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We're expecting to run this Institute again in summer 2025. Stay tuned for exact dates and application information!

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Summer Civics Institute on American Principles and Debates Professional Development Seminar for Teachers

June 24-28, 2024
Live Online听via Zoom from 小蓝视频
Washington, DC


The Political Theory Institute is hosting a week-long professional development seminar for middle- and high-school teachers at 小蓝视频 exploring the key principles and debates of the American republic from its founding until today through the careful study of primary source documents. In this five-day, small-group seminar, led by faculty from 小蓝视频 (and perhaps some additional outside experts), we will read and discuss key texts, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers, as well as key speeches and writings from the United States鈥 most thoughtful leaders, such as Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, among others.

The seminar aims to explain and assess the key principles of American political thought, elucidate the tensions and conflicts within and between these principles, examine how the principles are embodied in American political institutions, and trace some of the ways in which the principles unfold 鈥 and fail to 鈥 over the course of American history. Emphasis is placed on great American debates, as the meaning of our principals and the best manner of instituting them has always been contested. The course does not supply a single interpretation of American principles. Rather, it aims to immerse you in the complexity of the issues. This seminar thus provides invaluable preparation for civics, American history, and government classes.

This Summer Civics Seminar is run by the Political Theory Institute and sponsored by the Jack Miller Center.

Benefits

  • A stipend of $300
  • 20 contact hours of听professional development credit
  • A bound volume of primary source readings, sent in advance of the seminar

Applications

Public, private, and other qualified teachers of grades 6-12 are invited to apply. Applicants for this seminar must be able to access the class via Zoom. To apply, please complete the application form and email it to Alan Levine at alevine@american.edu with the subject line 鈥淐ivics Institute Application.鈥 Applications will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis. The final application deadline is May 20th, 2024.听Past offerings of this seminar have been completely full, so apply early to maximize your chances of acceptance.

Daily Schedule

9:30听- 11:00 - First Session (90 min.)
11:00 - 11:15 Break
11:15 - 12:30 - Second Session (75 min.)
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch
1:30 - 2:45 - Third Session (75 min.)
(The Tuesday lunch will include an informal get-to-know-you session.)

Tentative Syllabus

American Principles and Institutions

Monday

Session 1: Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence (*Jefferson鈥檚 original submission with official edits*)
John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, paragraph numbers: 4, 6, 8, 13, 14, 95, 119-21, 123-26, 220, 225-26, 230, 240-43.
Thomas Jefferson, 鈥淟etter to Madison, 6 September 1789: The Earth Belongs in Usufruct to the Living鈥
The Federalist Papers, #49
Articles of Confederation (excerpt)
US Constitution

Monday

Sessions 2 & 3: Debates over the Constitution I: Institutions

鈥淎ddress of the Pennsylvania Minority鈥 (18 December 1787)
Brutus, # I & XV (20 March 1788)
The Federalist Papers, #1, 6, 10, 23, 47, 48, 51, 70, 78

Tuesday

Sessions 1 & 2: Debates over the Constitution II: Representation, Citizenship, & Trust

Edmund Burke, 鈥淪peech to the Electors of Bristol,鈥 (excerpt)
The Federalist Papers, #35, 39, 45, 55, 57, 63
Montezuma, Philadelphia Independent Gazeteer (17 October 1787)
Newport Man, Newport Mercury, March 1788
Agrippa, #IX (28 December 1787)
The Federal Farmer, 鈥淟etter #VII鈥 (31 December 1787)
Melancton Smith, Speeches 21-27 June 1788 (See also Federalist
responses in endnotes, especially notes 13, 17, 18, 22, 23, 30)

Tuesday

Session 3: Debates over the Constitution III: Bill of Rights & Natural Aristocracy

Thomas Jefferson, 鈥淟etter to Madison, 15 March 1789: A Bill of Rights鈥
Thomas Jefferson, 鈥淟etter to John Adams, 28 October 1813: A Natural Aristocracy鈥
The Federalist Papers, #84, 68

Slavery in the United States

Wednesday

Session 1: Slavery and the American Founding

Patrick Henry, 鈥淟etter to Alsop鈥 (1773)
U.S. Constitution鈥檚 slavery provisions: Art. 1, Sec. 2, Clause 3; Art. I, Sec. 9, clause 1; Article 4, Sec. 2, Clause 3; Art. 4, Sec. 3, Clause 2.
Benjamin Franklin, 鈥淎ddress from the Pennsylvania Society for
Promoting the Abolition of Slavery鈥 (1790)
Thomas Jefferson, 鈥淟etter to John Holmes鈥 (1820)

Wednesday

Session 2: Slavery, Abolitionism, & the Constitution in Antebellum America

William Lloyd Garrison, 鈥淥n the Constitution and the Union鈥
Frederick Douglass, 鈥淲hat to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?鈥 (5 July 1852)
John C. Calhoun, Speech to Congress, 6 February, 1837: 鈥淪lavery a Positive Good鈥
Alexander Stephens, 鈥淐orner Stone鈥 speech, 21 March, 1861

Wednesday

Session 3: Lincoln & the Civil War

Dred Scott Case (edited)
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (selections)
Abraham Lincoln, 鈥淕ettysburg Address鈥
Abraham Lincoln, 鈥淪econd Inaugural Address鈥

The Fight for the American Promise

Thursday

Session 1: Civil Rights Movement

Martin Luther King, 鈥淟etter from the Birmingham Jail鈥 (1963)
Martin Luther King, 鈥淚 Have a Dream鈥 Speech (1963)
Malcom X, 鈥淭he Ballot or the Bullet鈥 (1964)
Malcom X, 鈥淪tatement of the Organization of Afro-American Unity鈥 (1964)

Thursday

Session 2: Women's Movement

Abigail and John Adams, Correspondence (1776)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 鈥淒eclaration of Sentiments鈥 (1848) (& other short documents)
Stanton, Anthony, & Gage, History of Women鈥檚 Suffrage (1889, Intro.)
Sojourner Truth, 鈥淎鈥檔鈥檛 I a Woman?鈥 (1851)
Betty Freidan, The Feminine Mystique (1963, ch. 1)
Betty Freidan, 鈥淥ur Revolution is Unique鈥 (1968)

Roots of Contemporary Ideology

Thursday

Session 3: Roots of Progressivism

Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward (1889, excerpt)
The Populist Party Platform (4 July 1892)
The Progressive Party Platform (5 August 1912)
Progressive Era Amendments to US Constitution (1913-33)
Theodore Roosevelt, 鈥淣ew Nationalism鈥 (1910)
Woodrow Wilson, 鈥淲hat is Progress?鈥 (1913)

Friday

Session 1: Roots of Liberalism

John Dewey, 鈥淭he Future of Liberalism鈥 (1935)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 鈥淭he Four Freedoms鈥 (1941)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 鈥淪econd Bill of Rights鈥 (1944)

Friday

Session 2: Roots of Conservatism

James Ceaser, 鈥淔our Heads and One Heart: The Modern Conservative Movement鈥 (2010)
Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (excerpts, 1962)
Irving Kristol, 鈥淗uman Nature and Social Reform鈥 (1978)
Irving Kristol, 鈥淲hat is a Neoconservative?鈥 (1984)

How to Integrate Primary Sources into the Classroom

Friday

Session 3: Pedagogical Wrap Up with Practical Advice and Suggestions