Professor Christopher Flannery takes the listeners through the Federalist Papers, looking at their significance to United States history and examining their structure and the arguments they present.
Professor Gordon Lloyd follows the early history of the United States from 1776 to 1787, focusing on the forms of government that were established to try to realize the sentiments expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes one of the nastiest presidential elections in American history—the 1824 election, when a highly contested three-way race led to a scandal in Congress.
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Author David McCullough talks about his book John Adams and the significance of Adams's term in office as the second president of the United States.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces the first real test of the new government since George Washington was appointed to the presidency: the presidential election of 1800. Many expected chaos to ensue as one president was expected to peacefully hand power to a new president.
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Peter Maslowski of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln traces the creation of the U.S.'s military forces, identifying this creation as a "prolonged, complicated process that unfolded in three distinct periods, beginning with the Revolution but continuing through the Confederation and early Constitutional eras."
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This iCue Mini-Documentary notes that, though historians now see Reconstruction as a successful step towards equality for blacks, Reconstruction was largely considered a failure in the years immediately following.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary describes how, to assure citizenship to blacks after the Civil War, Congress proposed the 14th Amendment. However, most Southern states refused to ratify it.
Designed especially for secondary school teachers of U.S. history, law, and civics/government, the institute will deepen participants' knowledge of the federal judiciary and of the role the federal courts have played in key public controversies that have defined constitutional and other legal rights. Participants will work closely throughout the institute with leading historians, federal judges, and curriculum consultants. Confirmed faculty include Michael Klarman, Kirkland & Ellis Professor, Harvard Law School and Jeffrey Rosen, Professor of Law, George Washington University.
To explore the theme of "Seeking Social Change Through the Courts," the institute will focus on these three landmark federal trials: Woman suffrage and the trial of Susan B. Anthony, Chinese Exclusions Acts and Chew Heong v. United States, and the desegregation of New Orleans schools and Bush v. Orleans Parish School Board.
The institute is an intensive, professional development program on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Participants take part in lectures and discussions on constitutional themes pertinent to the curriculum content, classroom strategies, and performance assessment. An essential component of the institute is teacher preparation and participation in a simulated congressional hearing as a culminating activity. The hearing is a model for student hearings to be held during the school year. Experienced teacher mentors assist participants in discussing the challenges of teaching civic education and preparing for the culminating hearing.