History and Civil War Institute
Civil War Institute – Spring 2022
Live Classroom Sessions did not work out so well, so we are back to the convenient and easy virtual Zoom classes!
As we have done since the outset of these curious times, we will send out the Zoom link with the reminder that typically goes out within 24 hours of the start of class. Stay safe and God Bless you all!
To mark this occasion, we have an outstanding variety of fascinating courses to offer at Manor’s Jenkintown campus.
Mr. Lincoln Comes to Philadelphia – NEW – 1 day (2 hrs) – The City of Brotherly Love was special to Abraham Lincoln, who first saw Independence Hall in 1848, while attending the Whig Party’s national convention. He addressed Philadelphia’s citizens while en route to his 1861 inauguration; he attended the Sanitary Fair on Logan Square in 1864. His final trip home in 1865 passed through Philadelphia.
Instructor: Mike Jesberger
Fee: $30
Date: Thursday, February 10
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
A Philadelphia Hero: Civil Rights Warrior Octavius V. Catto – NEW – 1 day (2 hrs) – On Oct. 10, 1871, Octavius Valentine Catto was assassinated a few steps from his South Street home. It was Election Day, and Catto was protecting the right of African-American citizens to vote. A statue of this military and emancipation hero now stands on the south side of Philadelphia’s City Hall.
Instructor: Andy Waskie
Fee: $30
Date: Wednesday, February 23
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
“No Turning Back”: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Grant – 1 day (2 hrs) – Ulysses Grant has been celebrated as a general, underrated as a president, and overstated as a drunkard. We explore the hardships of his early life; his war years, when he led the Union to victory; his presidency, whose successes are only now being recognized; and his brilliant memoirs, written during his death agony.
Instructor: Jerry Carrier
Fee: $30
Date: Monday, March 14
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Tragedy’s Opening Act: Fort Sumter – NEW – 1 day (2 hrs) – Everyone knows the firing on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, launched the Civil War. But how many know the political drama that preceded this event … or the human toll it took on those who endured the cannonade? One man was caught in the middle – the fort’s commander, Major Robert Anderson. The ordeal left Anderson a broken man.
Instructor: Jerry Carrier
Fee: $30
Date: Tuesday, April 12
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
“Plenty of Blame to Go Around”: Gettysburg Controversies – NEW – 1 day (2 hrs) – Gettysburg is the Civil War’s most studied battle Yet the actions of a number of commanders remain controversial and often contentious. This class will review four of these controversies: J.E.B. Stuart’s ride, Richard Ewell’s actions on July 1, the battle for Little Round Top, and why the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble charge failed.
Instructor: Herb Kaufman
Fee: $30
Date: Thursday, May 12
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
History Institute Spring 2022
Developing the Atomic Bomb –1 night (2 hrs) – No military project can carry a title less exciting than “Manhattan Engineer District,” but working under this deliberately bland code name, the leading scientific geniuses of the age (including Albert Einstein) developed a devastating weapon that quickly ended World War II and remained a foreboding specter that haunted the Cold War era.
Instructor: Herb Kaufman
Fee: $30
Date: Thursday, January 20
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
A Crescendo of War Drums – NEW – 1 day (2 hrs) – The end of the French and Indian War in 1763 did not result in an era of peace. On the Western frontier (Ohio and western Pennsylvania), Native Americans, led by the Ottawa chieftain Pontiac, revolted against British rule. White settlers known as the Paxton Boys launched a vigilante campaign against Native tribes. It was a prelude to Revolution.
Instructor: Tom Donnelly
Fee: $30
Date: Thursday, March 24
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Worst President Ever – 1 night (2 hrs) – Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, is universally accepted as our greatest president. The man he succeeded – the 15th president, James Buchanan – has been rated by 14 historians as our worst. What did Buchanan do or not do to earn such a reputation? We will examine how America’s presidency went from worst to first.
Instructor: Hugh Boyle
Fee: $30
Date: Wednesday, April 6
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
“A Terrible Beauty Is Born”: The 1916 Easter Rising – NEW – 1 day (2 hrs) – The rebellion of April 1916 was a turning point in Ireland’s struggle for freedom. Inspired by the Rising, poet W.B. Yeats wrote, “A Terrible Beauty Is Born.” After centuries of failed rebellions, this “Rising” appeared to be yet another fiasco, but it successfully laid the foundation for Irish independence.
Instructor: Walt Lafty
Fee: $30
Date: Wednesday, April 27
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Footprints in the Snow: Washington’s Army of 1776 – NEW – 1 day (2 hrs) – In the year America declared independence, the cause relied on the men in the ranks. Without them, independence would be a forlorn hope, and the ideals in the Declaration would be empty words. Farmers, teachers, tradesmen, and mere boys stayed the course – because their commander, General George Washington, did not quit!
Instructor: Mike Jesberger
Fee: $30
Date: Monday, May 23
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.