Visualizing History

Me and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator John Ensign

Me and Admiral Yost, eighteenth Commadant of the Coast Guard

This will be my final post from Washington D.C. and I will give my final thoughts and impressions regarding the James Madison Graduate Fellowship. If you are a teacher of American history, civics, or social studies and you think you would like to pursue a Masters degree focusing on the Constitution including a $25,000 scholarship to complete your program, than I highly recommend applying for this award. In the month that I have been in Georgetown I have learned so much about Constitutional history, Washington D.C. and the workings of the government, and I have had the great fortune of meeting some of the country’s finest teachers. I think that sometimes it is easy to get carried away with the hyperbole when we talk about teachers because it is the world’s noblest profession, but truly the teachers I met are spectacular. They are passionate about history and politics and truly want to make a difference in the lives of young people, the highest honor I feel as a James Madison Fellow is being in their company, I will think about you all and I hope that someday our paths may cross again.

This has been, in my experience, one of the best professional development opportunities in my career so far, I will come away from this experience having gained profound insight and appreciation for the Constitution in ways that just would not be achievable under different circumstances. I feel that this experience has given me a new sense of purpose in my teaching of American history and government, and I am incredibly fortunate to have had this opportunity, thank you to the James Madison Graduate Fellowship for this incredible experience, with a special thank you to the President Admiral Yost, Vice President Lewis Larsen. and the incredible scholars who gave their all in helping us understand the history and significance of the Constitution, Professors Herman Belz, Hevin Hardwick, Susan Hanssen, and Jeffry Morrison.

My times here in Washington D.C. is coming to a close and while I will always cherish my experience here I sorely miss my family and I can’t wait to get back to Las Vegas. Before I leave I wanted to comment on a few sites that I have not previously mentioned. Last week the foundation took a trip to Charlottesville Virginia to visit Monticello the home of Thomas Jefferson. A few years ago I went to Monticello as a Barringer Research Fellow to study and write lesson plans concerning Jefferson and the west so it was nice to visit again. Not much has changed since I was there last except they are in the process of building a new visitor’s center. We also had lunch at the Michie Tavern just outside of the property and it would be no exaggeration to say that they serve some of the best fried chicken I have ever easten. That same day we went to Montpelier the home of James Madison the father of the Constitution and the foundation’s namesake. The home is in the process of being restored to its original 19th century state so as a result the house did not have furniture or other ornamentation, but they have completed most of the interior construction and I believe the house will be officially complete within a year. They have built a wonderful visitor’s center and museum, when they are finished this is going to be a fantastic historical place to visit and learn more about American 19th century culture.

In My final excursion into Washington D.C. I visited two outstanding Museums the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the United States Holocaust Museum The Smithsonian is a fantastic museum that chronicles the history o flight. I was particularly taken with the space portion of the museum and found the space suits to be particularly interesting, I also enjoyed going into the space lab and getting feel of what living in space would be like.



The Holocaust Museum was, as one would imagine, a somber occasion but I am glad I had the opportunity to visit. The Museum was very educational and presented the history of the Holocaust through documentary films and exhibits. I feel that because of the experience I will better be able to teach the complexities of this terrible chapter in human history. The slogan of the museum is “think about what you saw” and honestly I haven’t stopped.

View my other picture at Flickr

Making the most of my time in the Nation’s capitol, and at the suggestion of the James Madison Graduate Fellowship, I looked into meeting with my Senators from Nevada, Harry Reid and John Ensign. To my good fortune (as well as all Nevadans)the Senators have a meet and greet breakfast at the Capitol building every Thursday morning. I had the pleasure of not only meeting the Senators but having my photo taken with them (I will post this as soon as they mail it to me). To say the least this was a very special opportunity and I thank the Senators, and their staff, for being so available to your constituents (not all Senators do this, in fact Nevada may be the only delegation that provides this opportunity). After meeting with the Senators I visited the rest of the Capitol building and had the opportunity to sit in the gallery in the House of Representatives. One of the things that surprised me about the chamber is how small it is. Seeing the President deliver the State of the Union Address on T.V. makes the room look so large but that’s not the case. I also visitd the Capitol Rotunda also called the “dome” it was absolutely beautiful with all kinds of ornate architectual features and designs. I also visited the Old Hall of the House also called the National Statuary Hall, this is where the House of Representatives originally met. What is interesting about the hall is the fact that it was designed to carry the voices of representatives from one end of the room to the other, this would have been a noval idea in a time when there were no microphones. The room today houses statues representing the fifty states.
Representing Nevada is a beautiful bronze statue of
Sarah Winnemucca
Unfortunately with the amount of time I had I did not get to see everything I had wanted to but I had an excellent time visiting none the less.

This year I had the excellent fortune to celebrate the 4th of July in Washington D.C. on the national mall. You can see by the photos there was an excellent turnout despite the fact that it rained off and on most of the early evening. But by show time the weather had cleared and the show was spectacular. This was the first time I have celebrated the 4th in Washington and it was very inspirational when you think about the reasons why we observe the holiday. The only bad thing is I somehow lost my mp3 recorder, I am of course very upset due t the fact that I had recorded a commentary of the experience. Someone out there will have an interesting recording along with several lectures of a historical nature from the Gilder Lehrman Institute, enjoy whoever you are.

The Smithsonian sponsored an interesting event that celebrated various cultures that included food, clothing, crafts etc. There were a number of other exhibits dedicated to space exploration. I did not spend a lot of time at the exhibits as I arrived only an hour or so before they started closing but it was a lot of fun and there was a great view of the capitol building.

