing practical resources and strategies to take back to the classroom.

Thomas Jefferson is best known as the author of the American Declaration of Independence. Beginning with the imperial crisis that led to the separation and union of 13 British colonies in North America, this course will focus on Jefferson's political thought and career in order to gain a broad perspective on the founding of the United States and its early history. Professors Peter Onuf and Frank Cogliano will emphasize the geopolitical context of the revolutionaries' bold efforts to establish republican governments and federal union. Jefferson and his patriot colleagues were acutely aware of the world historical significance of their revolution and therefore profoundly anxious about its ultimate outcome and legacy. By exploring the rich canon of his writings participants will seek to understand better what the Revolution meant for Jefferson and Jefferson meant for the Revolution. Major themes will include federalism, foreign policy, constitutionalism and party politics, and race and slavery.

The Gilder Lehrman Summer Seminars are designed to strengthen participants' commitment to high quality history teaching. Public, parochial, independent school teachers, and National Park Service rangers are eligible. These week-long seminars provide intellectual stimulation and a collaborative context for developing practical resources and strategies to take back to the classroom.

A century and a quarter after it came to a close, Reconstruction remains a pivotal but much misunderstood era of American history. This one-week seminar will examine the history of Reconstruction, understood both as a specific period of the American past, which began during the Civil War, and as a prolonged and difficult process by which Americans sought to reunite the nation and come to terms with the destruction of slavery. In political terms, Reconstruction ended in 1877, when the federal government abandoned the idea of intervening in the South to protect the rights of black citizens. As a historical process it lasted to the turn of the century, until new systems of labor and race relations and a new political order were entrenched in the South. And in debates about racial equality, the interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, affirmative action, and the responsibility of the federal government for defining and protecting the rights of citizens, issues central to Reconstruction remain part of our lives today. Reconstruction also offers an opportunity to consider the "politics of history:" how changing interpretations of the past are shaped by the world in which the historian lives and the assumptions he or she brings to the materials of history. During the course of the week, teachers will also annotate one or two documents from the Reconstruction period, for classroom use.

This institute will examine documents that trace the diverse and complex roles played by women throughout the history of the United States. Participants will meet with women's history specialists at the Library of Congress and examine original historical materials from the Library's collections. Library staff will also guide participants in finding and using materials related to women's history on the Library of Congress website, as well as exploring different ways to integrate those materials into the classroom.