Atlanta History Center Announces June to December 2015 Long Range Calendar

Thu, May 28, 2015 21:48 CET

TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS:

Filming The Camps – John Ford, Samuel Fuller, George Stevens: From Hollywood to Nuremberg

On display through November 20, 2015

Atlanta History Center

Hollywood directors John Ford, George Stevens, and Samuel Fuller created American cinema classics like The Grapes of Wrath, Shane, and The Big Red One. But their most important contribution to history was their work in the U.S. Armed Forces and Secret Services, filming the realities of war and the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. Filming the Camps presents rare footage of the liberation of Dachau with detailed directors’ notes, narratives describing burials at Falkenau, and the documentary produced as evidence at the Nuremberg trials, among other historic material. In addition to this rare footage, the exhibition shows how the violence of World War II and the exposure to the victims of Nazi atrocities caused a complete upheaval in the lives and careers of these three Hollywood directors.

This exhibition is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For more information or to purchase admission tickets, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com or call 404.814.4000.

Support: The exhibition, curated by historian and film director Christian Delage, was designed, created, and distributed by the Mémorial de la Shoah (Paris, France), and made possible through the generous support of SNCF.

Presented in Atlanta through the generous support of the Scott Hudgens Family Foundation, Victoria and Howard Palefsky, the Rich Foundation, Jackie and Tony Montag, Count and Countess Ferdinand and Monique Seefried, the Consul General of France Denis Barbet, and Dr. James Braude.

FAMILY AND ADULT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING

Programs and dates are subject to change.

Please call 404.814.4033 to confirm program dates.

June 2015

Atlanta History Center Summer Camp 2015

June 1 – 5: Villains of History
June 8 – 12: Pioneer House
June 15 – 19: Two Hundred Years Ago
June 22 – 26: The Middle Ages

History comes to life as Atlanta History Center summer campers explore the past through games, historic simulations, performances, crafts, and hands-on activities throughout our exhibitions, historic houses, and Goizueta Gardens. The museum is our playground! With fun new themes each week, such as pioneer life, science fiction, and villains of history, campers enjoy a variety of immersive camp experiences all summer long.

For information, or to register a camper, please contact the Summer Camp Director at 404.814.4018, email SummerCamp@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com, or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/SummerCamp.

Margaret Mitchell House Summer Writing Camp 2015

June 1 – 5: Mystery in the City: Crime of the Century
June 15 – 19: Extra! Extra! Write All About It!
June 22 – 26: Write On: The Essentials

Margaret Mitchell House writing camps provide an opportunity for youth to discover the power and excitement of writing while honing their skills in a fun, interactive environment. With 10-15 participants per camp, each young author receives individual attention while learning how to create meaningful prose through a variety of techniques, like stream-of-consciousness writing, games, journaling, free verse poetry, and other forms.

For information, or to register a camper, please contact the Summer Camp Director at 404.814.4018, email SummerCamp@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com, or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/SummerCamp.

Livingston Lecture Series: Steve Inskeep, Jacksonland: President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross, and a Great American Land Grab

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

8:00 pm

Location: Atlanta History Center

A thrilling narrative history of two men – President Andrew Jackson and Cherokee Chief John Ross – who led their respective nations at a crossroads of American history. Five decades after the Revolutionary War, the United States faced a constitutional crisis. At its center stood two men, former military comrades locked in a struggle that tested the boundaries of our fledgling democracy. Jacksonland is their story.

One man we recognize: Andrew Jackson – war hero, populist, and exemplar of the expanding South – whose first major initiative as president instigated the massive expulsion of Native Americans known as the Trail of Tears. The other is a half-forgotten figure: John Ross – a mixed-race Cherokee politician and diplomat – who used the United States’ own legal system and democratic ideals to oppose Jackson.

Steve Inskeep is a co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition, the most widely heard radio news program in the United States. His investigative journalism has received the Edward R. Murrow Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, and the Alfred I. Dupont award. He is the author of Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi.

Admission for all lectures is $5 members, $10 nonmembers, and free to AHC Insiders unless otherwise noted. Reservations are required, please call 404.814.4150 or reserve tickets online at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Lectures.

Support: The Livingston Lectures are made possible with generous funding from the Livingston Foundation of Atlanta.

