The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Discover the writers and reformers of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries whose passionate poems, sermons, fiction, songs, and slave narratives formed the vanguard of a movement to end American slavery. Led by Professor James Basker, Barnard College.

Join a broad and deep exploration of American Indian history through a series of case studies, including early encounters, the Lewis and Clark expedition, and persistence in the face of government expansion, removal, and assimilation policies. Led by Professor Colin Calloway, Dartmouth College.

Examine the writing of African American poets, novelists, and essayists – including Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and Ta-Nehisi Coates - and considers how their perspectives have shaped history for all Americans. Led by Professor John Stauffer, Harvard University.

This course is about the history of the United States during a period of great social change and conflict. Over these four decades, the US became a predominantly urban and industrial nation, a nation of immigrants and wage-earners, an imperial nation, and a nation where progressive reform was the order of the day—though its definition and aims were furiously contested. We will seek to understand how and why these tumultuous changes occurred—and who gained and who lost in the process. 

COURSE CONTENT

Go beyond the Emancipation Proclamation to dig deeper into the complex process of emancipation, examining the efforts of thousands of men and women struggling for freedom before and during the Civil War. Led by Professor James Oakes, The Graduate Center, City University of New York.

This course is a study of enslaved people and the ways in which human beings coped with captivity. It is also a course that listens to their voices through audio files, diaries, letters, actions, and silences. Centering on the people of slavery rather than viewing them as objects shifts the focus to their commentary on slavery. In addition to listening to enslaved people, students will have the opportunity to engage some of the most cutting-edge scholarship on the subject.

Gain insight into the Revolution with new scholarly approaches to traditional topics, including American resistance to British rule, the decision for independence, America's victory, and the role of marginalized groups in the struggle for independence. Led by Professor Denver Brunsman, George Washington University.

Explore Jefferson's career and thought, using his eloquent writings to illuminate Jefferson's era from the imperial crisis through his presidency. Led by Professor Peter Onuf, University of Virginia.

The Enlightenment is often associated with Europe, but in this course we will explore how the specific conditions of eighteenth-century North America—slavery, the presence of large numbers of indigenous peoples, a colonial political context, and even local animals, rocks, and plants—also shaped the major questions and conversations of the time.

This course will trace the expansion of the United States to the Pacific, the exploration of the West, the defeat and dispossession of its Native peoples, and environmental transformations unmatched at few if any other places on earth. The history of the West was as well a revelation of the industrial, social, technological, and scientific forces that were remaking the nation and world. Within all of this were compelling human stories and, with Indian peoples, some of the darkest tragedies of continental history.

Examine how the Cold War shaped the world – from the conflict’s impact on the culture and daily life of the United States and Russia, to unexpected nations across Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia – using the latest scholarship to delve into the Cold War’s complexities, twists, and turns. Led by Jeremi Suri, University of Texas at Austin.

Through the lenses of imagery, symbolism, media, leadership theory, and public policy, explore the strengths, weaknesses, successes, and failures of President John F. Kennedy. Led by Professor Barbara Perry, The Miller Center, University of Virginia.

This course examines the lives and legacies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. These pillars of the Civil Rights Movement are often portrayed as opposites. While it is true that their rhetoric and methods differed, they are less dissimilar than the popular narrative of their lives allows. By looking simultaneously at both men as they battle White supremacy and the oppression of African Americans, we will highlight their similarities and their influence on one another and the Civil Rights Movement.

COURSE CONTENT

Examine nine defining cases and themes to gain an understanding of how regular people, social movement activists, politicians, scholars, lawyers, and judges have fought about what the Constitution means inside and outside of the courtroom. Led by Professor Melvin Urofsky, Virginia Commonwealth University.

Explore the role of the two world wars in shaping modern American history, using scholarly interpretations of what the years 1914-1945 meant for America on a domestic and international level. Led by Professor Michael Neiberg, United States Army War College.
 

Explore the struggles and successes of American women fighting for equality in American politics, culture, and life, from the struggle for suffrage through the campaign for fair wages. Led by Professor Linda Gordon, New York University.