Foreign Policy Research Institute A Nation Must Think Before it Acts New Perspectives on the Genesis of the United States of America

New Perspectives on the Genesis of the United States of America

Date : Sat., June 05, 2004 to Sun., June 06, 2004 Category : Butcher History Institute

Why did Britain, rather than Spain or France, come to dominate North America?   With what spirits did Britons embark on colonization, and how did those sentiments lead to the “Spirit of ’76”?  How did colonists define liberty and how did they reconcile those competing definitions in the process of becoming a nation?  Where did the Bill of Rights come from, especially the unprecedented embrace of freedom of conscience?  Did the Founders mean to expel religion from the public square or empower religion by removing it from mere politics? 

In conjunction with the publication of Walter McDougall’s new book Freedom Just Around the Corner, 1585-1828: A Candid History of the United States, Vol. 1, the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education is pleased to announce its 2004 History Institute for Teachers on “New Perspectives on the Genesis of the USA.”

New Perspectives on the Genesis of the United States of America Conference Summary by Trudy Kuehner

Topics and Speakers

Welcoming Remarks

06/05/2004 - 11:00 AM to 11:05 AM

Colonial Origins of the American Identity

06/05/2004 - 11:05 AM to 12:15 PM
Walter A. McDougall

Co-Chair

Alloy-Ansin Professor of International Relations and History, University of Pennsylvania

Related Article(s):

The Colonial Origins of American Identity

Migration and Colonization in British North America

06/05/2004 - 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM
Daniel K. Richter

Richard S. Dunn Director of the McNeil Center for Early American Studies and Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania

Liberty and Religion in American Society

06/05/2004 - 2:30 PM to 3:45 PM
Jonathan C.D. Clark

Hall Distinguished Prof. of British History, University of Kansas

Struggle for Mastery in North America

06/05/2004 - 4:00 PM to 5:45 PM
Jeremy Black

Senior Fellow

Prof. of History, University of Exeter

Keynote Address: The Origins of American Constitutionalism

06/05/2004 - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Gordon S. Wood

Alva O. Way University Professor, Brown University

Foundations, Foundationalisms, and Fundamentalisms: Thinking About American History

06/05/2004 - 8:15 AM to 9:30 AM
J.G.A. Pocock

Emeritus Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University

Related Article(s):

America’s Foundations, Foundationalisms, and Fundamentalisms

Whigs vs. Democrats: Competing Visions of American Politics

06/05/2004 - 9:45 AM to 11:00 AM
Allen C. Guelzo

Grace Ferguson Kea Professor of History, Eastern University

Discussion: Classroom Strategies for Teaching U.S. History

06/05/2004 - 11:15 AM to 12:30 PM
Paul Dickler

Moderator

Senior Fellow - Wachman Center for Civic and International Literacy

Neshaminy High School

Related Article(s):

How to Learn Lessons from History— And How Not To

Location

Venue

Gregg Conference Center

270 S. Bryn Mawr Ave.
PA Bryn Mawr 19010

Registration links

Register Deadline

What Participants Receive: 

Social studies and history teachers, curriculum supervisors and junior college faculty are invited to apply for participation in the History Institute.  Forty participants will be selected to receive:

  • free room and board
  • assistance in designing curriculum and special projects based on the History Institute
  • stipends of $200 in exchange for curriculum units based on the History Institute, plus a representative selection of student work
  • partial travel scholarships available for participants outside the East Coast
  • subscription to Orbis, FPRI’s journal of world affairs, and to E-Notes, FPRI’s weekly bulletin
  • free copy of Walter McDougall’s new book, Freedom Just Around the Corner