Elson Lecture: Hampton Sides, In the Kingdom of Ice

Thursday, June 4, 2015

8:00 pm

Location: Atlanta History Center

In the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: the North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans, although theories abounded. James Gordon Bennett, the eccentric and stupendously wealthy owner of The New York Herald, had recently captured the world's attention by dispatching Stanley to Africa to find Dr. Livingstone. Now he was keen to recreate that sensation on an even more epic scale. So he funded an official U.S. naval expedition to reach the Pole, choosing as its captain a young officer named George Washington De Long, who had gained fame for a rescue operation off the coast of Greenland. De Long led a team of thirty-two men deep into uncharted Arctic waters, carrying the aspirations of a young country burning to become a world power.

Hampton Sides is an award-winning editor of Outside and the author of the bestselling histories Hellhound on his Trail, Blood and Thunder, and Ghost Soldiers.

Support: The Elson Lectures are made possible with generous funding from Ambassador and Mrs. Edward Elson.

Bank of America Museums on Us

Saturday and Sunday, June 6 and 7, 2015

The Atlanta History Center is a proud participant in Bank of America’s national Museums on Us program. All Bank of America/Merrill Lynch customers receive free admission to the Atlanta History Center, including the Atlanta History Museum, Centennial Olympic Games Museum, two historic houses, and twenty-two acres of Goizueta Gardens, during the first full weekend of every month.

To redeem this offer, visitors must present a valid Bank of America ATM, debit, or credit card, along with a photo ID. Bank of America associates are also eligible for free admission by presenting their current Bank of America Corporate ID card, and a photo ID.

Visit www.bankofamerica.com/museums for more information on other participating institutions across the country.

Elson Lecture: Jeff Shaara, The Fateful Lightning

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

8:00 pm

Location: Atlanta History Center

In the concluding novel of his epic Civil War tetralogy, Jeff Shaara tells the dramatic story of the final eight months of battle from multiple perspectives: the commanders in their tents making plans for total victory, as well as the ordinary foot soldiers and cavalrymen who carried out their orders until the last alarm sounded. Through Sherman’s eyes, we gain insight into the mind of the general who vowed to “make Georgia howl” until it surrendered. In Johnston, we see a man agonizing over the limits of his army’s power, and accepting the burden of leading the last desperate effort to ensure the survival of the Confederacy. The Civil War did not end quietly. It climaxed in a storm of fury that lay waste to everything in its path. The Fateful Lightning brings to life those final brutal, bloody months of fighting with you-are-there immediacy, grounded in the meticulous research that readers have come to expect from Jeff Shaara.

Support: The Elson Lectures are made possible with generous funding from Ambassador and Mrs. Edward Elson.

Frye Gaillard, Journey to the Wilderness: War, Memory and a Southern Family’s Civil War Letters

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

8:00 pm

Location: Atlanta History Center

In Journey Into the Wilderness award-winning author Frye Gaillard reflects on the Civil War and the way we remember it, through the lens of letters written by his family members, including great-great-grandfather, Thomas Gaillard, and Thomas’s sons, Franklin and Richebourg, both of whom were Confederate officers. As Gaillard explains in his deeply felt introductory essay to the book, he came of age in a Southern generation that viewed the war as a glorious lost cause. But as he read through family letters collected and handed down, he confronted a far more sobering truth.

Frye Gaillard is writer-in-residence at the University of South Alabama and the award-winning author of more than twenty books, including Cradle of Freedom: Alabama and the Movement That Changed America, winner of the Lillian Smith Award, Watermelon Wine, and The Books That Mattered: A Reader's Memoir.

Pam Anderson, Maggy Keet, and Sharon Damelio, Three Many Cooks: One Mother, Two Daughters: Their Shared Stories of Food, Faith & Family

Friday, June 19, 2015

7:00 pm

Location: Margaret Mitchell House

The relationship that exists between food and family is a powerful one. Perhaps no one knows this better than acclaimed cookbook author Pam Anderson and her daughters Maggy Keet and Sharon Damelio: the women behind the popular blog Three Many Cooks. In their first collaborative book, Three Many Cooks, the authors offer compelling reflections in alternating voices – everything from falling in love to striking out on one’s own – with a handful of well-loved recipes for a funny, candid, and absolutely heartfelt narrative.

New York Times bestselling author of seven cookbooks, Pam Anderson is AARP’s official food expert and a Runner’s World contributing columnist. She is the former executive editor at Cook’s Illustrated. She and her two daughters, Maggy Keet and Sharon Damelio, are the voices behind the blog Three Many Cooks, featured in several national publications, including Woman’s Day and Redbook.

