Taking a fresh perspective on the Revolution, this seminar asks why we still generally concentrate on the lives and thoughts of the Founding Fathers when in fact ordinary people carried the burden of the American Revolution. How should the people be restored to narratives of Revolution? Were the political ideas that energized their participation the same as those of the celebrated leaders? Did the people stake out more radical positions than did the elite planters and lawyers? What exactly did the Revolution involve for ordinary Americans who lived in small communities?

The seminar will consist of three sessions. The first two, featuring lecture and discussion, will focus on the close analysis of images and primary documents. The third will concentrate on the integration of seminar ideas and material into lesson plans using the Center's Seminar-to-Classroom Guide.

This seminar will explore a controversial era shrouded in myths and memories. Among the topics it will examine are the presidencies of John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon; the civil rights movement; the Vietnam War; the New Left; the counterculture; the women's movement; the gay movement; the conservative movement; the international dimension of youth protest; and the legacies of the 1960s. The aim of the seminar is to provide a balanced history of a turbulent time that continues to influence American politics, society, and culture.

From Bombingham to Selma, Montgomery to Tuskegee, Alabama's people and places left an indelible mark on the world in the 1950s and 1960s. From Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver to the Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, Alabama citizens have been at the forefront of the crusade to improve African Americans' lot in life in the United States. Selma's citizens began a march in 1965 to protest the killing of one man. This day became known as Bloody Sunday. Now the citizens of Selma have created a people's museum so the world will not forget those tumultuous days and will remember the people's stories. Teachers in this workshop work with noted scholars, converse with living legends, participate in discussion groups, meet foot soldiers of the movement, and travel to key sites of memory dedicated to the preservation of the history of the modern Civil Rights Movement.

The institute is divided into three levels, as follows:

101: This 40-hour training begins with an in-depth study of the Declaration of Independence. Participants will then be taken through the ancient and European origins of the U.S. Constitution, followed by the American origins. The training will continue with a famous Federalist debating a famous Anti-Federalist over whether a New York State convention should vote to ratify the Constitution in 1788.

Then attending teachers will be taken on a walk through the seven articles of the Constitution. The remainder of the time will be spent studying the First Amendment and famous Supreme Court cases on the First Amendment, including the current term cases.

The agenda is divided into blocks of time spent with scholars, followed by break-out sessions where activities are demonstrated on the curriculum covered in the scholar sessions.

201: Available to those teachers who have completed the 101 session, the advanced session begins with a look at the "Ladder of the Bill of Rights." The remainder of the three-day, 18-hour institute is spent studying Amendments Two through 10, along with Supreme Court cases decided under each of these amendments. Break-out sessions follow each scholar session with activities on the Bill of Rights.

301: The one-day, seven-hour Update Session is available to those teachers who have previously attended both 101 and 201. Participants will spend most of the time discussing Supreme Court cases that have been decided during the past few years with the scholars. They will also receive a new activity guide, which includes lessons on Federalism and writing.

This workshop will consider the myths and realities of four themes central to the figure of Abraham Lincoln. First, participants will examine Lincoln and American Nationalism. To more fully understand this theme, they will examine how historians have portrayed Lincoln over time. A starting point for this examination will be reading from primary sources including Lincoln's Message to Congress in Special Session (July 4, 1861), followed by selected sections from secondary sources: James McPherson's Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution, and Barry Schwartz's Lincoln at the Millennium. Central to this examination is the question of how Lincoln used history, especially the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers, to develop his rhetorical defense of the Union and justification for action. Second, participants will consider Lincoln and power. The examination of this theme centers on the dilemma of how to fight a civil war and preserve civil liberties. Lincoln scholars will provide participants with opportunities to discuss how Lincoln attempted to preserve the Union without sacrificing the Constitution. The investigation begins with required reading of selections from David Donald's Lincoln and David Potter's Jefferson Davis and the Political Factors in Confederate Defeat. Participants will probe critical issues such as suspension of habeas corpus, censorship of the press, and declaration of martial law through reading Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. Third, participants will consider Lincoln and freedom. It has been argued that Lincoln changed the meaning of the Constitution. Participants will investigate this theme by first reading the Gettysburg Address and selected letters in which Lincoln describes his vision of equality. Then, they will analyze selections from Garry Wills's 1992 The Words that Remade America, which suggests that the change went beyond the relationship between the federal government and the states to the relationship between the federal government and the individual. How might Lincoln's words, "a new birth of freedom" suggest change in the vision of equality? Finally, participants will consider Lincoln and race. They will examine the Emancipation Proclamation and the complex issue of race in America. Readings for this theme draw on selections from the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the Emancipation Proclamation and selected Lincoln letters, and readings from Lerone Bennet's Was Abe Lincoln a White Supremacist? and Philip Shaw Paludan's Emancipating the Republic: Lincoln and the Means and Ends of Antislavery. Much of Lincoln's position of honor in American history rests upon his action to free the slaves. Yet, some view the proclamation as an empty gesture or even a conservative attempt to forestall more radical action. These discussions will provide participants with an opportunity to explore the evolution of Lincoln's attitude toward emancipation that culminated in his support for the 13th Amendment.