Hamilton teachers study power and politics in early American history

December 8, 2005

Dr. Martin J. Burke, professor of history at City University of New York will be the keynote speaker during the Teaching American History all-day seminar Dec. 12 at Miami University Hamilton.

Burke will discuss “Politics, Personality, and Power in Republican America, 1789-1800,” beginning at 8:45am in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center. His lecture is free and open to the public.

His address kicks off a day of study for Hamilton City School teachers enrolled in this three-year U.S. Department of Education grant project, which is spearheaded by the Michael J. Colligan History Project of Miami Hamilton and the Hamilton Community Foundation.

The grant immerses history teachers in the early years of the formation of the United States of America. Now in its third year, the Teaching American History grant project will focus on the years 1788 to 1836 with the workshop theme “Following Freedom’s Path.”

Burke, along with Miami Hamilton history professors Michael Carrafiello, Howard Epstein, Robert Meckley, and George Vascik, will lead in-depth discussions on numerous topics. The topics include the first divisions in the first Congress, Jefferson’s election, the Louisiana Purchase, and the moment when the revolutionary generation turns on itself. Also the topics of secession (New England style) and continuing military confrontations with the British and French will be discussed. In addition, they will examine the Trail of Tears, the Treaty of Ghent and the Monroe Doctrine. Andrew Jackson and his many roles also will be explored.

The Teaching American History Grant program is a discretionary grant program funded by The No Child Left Behind Act. The goal of the program is to support programs that raise student achievement by improving teachers' knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of American history.