Juneteenth

Saturday, June 20, 2015

11:00 am – 4:00 pm

This two-day family program focuses on the appreciation and commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.

Guests explore the themes of freedom and family history through activities, crafts, and Meet the Past museum theatre performances. Don’t miss, a special performance of The Order of Freedom, written by Atlanta History Center award-winning playwright, Addae Moon. This original production explores the impact of the issuance of General Order No. 3, by General Gordon Granger, on June 19, 1865, and the challenges faced by Cora and James Lewis as they begin their journey from slavery to citizenship.

This is a free admission weekend at Atlanta History Center. Guests are invited to enjoy the outdoor festival, and if time permits, to continue their adventures with a variety of Atlanta History Center offerings from discoveries of signature and traveling exhibitions to historic house experiences and explorations of beautiful gardens and trails. Food and drinks are available for purchase.

For more information about this program, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Family.

Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Juneteenth

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Noon – 4:00 pm

This two-day family program focuses on the appreciation and commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.

This is a free admission weekend at Atlanta History Center. Guests are invited to enjoy the outdoor festival, and if time permits, to continue their free day adventures with a variety of Atlanta History Center offerings from discoveries of signature and traveling exhibitions to historic house experiences and explorations of beautiful gardens and trails. Food and drinks are available for purchase.

For more information about this program, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Family.

Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Livingston Lecture Series: Elizabeth Varon, Appomattox: Victory, Defeat and Freedom at the End of the Civil War

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

8:00 pm

Location: Atlanta History Center

On April 9, 1865, after exchanging pleasantries about their service in the Mexican War, Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee negotiated the terms of Lee’s surrender at McLean House in Appomattox, Virginia, bringing the Civil War to an official end. Fictional and accurate accounts pervade the surrender, painting it as a well-known myth in American history.

In Appomattox: Victory, Defeat and Freedom at the End of the Civil War, historian Elizabeth R. Varon presents a new, more accurate interpretation of Appomattox’s meaning. She offers an alternative vision to the dominant view that Lee's surrender affected the reunion of the South and North, and thus “saved America.” Varon reexamines the narrative of the surrender at Appomattox, and finds that neither Northerners nor Southerners were united in their reactions to the surrender.

Elizabeth R. Varon is Langbourne M. Williams Professor of American History at the University of Virginia. A noted Civil War historian, she is the author of Disunion!: The Coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859, We Mean to be Counted: White Women and Politics in Antebellum Virginia, and Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, A Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy, which was named one of the "Five Best" books on the "Civil War away from the battlefield" by the Wall Street Journal.

Support: The Livingston Lectures are made possible with generous funding from the Livingston Foundation of Atlanta.

Robert Beachy, Gay Berlin: Birthplace of a Modern Identity

Thursday, June 25, 2015

8:00 pm

Location: Atlanta History Center

Long known for the friendly company of its "warm brothers" (German slang for men who love other men), Berlin, even before the turn of the twentieth century, was a place where educators, activists, and medical professionals could explore and begin to educate both themselves and Europe about new and emerging sexual identities. From Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, a German activist described by some as the world's first openly gay man, to the world of Berlin's vast homosexual subcultures – tolerated and monitored by the police commissioner through the "Department of Homosexuals and Blackmailers" – to a major sex scandal that enraptured the daily newspapers and shook the court of Emperor William II, and on through some of the world's first sex reassignment surgeries, Beachy deftly guides the reader through past events and developments that continue to shape and influence the way we think of sexuality to this day.

Robert Beachy was trained as a German historian at the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. in 1998. He is presently associate professor of history at the Underwood International College of Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.

This program is held in conjunction with the Filming the Camps – John Ford, Samuel Fuller, George Stevens: From Hollywood to Nuremberg exhibition.

Civil War Genealogy Programs

Saturday, June 27, 2015

10:30 am – 3:00 pm

Location: Atlanta History Center

As we observe the sesquicentennial of the end of the Civil War, many are curious about the role their own ancestors played in this critical event in United States history. Atlanta History Center offers two programs with tips, techniques, and effective strategies for researching your Civil War ancestors. Join us at 10:30 am for a program focusing on Union records. The 1:30 pm program focuses on Confederate records. If you have an ancestor who served in the Civil War, these are programs you don’t want to miss!

