The Teaching American History Program II
Making a Nation: Laying Claim to Democracy

Summer Institutes 2008

June 16-27	University of Alabama, Smith Hall, the Alabama Museum of Natural History
June 11-18	Colonial Williamsburg – Elementary Teachers
July 9-16	Colonial Williamsburg – Secondary Teachers
July 20-25	The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan

Summer Institutes 2007

June 18-29	University of Alabama, Smith Hall, the Alabama Museum of Natural History
June 19-26	Colonial Williamsburg – Elementary Teachers
July 5-12	Colonial Williamsburg – Secondary Teachers
July 8-13	The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan

The Teaching American History Program I

Summer Institute 2006

Dates: June 19-30, 2006

Themes for the Summer Institute 2006: The South, the Nation, and the World: From the Bottom to the Top. This year’s summer institute examines two important themes in American history: the effect of economic status on the American experience and America’s role in the world.  The first looks at American history “from the bottom up,” exploring how issues of class and economic status shaped the experience of individuals of the past and the nation itself.  We will examine how such familiar events as colonial migration, westward expansion, and the benefits of modern society were experienced differently depending on one’s place in society.  The second week will focus on American foreign policy from American independence through the Vietnam War.  Topics will include the role of economics and imperialism in American adventures abroad and American experiences in the wars of the twentieth century.  All material will be correlated with the Alabama Course of Study and the Alabama High School Graduation Exam.

Summer Institute 2005

Dates: July 18-29, 2005

Themes for the Summer Institute 2005: Revolution to Reconciliation in Alabama and America: The Living Constitution in a Diverse Society (1607-2005). The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution shape our nation's social, political, and economic structures. To understand the American past, one must analyze both the evolution of these documents and how subsequent generations have construed the Founders' intentions. Unfortunately, for all their immense power, these documents have, at various times, consigned different groups to second class status. One example is that the founding documents ignored women's concerns until the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. As a result, women remained, until the early 1970s, virtually invisible in the historical record. Political and social movements motivating these changes and others will be analyzed and evaluated.

Summer Institute 2004

Themes 2004

• Civil Rights Our civil rights have a much longer history than the familiar
     images of the struggles of the 1950s and 60s. A more complete, accurate
     understanding of civil rights in American History begins with the birth of the
     nation and continues to modern times, encompassing race, gender, age,
     religion, and work.
  
• Southern History as United States History Many commentators point
     to the exceptional nature of American Southerners' historical experiences.
     An understanding of the Southern past provides insights into larger currents
     in American History, and vice versa.