From the National Humanities Center website:

"'A growing number of historians now look at the Civil Rights Movement not just as something that happened in the 1960s, but as a historical process that spanned decades beginning in the World War II years or even earlier. While the African American freedom struggle is most remembered for its stirring sit-ins and other dramatic clashes to dismantle segregation in public accommodations and to win the vote, it has long had a strong economic and political focus, too. Among the topics the workshop will tackle are how and when the movement began; what demands it placed before the nation; the organizations that came into being and their strategies; how the movement changed between the 1930s and 1970s; and how the movement changed America."

From the National Humanities Center website:

"'Then, thenceforward, and forever free.' Few public documents contain words more stirring than those from the Emancipation Proclamation. The process of Emancipation was momentous, tumultuous, exhilarating, and chaotic. Spirits soared and hopes were crushed as nearly four million black Southerners made the transition from slavery to freedom. How did they actually experience emancipation? What did they hope freedom would mean? How did they pursue it, and what obstacles did they face as they attempted to claim and secure freedom for themselves and their families? You will find some interesting answers to those questions in the remarkable photographs, letters, and eye witness accounts that we will discuss in this workshop."

From the Department of the Interior Museum website:

"Emily Palus, National Curator and NAGPRA Coordinator for the Bureau of Land Management, will explore the many stories of the Sandpainting of the Arrow People rug and discuss how the textile represents the transition of Navajo weaving from a local craft industry to a national art market and the historical evolution of sandpainting imagery from sacred to secular."

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.

Participants in this workshop will travel throughout the Delta as they visit sites where significant events occurred. They will discuss and learn about issues involving civil rights and political leadership, immigrants' experiences in the Delta, the Blues, the great migration, agriculture, and the Mississippi River, among other things. They will sample Delta foods, visit local museums, and listen to the Blues. Field trips will roam as far as Greenville, Greenwood, and Memphis, with stops in between.

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.

No details available.

What do an English historian, an Italian wine merchant, an anti-slavery advocate, and the Father of the Constitution have in common? Each of these individuals—Catherine Sawbridge Macaulay Graham, Philip Mazzei, Francis Asbury, and James Madison—paid one or more visits during the years 1783–1789 to the retired leader of the American Revolutionary forces, George Washington, at his Virginia waterfront plantation, Mount Vernon. Perhaps these guests marveled at the brilliant colors of the mansion's main dining room. They might have strolled around the grounds and seen the slaves performing the multitude of tasks necessary to make the plantation flourish. It's likely that the visitors sat on the east-facing piazza and watched the ships sail up and down the Potomac River. Finally, and most significantly, these visitors—and others like them—participated in dialogues and discussions at Mount Vernon which resulted in the creation of the American constitutional system. The Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop, "Shaping the Constitution: A View from Mount Vernon 1783–89," funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities We the People initiative, is an opportunity for educators (and ultimately their students) to gain a better understanding of Mount Vernon as a crossroads for the discussion of ideas that led to the Constitution. In brief, the workshop offers academic content about Mount Vernon, George Washington, and the Constitution; the opportunity to engage in scholarly discourse with leading academics; a stipend to help cover housing and meal costs; a transportation allowance; networking with other social studies teachers from around the nation; and ongoing professional development opportunities and the opportunity to earn graduate credit.