Finding Billy Yank: Researching your Civil War Union Soldier

Saturday, June 27, 2015

10:30 am – Noon

Skill level: Intermediate

Presenter: Emma Davis-Hamilton, Atlanta Chapter President, Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society

Tickets are $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Reservations are recommended. Please call 404.814.4150 or reserve a ticket online at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Genealogy. For more information about program content, call 404.814.4042.

Finding Johnny Reb: Researching your Civil War Confederate Soldier

Saturday, June 27, 2015

1:30 – 3:00 pm

Skill level: Intermediate

Presenter: Elizabeth Olson, Vice President of the Georgia Genealogical Society

July 2015

Atlanta History Center Summer Camp 2015

July 6 – 10: True Science Fiction
July 13 – 17: World War II
July 20 – 24: The Colonies
July 27 – 31: Go West

For information, or to register a camper, please contact the Summer Camp Director at 404.814.4018, email SummerCamp@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com, or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/SummerCamp.

Margaret Mitchell House Summer Writing Camp 2015

July 6 – 10: Mystery in the City: Haunts and Habits
July 13 – 17: Sci-Fi and Fantasy
July 20 – 24: Screenwriting
July 27 – 31: Write On: The Essentials

For information, or to register a camper, please contact the Summer Camp Director at 404.814.4018, email SummerCamp@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com, or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/SummerCamp.

Bank of America Museums on Us

Saturday and Sunday, July 4 and 5, 2015

Visit www.bankofamerica.com/museums for more information on other participating institutions across the country.

Ron Clark, Move Your Bus

Monday, July 6, 2015

7:00 pm

Location: Atlanta History Center

New York Times bestselling author and award-winning educator Ron Clark applies his successful leadership principles to the business world in this effective and accessible guidebook, perfect for any manager looking to inspire and motivate his or her team.

Teamwork is crucial to the success of any business, and as acclaimed author and speaker Ron Clark illustrates, the members of any team are the key to unlocking success. Imagine a company as a bus filled with people who either help or hinder a team’s ability to move it forward: drivers (who steer the organization), runners (who consistently go above and beyond for the good of the organization), joggers (who do their jobs without pushing themselves), walkers (who are just getting pulled along), and riders (who hinder success and drag the team down). It’s the team leader’s job to recognize how members fall into these categories, encourage them to keep the “bus” moving by working together.

Martin Clark, The Jezebel Remedy

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

7:00 pm

Location: Margaret Mitchell House

Lisa and Joe Stone, married for twenty years and partners in their small law firm in Henry County, Virginia, handle less than glamorous cases, whether domestic disputes, personal injury settlements, or never-ending complaints from their cantankerous client Lettie VanSandt. When Lettie dies in a freakish fire, the Stones think it’s certainly possible that she was cooking meth at her trailer. But details soon emerge that lead them to question how accidental her demise actually was, and settling her peculiar estate becomes endlessly complicated.

Before long, the Stones find themselves entangled in a corporate conspiracy that will require all their legal skills, not to mention some difficult ethical choices for them to survive. In The Jezebel Remedy, Clark gives us a stunning portrait of a marriage, an intricate tour of the legal system, and a relentlessly entertaining story that is full of inventions, shocks, and understanding.

Martin Clark is a Virginia circuit court judge. His past novels have been chosen as a New York Times

Notable Book, a Bookmarks Magazine Best Book of the Year, a finalist for the Stephen Crane First Fiction Award, and a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. His last novel, The Legal Limit, was the winner of the Library of Virginia’s People’s Choice. He lives in Patrick County, Virginia, with his wife, Deana.

Returning Home: Life After the Civil War

Saturday, July 18, 2015

11:00 am – 4:00 pm

After the Civil War, life changed for those living in the South. With activities designed for a variety of ages, learn about this transitional period by interacting with soldiers returning home from the battlefield, families mourning the loss of loved ones, and recently freed enslaved workers. Experience a Civil War encampment that explores these themes and become a part of the reenactment with simulations, crafts, and activities.

This program is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For more information or to purchase admission tickets, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Family.

