How did American Christians in the nineteenth century come to see slavery as something that needed to be abolished? Christianity was a central feature of nineteenth-century American life for both slaveholders and anti-slavery activists. To argue persuasively against slavery, abolitionists had to find ways to use the Bible and Christian tradition, along with American patriotic … Continued
In the first two centuries after 1492, most colonies in the New World failed. This workshop explores why, through accounts of failures and successes and discussion about what happened. How much did colonizers’ expectations have to do with success or failure? Were the desires and power of local Indians the most important factors? How large … Continued
Where do “art” and “science” intersect in John White’s 16th century watercolors of Virginia? How would his paintings have been seen by his contemporaries? What impact did White’s work have on later generations?
The Civil War caused Americans to re-imagine themselves and their nation. Countrymen once again, however uneasily, Northerners, Southerners, and growing populations in the West had to figure out the meaning of the War and the meaning of citizenship in a nation that now included four million new citizens who had once been enslaved. Public monuments … Continued
Between 1883 and 1916, “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” — an extravaganza of riding, roping, shooting, Indian attacks, and stage coach robberies — gave audiences throughout the world a vivid image of the American West. In the process William F. Cody, as Buffalo Bill, established himself as one of the most famous Americans of his era. … Continued
What was the relationship between the colonies and Britain that led to independence in 1783? What if the British had not tried to tax the colonies? The taxes were small. Why did the colonies resist them so strongly? What if the British had responded to the resistance in a more conciliatory and pragmatic way? Could … Continued
Visual imagery played a major role in the anti-slavery movement. From the iconic image of a kneeling slave asking “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?” to images of family separations through sale at auction, images were an important weapon in the arsenal of abolitionist activity. This seminar looks at some of the imagery … Continued
The Great Depression confronts teachers and students of history with some classic challenges of historical analysis. How does one disentangle proximate and deeper causes of this calamitous economic collapse? How did historical protagonists make sense of the course of epochal events that so rapidly transformed their worlds? To what extent should we characterize the onset … Continued
When we think of southern women during the Civil War, we usually think of white women from slaveholding families who aligned themselves with the Confederacy. The problem with this image is that it conflates the South, which was a large and varied geographic region, with the Confederacy, which was a political movement that formed its … Continued
One of the AP historical thinking skills focuses on applying chronological reasoning skills to world history. This includes not only causation and periodization, but also thinking about patterns of change and continuity over time. This seminar seeks to help World History teachers pace out the year, using a variety of periodization models and timelines and … Continued