MOUNT VERNON, VA — October 16–18 — Kyle Etherington has been selected to participate in “Hamilton v. Jefferson,” a multi-day American History Seminar hosted at Mount Vernon by Teaching American History, an organization dedicated to strengthening the teaching of American history nationwide.
Etherington was chosen through a selective application process that identifies educators committed to deepening their content knowledge and enhancing classroom instruction. He will join a select group of educators from across the United States for the three-day seminar examining one of the most important political debates of the early American republic.
“This was too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially during our fall break,” Etherington said. “The chance to experience Mount Vernon and walk in the same steps as George Washington is very exciting.”
The seminar will focus on the competing political visions of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson during the early years of the United States. Although the nation’s founders famously created a Constitution without political parties, organized political parties quickly emerged during George Washington’s administration.
At the center of that partisan contest were Hamilton and Jefferson, whose disagreements extended well beyond personality and politics. They held fundamentally different ideas about the federal government’s proper role, the nation’s economy, the balance between federal and state authority, and the future direction of the young republic.
Through discussions, historical analysis, and experiences at Mount Vernon, participants will examine Hamilton’s and Jefferson’s arguments and consider how their competing visions helped shape the United States.
Among the scholars participating in the seminar is Jeremy Bailey, Professor of Humanities at the Hamilton School of Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida. Bailey and other historians and educators will help participants explore the historical context surrounding the development of America’s first partisan political divisions.
For Etherington, the opportunity provides a chance to bring the nation’s founding era to life in a setting directly connected to the country’s first president.
The seminar is also designed to directly impact classroom instruction. Participants will deepen their understanding of the historical issues surrounding Hamilton and Jefferson while building knowledge and resources they can bring back to their students.
Teaching American History fully funds all program-related expenses, including lodging, meals, and seminar materials. Participants will also receive a travel stipend upon completion of the seminar.
Etherington, a history educator, will return from the seminar with the opportunity to incorporate what he learns into his American history instruction and share the experience of studying the nation’s founding debates at one of America’s most significant historic sites.
For three days, educators will gather at Mount Vernon not simply to study Hamilton and Jefferson, but to consider a larger question that remains central to the teaching of American history: How did the competing visions of America’s founders shape the nation that followed?