Support:Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Jim Auchmutey, The Class of ’65: A Student, a Divided Town, and the Long Road to Forgiveness

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

7:00 pm

Location: Margaret Mitchell House

The Class of '65 is an untold story of race, religion, and reconciliation that grew out of the turmoil of the civil rights era in Georgia. It revolves around a student from Koinonia Farm, the Christian commune that gave birth to Habitat for Humanity, and the persecution he suffered when he attended the local high school during its turbulent desegregation. Many years later, classmates who had once scorned him tracked him down in a distant state and asked for his forgiveness. The book is as much about how people change as about the ugly things that happened in the South half a century ago.

Jim Auchmutey spent almost thirty years as a writer and editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, specializing in stories about the South and its history and culture. He was twice named the Cox Newspapers chain's Writer of the Year and was honored by the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards, the Associated Press, and the Sigma Delta Chi journalism society. The Class of '65: A Student, a Divided Town, and the Long Road to Forgiveness is his first nonfiction narrative book. Jim lives in Atlanta with his wife, Pam, an editor at Emory University.

This is a free event in partnership with The Bitter Southerner and A Capella Books, as part of The Bitter Southerner’s Read Well Book Club. Reservations are recommended. Please call 404.814.4150 or reserve seats online at MargaretMitchellHouse.com/Lectures.

August 2015

Bank of America Museums on Us

Saturday and Sunday, August 1 and 2, 2015

Visit www.bankofamerica.com/museums for more information on other participating institutions across the country.

Paula McLain, Circling the Sun

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

7:00 pm

Location: Margaret Mitchell House

The New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed novel The Paris Wife, returns with her highly anticipated historical novel, Circling the Sun. The world is 1920s Kenya, where a glamorous and decadent circle of British expats have carved out a toe-hold of civilization at the edge of the boundless frontier.

Abandoned by her mother and inspired by the dangerous beauty around her, Beryl Markham grows into a fierce young woman driven to prove her courage and win independence at any cost. She becomes the first woman to earn her license as a professional racehorse trainer, one of the very first people in Africa, and the world, to have a commercial pilot’s license, and the first bush pilot to successfully scout game from the air for safari hunters under impossibly dangerous circumstances.

But the terrain Beryl can’t seem to conquer is her own heart. When she meets safari hunter Denys Finch Hatton (immortalized in Out of Africa), and the Danish author Karen Blixen, she’s catapulted into a passionate love triangle that will change the course of her life. Though neither Blixen or Markham publically acknowledged the relationship in their lifetime, it seared and altered them both, and set Beryl on a course to tackle her greatest adventure yet, flying the Atlantic east to west in 1936, two-thousand feet above the icy waves, without radio contact, alone in the dark for twenty-four hours, trusting her instruments and her instincts.

Paula McLain is the author of the novels The Paris Wife and A Ticket to Ride, the memoir Like Family: Growing Up in Other People’s Houses, and two collections of poetry. She has received fellowships from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives in Cleveland with her family.

Homeschool Open House

Monday, August 10, 2015

10:00 am – 5:30 pm

Join us for our annual homeschool open house! Homeschooling families are invited to explore the Atlanta History Center’s museum, historic houses, and gardens free of charge.

Atlanta History Center offers special monthly programs for homeschool students and their families. Each month explores a different subject through exhibition tours and a variety of activities geared toward kids from toddler to teen.

For more information, or to make group reservations, please call 404.814.4018, email Homeschool@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com, or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Homeschool.

Support:Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Meet the Past Festival: Margaret Mitchell

Saturday, August 22, 2015

11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Location: Margaret Mitchell House

This family program invites guests to experience the past while encountering Margaret Mitchell as a young reporter, a budding novelist, and a World War II philanthropist. Visitors will enjoy kid-friendly activities, lawn games, live music, and Southern food.

Be sure not to miss a special reading of the Atlanta History Center’s Tomorrow is Another Day. This Meet the Past museum theatre performance is a fictional exploration of the day before the Atlanta premiere of the movie Gone with the Wind. Meet the novelist Margaret Mitchell and learn about her life and creative process as they collide at the intersection of gender, race, and memory.

This program is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For more information or to purchase admission tickets, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Family.

Support:Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Workshop for Teachers: The Use of Film as Evidence and the History of the Jews in France under the Vichy Regime

Sunday, August 23, 2015

10:00 am – 5:00 pm

This free one-day workshop for teachers and educators is organized by the Mémorial de la Shoah and hosted by Atlanta History Center.

Attendees will earn 1 PLU for attending this workshop.

