Principles of the 250th: Past, Present, and Future (Grand Rapids)

Join us on Wednesday, April 29 from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. to prepare for teaching about the 250th anniversary with a focus on the founding and the bicentennial commemoration. We will look at primary source documents, big principles, and lasting histories of these events, using the lens of the Center’s educational framework and the artifacts and content of the Gerald R. Ford Museum. Our objectives are to support educators in: Analyzing historical perspectives on the American experiment by engaging with an American history scholar and examining primary sources that illuminate key themes in the nation’s past, including democracy, civil dialogue, and constitutional thinking skills. Evaluating primary sources as tools for civic inquiry by applying structured analysis protocols to historical documents and artifacts connected to America 250, with attention to continuity, change, and competing narratives across time.