The United States is often described as a "melting pot" of ethnic groups or as a "nation of immigrants." Though most of us could easily find references to this melting pot in popular culture today, few realize that the concept has a long and contested history. In this two-day seminar, participants will explore primary sources from the past two centuries that describe the nation as a melting pot or as a "crucible" where the fusion of different national cultures will occur. Through close readings, they will consider how the meaning of the melting pot has changed over time and how it has informed debates about what it means to be an American. Even as they take a long view of the melting pot in American history, they will pay particular attention to the early 20th century and to debates about restricting the flow of immigrants to the United States.

Constructed around an online "toolbox" of texts and documents collected at the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, participants in this seminar will discuss four themes that are central to the Gilded Age: City and Country, focusing on Arcadian mythology, urban realism, and nostalgia; Citizens and Others, especially immigrants, African Americans, and children; Work and Leisure, especially craft, industrialization, and consumerism; and Politics and the State, including party culture, populism, and progressivism. Within each thematic unit, participants will be searching for characteristic sensibilities of the age, as manifest in public life, literature, and/or the arts. Across the discussions, they will try to identify those documents, questions, and exercises that might best enliven their own classrooms.

The Middle East has been a central focus of American foreign policy since the end of World War II. This seminar will examine the strategic significance of the region, its internal dynamics, and the basic outlines of American foreign policy over the past few decades. While the first half of the seminar will concentrate on the historical context of the region, the second half will turn to the future. Participants will look at the various challenges facing the new President̬such as Iran, Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—and the various options open to him.

This institute invites educators from across the country to learn about Abraham Lincoln through the Library of Congress's primary and web-based materials. Participants will leave with strategies and materials they can use in their schools. The institute uses the Library's exhibition "With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition" as its foundation.

This institute invites educators from across the country to learn about Abraham Lincoln through the Library of Congress's primary and web-based materials. Participants will leave with strategies and materials they can use in their schools. The institute uses the Library's exhibition "With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition" as its foundation.

This institute invites educators from across the country to learn about Abraham Lincoln through the Library of Congress's primary and web-based materials. Participants will leave with strategies and materials they can use in their schools. The institute uses the Library's exhibition "With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition" as its foundation.

This institute invites educators from across the country to learn about Abraham Lincoln through the Library of Congress's primary and web-based materials. Participants will leave with strategies and materials they can use in their schools. The institute uses the Library's exhibition "With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition" as its foundation.

The Academy offers educators content and strategies for teaching the "Seven Principles of Constitutionalism" and the "U.S. Constitution in Time of Crisis." Important events and decisions concerning equality in American history will also be studied. A team of talented scholars and consultants will present information and lessons dealing with TAKS Objectives One and Four. A variety of demonstrated lessons will incorporate multi-use visuals, music, and interactive strategies.

Like other citizens, U.S. Presidents attended elementary and secondary schools and then college. They went to classes; did their homework; joined clubs; participated in band, debate, and sports; worked on newspaper staffs; and ran for class office. The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum will host the National Archives traveling exhibit, "School House to White House: The Education of Presidents." Visitors journey back to the schooldays of the 20th-century presidents through photographs, archival materials, and museum objects revealing fascinating detail about the children who would one day grow up to be President of the United States. In conjunction with this exhibit, a teacher workshop will be held. Educators from four Presidential Libraries (Hoover, Truman, Eisenhower, and Clinton) will share information and teaching activities for use in the classroom.