This program is held in conjunction with the Filming the Camps – John Ford, Samuel Fuller, George Stevens: From Hollywood to Nuremberg exhibition.

Admission is free for teachers and educators. For more information or to register, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com, call 404.814.4110, or email MWilson@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.

Film Screening and Conversation with Christian Delage, Director and Curator of Filming the Camps – John Ford, Samuel Fuller, George Stevens: From Hollywood to Nuremberg

Monday, August 24, 2015

7:00 – 9:00 pm

Location: Atlanta History Center

Hollywood directors John Ford, George Stevens, and Samuel Fuller entertained audiences with cinema classics like The Grapes of Wrath, Shane and The Big Red One. But their most important contribution to history may have been their work in the U.S. Armed Forces and Secret Services, filming the realities of war and the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. Their documentation provides an essential visual record of WWII. Combining a wealth of rare material, including private letters and footage from their own personal archives, From Hollywood to Nuremberg explores these filmmakers’ experiences during and after WWII, their confrontation with Nazi atrocities, and the mark that left on them as artists.

Director Christian Delage is a historian, curator, and filmmaker whose earlier credits include the documentary Nuremberg, The Nazis Facing Their Crimes.

This program is held in conjunction with the Filming the Camps – John Ford, Samuel Fuller, George Stevens: From Hollywood to Nuremberg exhibition.

Elson Lecture: David Sehat, The Jefferson Rule: How the Founding Father’s Became Infallible and Our Politics Inflexible

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

8:00 pm

Location: Atlanta History Center

In today’s political discourse, consideration of complex issues is often reduced to asking: What would the Founders do? In The Jefferson Rule, David Sehat examines how we came to view this bitterly divided generation as a cohesive group of visionaries – and how both the Left and the Right cite these argumentative Founders as though they would unanimously support widely divergent present-day policies.

As Sehat reveals, it is a pattern of long standing. Beginning with the early national debate between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, continuing through the Civil War, the fight over the New Deal, the Reagan Revolution, up to and including the disputes between Barack Obama and the Tea Party, the so-called Jefferson Rule – the unspoken conviction that any proposal or policy must be associated with and justified by the Founding Fathers – has obscured the real issues and damaged American politics.

David Sehat is Associate Professor of History at Georgia State University. His first book, The Myth of American Religious Freedom, won the Frederick Jackson Turner Award from the Organization of American Historians.

September 2015

Steven Satterfield, Root to Leaf

Thursday, September 3, 2015

6:00 pm Reception; 7:00 pm Program

Location: Atlanta History Center

Chef of the award-winning Atlanta restaurant Miller Union, Steven Satterfield – dubbed the “Vegetable Shaman” by the New York Times’s Sam Sifton – has enchanted diners with his vegetable dishes, capturing the essence of fresh produce through a simple, elegant cooking style. Like his contemporaries April Bloomfield and Fergus Henderson, who use the whole animal from nose to tail in their dishes, Satterfield believes in making the most out of the edible parts of the plant, from root to leaf. Satterfield embodies an authentic approach to farmstead-inspired cooking, incorporating seasonal fresh produce into everyday cuisine. His trademark is simple food, and in his creative hands he continually updates the region’s legendary dishes – easy yet sublime fare that can be made in the home kitchen.  

Root to Leaf is not a vegetarian cookbook, it’s a cookbook that celebrates the world of fresh produce. Everyone will find something here from the omnivore to the vegan. Organized by seasons, and with a decidedly Southern flair, Satterfield's mouthwatering recipes make the most of available produce from local markets, foraging, and the home garden.

This is an outdoor event held at Smith Family Farm at Atlanta History Center. Admission is $10 for members, $15 for nonmembers, and includes small seasonal bites and libations. Reservations are required, please call 404.814.4150 or reserve tickets online at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Lectures.

Bank of America Museums on Us

Saturday and Sunday, September 5 and 6, 2015

Visit www.bankofamerica.com/museums for more information on other participating institutions across the country.

Homeschool Day: Georgia Farm Life

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

1:00 – 4:00 pm

Become a Georgia Pioneer and enter into a real working farm to find out what it was like to live during the 1800s. Immerse yourself in a first-person experience as you meet people from the era and help with the chores needed to survive.

Admission to Homeschool Days is $8.50 nonmembers; $6.50 children of members; and free for adult members. Discounted rates are available for groups with ten or more children. For more information, or to make group reservations, please call 404.814.4018, email Homeschool@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com, or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Homeschool.

