The Presidential Primary Sources Project
Leadership in a Time of Crisis – 2014 Videoconferencing Program
The Presidential Primary Sources Project is a collaborative program sponsored by the U.S.
Presidential Libraries and Museums, National Parks, the Internet2 K20 Initiative, and other
primary source stakeholders. The goal of the annual project is to engage classrooms throughout
the national and international education community with an overarching theme, utilizing
primary source documents for student research and presentation.
Audience: Students Grades 6-12
National Standards: Because of the broad nature of the presidential theme, teachers will find
that a number of the historical presentations coincide with their yearly curriculum. Additionally,
research and synthesis requirements expected by national and state standards can also be
integrated at various points in a teacher’s syllabus. Each video conference will be associated
with its coinciding National Standards to assist teachers in these efforts.
Registration:
<REGISTRATION LINK>
Equipment Requirements: Your classroom will need access to a H.323
compliant desktop video conferencing software program or room system. The
video conferencing system should be able to operate at a minimum of 384kbps.
Every participating site must test with a State program coordinator and receive a
site certification at least one week prior to the program start date.
Presentation Schedule:
•  Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
o  March 6, 2014: 9:00-9:45am CST/1:00-1:45pm CST
•  Harry S. Truman Library
o  March 25, 2014: 10:00-10:45am CST/12:00-12:45pm CST
•  Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University
o  April 8, 2014: 9:00-9:45am CST/11:00-11:45am CST
•  Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
o  April 15, 2014: 10:00-10:45am CST/12:00-12:45pm CST
•  Eisenhower National Historic Site
o  April 30, 2014: 9:00-9:45am CST/1:00-1:45pm CST
Andrew
Johnson
National
Historic
Site
March 6, 2014
9:00 – 9:45am CST
1:00 – 1:45pm CST
Grades 8 - 12
A Tailor President Mends the Nation: Andrew Johnson and the
United States Constitution
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln at the end of the Civil War placed Andrew
Johnson in a delicate situation of restoring the American government. Opposed by
many in Congress, Andrew Johnson was determined to stay true to his strict
interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Join Park Rangers at Andrew Johnson
National Historic Site as they illustrate the challenges of Andrew Johnson's
presidency, while reflecting on how his early life shaped his character on the path to
becoming the 17th President.
Harry S. Truman Library
March 25, 2014
10:00 – 10:45am CST
12:00 – 12:45pm CST
Grades 6 - 12
The Truman Doctrine
Addressing a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman
asked for $400 million in military and economic assistance for Greece and Turkey and
established a doctrine, aptly characterized the Truman Doctrine, which would guide U.S.
diplomacy for the next forty years. President Truman declared, "It must be the policy of
the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by
armed minorities or by outside pressures." The sanction of aid to Greece and Turkey by a
Republican Congress indicated the beginning of a long and enduring bipartisan cold war
foreign policy. The Truman Doctrine has raised profound questions from historians
regarding its origins, long-term consequences, and the relationship between domestic and
foreign policy. However, one thing is for certain, the Truman Doctrine signaled America's
post war embrace of global leadership and ended its longstanding policy of isolationism.
This program will look at the primary source materials - maps, photographs,
correspondence, reports, oral histories - and students will examine them to determine
leadership traits in a time of global crisis.
Theodore Roosevelt: Making Peace and War
Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University
Grades 8 - 12
Leadership is often demonstrated in times of crisis, particularly times of war. Yet the
United States did not engage in war during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. On the
contrary, he deftly negotiated peace between Russia and Japan, settling a long and
grueling conflict between the two nations. Later, when the world was caught up in
war, Roosevelt strenuously called for the United States to enter the conflict. In this
session, students will explore the exercise of leadership in these two circumstances.
Primary sources will include speeches, letters, photographs, and perhaps video.
April 8, 2014 9:00 – 9:45am CST
11:00 – 11:45am CST Herbert Hoover: Master of Emergencies
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
A successful and world-renowned mining engineer, Herbert Hoover's reputation for integrity,
efficiency, and problem-solving led him to a life of public service. Hoover was a leader of worldwide
humanitarian organizations and he worked for three presidents before being elected president in
1928.
This presentation will demonstrate Hoover’s effectiveness as a leader throughout the course of his
life leading up to the election of 1928. His strong leadership qualities, which earned him the
nickname “the master of emergencies,” made him “the most popular man in the world,” and secured
the presidency in 1928 by the largest landslide in presidential election history.
This program will use illustrative primary sources including photographs, correspondence,
documents, and historic structures.
April 15, 2014
10:00 – 10:45am CST 12:00 – 12:45pm CST
Grades 8 - 12
Eisenhower National Historic Site
April 30, 2014
9:00 – 9:45am CST
1:00 – 1:45pm CST
Eisenhower and Khrushchev
at Gettysburg
The presentation focuses on Soviet Premier Nikita
Khrushchev’s visit to America in 1959,
specifically President Eisenhower’s invitation to
Khrushchev to meet with him at Camp David and
his Gettysburg farm to hopefully iron out some of
their Cold War differences and relieve Cold War
tension. The visit was potentially one of the most
important world events of the 1950s in that it
could have brought about a permanent thaw in
the Cold War 30 years before the Cold War would
ultimately come to an end.
Teachers and students will be asked to review the
lesson plan, Thaw in the Cold War: Eisenhower
and Khrushchev at Gettysburg, (available on-line:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/
lessons/29ike/29ike.htm) which includes
primary source documents related to the
Khrushchev visit.
Grades 7 - 12