Mount Rushmore: The Wisdom of Our Fathers

Session Descriptions:

1. Who Are the Faces on Mount Rushmore, and Why?
This session will discuss the history of Mount Rushmore and engage the perennial question of what constitutes presidential greatness.

2. George Washington: Founder of the Nation and the American Presidency
How did George Washington establish the foundation for future presidents to exercise political leadership?

3. Thomas Jefferson: Expanding the Nation and the Presidency
What were Jefferson’s contributions to the presidency and the United States?

4. Abraham Lincoln: Savior of the Nation
How did Lincoln justify his use of power, and is his argument persuasive today?

5. Theodore Roosevelt: Bringing the United States into the Twentieth Century
How did Theodore Roosevelt expand the powers of the American presidency?

6. Evaluating the Mount Rushmore Presidents in the Twenty-First Century
This concluding lecture will examine the lessons of the Mount Rushmore presidents for the 21st century.

7. Live From Mount Rushmore: The Wisdom of Our Fathers
Live Q&A with the Mount Rushmore presidents. Available as a live, simultaneous webcast from Mount Rushmore to approximately 200 communities around the nation.

8. Live From Mount Rushmore: The Wisdom of Our Fathers
A presidential debate featuring the four Mount Rushmore presidents.

The final two sessions will be webcast live from Mount Rushmore Hall in South Dakota. For those communities unable to participate in a simultaneous webcast, an edited DVD version of the final two sessions will be delivered during the week beginning Oct. 27, 2008.