See more of my Mount Vernon Pictures at Flickr

As part of the James Madison Graduate summer seminar we took a trip to Mount Vernon, home of George Washington. Mount Vernon is about 45 minutes from Washington D.C. located in Fairfax County Virginia the estate is beautifully preserved by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association to include docent interpretations of the home and estate. Washington’s home was the control center of a very large plantation that included over 300 slaves growing a myriad of products. Washington’s home reflects the simplicity and virtue of the republican President and is arranged in a neat and logical order. Mount Vernon is located on the bank of the Potomac river and enjoys a splendid view of the river and the Maryland countryside. The estate includes a new education center and museum. he education center is contemporary in its design including several short animated films in state of the art theaters (one even snows during the winter campain of Trenton and Princeton). There are several anitomically correct wax Washington figures (think Madam Tussauds)a very cool experience.

As part of the tour we visited Washington’s burial vault. Washington, who is interred with his wife Martha, rests in peace in a beautifully kept sanctuary. During the tour I had the distinct priveldge of laying a wreath at Washington’s sarcophacus. I was one of three fellows selected for the honor and was chosen because of my military service (USMC). I felt a tremendous amount of pride not only in my service to my country, but in being a James Madison Fellow. I will never forget the experience. In my visit to Mount Vernon I feel as if I have come to know General Washington on a deeper level, and respect his accomplishments even more than I had before. He is truly a great man.

See more of my Arlington National Cemetery Photos at Flickr

Being in a cemetery is always a quiet time of introspection and thoughtful contemplation concerning one’s life. It somehow puts perspective on the things that matters most and the things that don’t. Cemeteries for me symbolize the fragility of life and just how precious and fleeting it is. Having the chance to visit Arlington National Cemetery was an experience I will never forget and I don’t mean that in the cliché sense. Seeing the thousands of grave markers of soldiers, sailors and Marines, almost all killed in defense of this country made me stop and consider and appreciate the great sacrifice of our heroes in uniform. Being in Arlington reaffirmed the greatness of this country and the number of patriots who paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we enjoy today. Without those graves our way of life could not be possible. Thank you to each and every member of our armed forces, it is because of you that today I have reaffirmed my commitment to teaching American history and government so that I can do my part in preserving this union you have so gallantly laid down your lives to preserve.

Listen to my commentary as I visit various memorials in Washington D.C. sorry aout the wind.
here I am in Washington D.C.
Lincoln Memorial
Vietnam Memorial
World War Two Memorial
Korea War

To view my pictues of these memorials visit my Flickr page

The last few days we had the opportunity to hear some interesting dialog concerning the Freedom of Speech in the information age. The symposium was sponsored by the McCormick Freedom Museum and included conversations concerning free speech on the internet, blogs, and the traditional press, the Fairness Doctrine, reporting in times of war, and campaign finance reform. Over all I think the symposium went very well, but in my opinion (and that is what this blog is about) the most interesting and timely conversation was with Time Magazine reporter Michael Scherer. Michael spoke to the development of the internet as a source of information to include, not surprisingly blogs, websites, peer networking and the like. He seemed to grasp the power of the internet better than his colleagues, and it was very interesting to watch Michael present his case to many individuals who are not comfortable with technology. The world is fundamentally changing and this will, and already has affected the way students learn, and he way we should teach. I disagreed with Michael in that I do not think most Americans go online to become informed, republican (small r) citizens, Michael seemed to have too much faith in the rationality of America.

We also had the opportunity to hear NBC News correspondnt Pete Williams address his views on reporting in times of war. Being a former Marine I have very strong feelings on this subject and believe that cameras on the battlefield are not in the best interest of preserving our democracy as the panelists suggest. Mr. Williams was very sympathetic to the fact that soldiers and Marines should not be shown being blown up or dying on the battlefield, as this would have profound negative impacts on the families of those involved, however how do yo regulate this? One aspect of the conversation that was not addressed is the fact that I believe “embedded” reporters generate interest in the boradcast networks programming by appealing to the lowest common denominator. If Americans want to see combat join the Marines or rent a movie, we are talking about someones life. I think we should let the generals and individual Marines do the incredably hard job they have been trained to do, armchair generls sitting stateside are not going to improve the outcome on the battlefield or promote democracy, it seems to me that there is a political aspect to this conversation, one I don’t care to go into at the moment. If networks were so interested in the things they claim to be then why don’t we see the embedded repoteres in Iraq today? Answer, it is old news and most Americans don’t care to watch anymore.

I am in Washington D.C. participating in the James Madison Graduate Fellowship (JMGF) and I have a little time before today’s lecture so I wanted to take the time to let you know what is going on. The JMGF is being held at the campus of Georgetown University near Washington D.C. The primary purpose of the summer institute is to study the formative period of our country’s history to include of course the Constitution. So far it has been very illuminating but challenging at the same time. I will be honest, the reading load is intence and it has taken a concentrated effort to keep up. We are reading, with few exceptions, primary source documents which present their own set of challenges inregards to understanding the content, what is the saying…”that which does not kill me will only make me stronger.” I am caustiously optimistic of the outcome.

At the beginning of the week fellows had the opportunity to speak with Supreme Court Justice Clarance Thomas at the Supreme Court. That was a very special event in that the Justice was very personable and in his talk stressed the importance of an educated citizenery in regards to the nation’s democractic health. The Justice was very moving in his recalection of his early teachers, which brough some of the fellows visibly to tears. Fellows have a paper due this coming Tuesdy so I will be busy with that but, non the less I will go into Washington to begin seeing the sights.