This intensive week-long seminar invites educators to engage deeply with the statesmanship of Abraham Lincoln by examining his original speeches, letters, and writings. More than a biography, the course highlights the interplay between Lincoln’s thought, action, and rhetoric, showing how his vision shaped the American experiment in democracy. Participants will study Lincoln not only as the political leader who preserved the Union and ended slavery, but also as a profound thinker who offered one of the clearest articulations of democratic principles in American history.
The seminar begins by situating Lincoln within the intellectual and political legacy of the American Founding. Teachers will consider the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as touchstones for Lincoln’s own arguments about liberty and equality. From there, the program explores the central debates over slavery and Union that defined the mid-19th century, with special attention to the rival views advanced by radical abolitionist Stephen A. Douglas and proslavery Vice President John C. Calhoun. Through this context, participants will better understand the unique challenges Lincoln confronted and the originality of his statesmanship.
Throughout the week, guided discussions will connect Lincoln’s words and choices to enduring civic and educational questions. How can Lincoln’s example help teachers foster civic understanding and democratic responsibility in the classroom? What lessons about leadership, compromise, and principle can be drawn for today’s students?
For our field study day, teacher will visit Washington, DC to see Ford’s Theatre, Peterson House, Lincoln’s Cottage, and the Lincoln Memorial.
By the seminar’s conclusion, participants will leave with new insights, primary source materials, and teaching strategies to bring Lincoln’s statesmanship vividly into their curricula.
Please note: For the field study day, participants should be prepared to walk significant distances, including up to one mile at a time, as part of the program. Some historic sites and other locations included in the itinerary may not be fully ADA compliant due to the age of the buildings and may lack elevators or other accessibility features.
Speaker:
Dr. Joseph R. Fornieri
Dr. Joseph R. Fornieri is Professor of Political Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Director of the Center for Statecraft, Law, and Liberty, a non-partisan organization that seeks to enhance the study of political greatness and responsible citizenship at the secondary and college levels. An award-winning instructor, Fornieri teaches classes in American political thought and leadership, rhetoric, political philosophy, and the First Amendment. He was a member of the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, 1809-2009. The same year he was awarded a Fulbright as a Lecturer at Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic. He is an expert on the political thought and statesmanship of Abraham Lincoln and the author-editor of nine books, including: Abraham Lincoln’s Political Faith and Abraham Lincoln, Philosopher Statesman. His most recent books include Free Speech: Core Court Cases; Abraham Lincoln: Core Documents and American Statesmanship, Principles and Practices of Leadership from Notre Dame University Press. A former High School teacher, Fornieri’s mission includes outreach to secondary teachers and students throughout the country. He is on the board and collaborates with several High School teaching organizations such as TAH (Teaching American History) and is a regular contributor/consultant to Prager University. His videos are used for curricula in select school districts throughout the country, receiving as many as a million views each. He is now working on a book comparing the political thought and leadership of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. On the side, he enjoys cigars and plays in a blues band with his brother Peter and his nephew Joseph.
Dr. Justin B. Litke
Dr. Justin B. Litke is an assistant professor of politics at Catholic University of America and a fellow of the Center for the Study of Statesmanship. Dr. Litke teaches a variety of courses in American political thought and the history of political theory, focusing in particular on the nature and development of political traditions. In 2013, he published his first book, Twilight of the Republic: Empire and Exceptionalism in the American Political Tradition with the University Press of Kentucky. He is also interested in and writing on the implications of the American political tradition for U.S. foreign policy and is currently at work on two book manuscripts. His has finished the manuscript for one that centers on American statesman Henry Clay’s work in Congress and develops a new reading of Federalist 10 alongside empirical analysis of Congressional voting. The other concerns the American tradition of republicanism and its intersections with foreign policy.
He has taught at Western Kentucky University, Belmont Abbey College, and George Washington University, also serving as a scholar in professional development programs offered by the Jack Miller Center and the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. Dr. Litke has been nominated for a number of teaching awards and enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for political theory with his students. In 2010, he earned his PhD with Distinction from Georgetown University
For our field study day, teacher will visit Washington, DC to see Ford’s Theatre, Peterson House, Lincoln’s Cottage, and the Lincoln Memorial.
The three-day (Friday – Sunday) seminar is a new category of PD program for Founding Forward held through-out the year. Each summit will include historic interpreters, a content-lecture from a scholarly expert, a faculty-led discussion of relevant primary sources, and an appropriate field study of historic sites, archives, and museums.
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