Support:Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Magic Monday: Colonial Kids

Monday, September 14, 2015

10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Experience the daily life of colonial children through games, chores, and crafts. See how life was different, and the same, as present day.

This monthly program for toddlers and preschoolers (18 months to 5 years) engages our youngest visitors in activities that introduce them to history in creative ways. Each Magic Monday has a unique theme and includes a guided exploration of one of our award-winning exhibitions, historic houses, or Goizueta Gardens, as well as demonstrations, arts and crafts projects, and story time. Join us for another exciting year and connect with old friends while meeting new ones.

Members are admitted for free. Admission is $6.50 adults; $5.50 children. Discounted rates are available for groups with ten or more children. For more information, please call 404.814.4110 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/MagicMondays.

Support:Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Karen Abbott, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy

Thursday, September 17, 2015

7:00 pm

Location: Margaret Mitchell House

Karen Abbott illuminates one of the most fascinating yet little known aspects of the Civil War: the stories of four courageous women – a socialite, a farmgirl, an abolitionist, and a widow – who were spies.

After shooting a Union soldier in her front hall with a pocket pistol, Belle Boyd became a courier and spy for the Confederate army, using her charms to seduce men on both sides. Emma Edmonds cut off her hair and assumed the identity of a man to enlist as a Union private, witnessing the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The beautiful widow, Rose O’Neale Greenhow, engaged in affairs with powerful Northern politicians to gather intelligence for the Confederacy, and used her young daughter to send information to Southern generals. Elizabeth Van Lew, a wealthy Richmond abolitionist, hid behind her proper Southern manners as she orchestrated a far-reaching espionage ring, right under the noses of suspicious rebel detectives.

Using a wealth of primary source material and interviews with the spies’ descendants, Abbott seamlessly weaves the adventures of these four heroines throughout the tumultuous years of the war. With a cast of real-life characters, including Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, General Stonewall Jackson, detective Allan Pinkerton, Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and Emperor Napoleon III, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy draws you into the war as these daring women lived it.

Karen Abbott is the New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City and American Rose. She is a regular contributor to Smithsonian.com, and also writes for Disunion, the New York Times series about the Civil War. A native of Philadelphia, where she worked as a journalist, she now lives with her husband and two African Grey parrots in New York City.

Members-Only: Researching Your Early Modern Victorian British Isles Ancestors

Saturday, September 19, 2015

10:30 am – Noon

Many people in the United States can trace their descent to the British Isles. There are innumerable databases and resources available to help genealogists and historians learn about their forebears who lived in the British Isles circa 1600-1900. Some of these records include parish registers, probate records, land records, censuses, military records, immigration records, legal records, and tax records. But how does one go about finding and using these documents?

Professor Ryan Rowberry from the Georgia State University College of Law offers an educational session on various print sources, online databases, and digitized records available to genealogists and historians interested in learning more about the people and professions of Early Modern and Victorian England. A majority of sources discussed relate to England, but some information on Irish, Scottish, and Welsh records are also included.

To make a reservation, please email Membership@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com. For more information, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Membership.

Back on the Farm

Friday, September 25, 2015

6:30 pm

Chaired by Jackie and Jimmy Cushman, Back on the Farm is an elegant, but casual party with fabulous entertainment and a delicious seated dinner of locally sourced seasonal food. Joining the party are animal friends who call Smith Family Farm home and costumed historical interpreters who bring the past to life at the Smith Family Farm on a daily basis.

Proceeds from the event support the animals on the farm, including the position of the Historic Farmer, who ensures the care and historical interpretation of the animals.

For ticket information or to make a reservation, please call 404.814.4102. For more information, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/BackOnTheFarm.

Members-Only: Petting Zoo Preview at Fall Folklife Festival

Saturday, September 26, 2015

9:30 – 10:30 am

Enjoy an exclusive members-only hour at Smith Family Farm previewing this year’s festival before the gates even open. Members of all ages enjoy meeting the gentle animals from the Little Red Barn Petting Zoo, such as a miniature Scottish Highlander cow, donkey, horse, goat, alpaca, sheep, and many more adorable animals.

Light refreshments and kid-friendly crafts are available before the public program starts at 10:30 am. To make a reservation, please email Membership@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com. For more information, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Membership.

Fall Folklife Festival

Saturday, September 26, 2015

10:30 am – 4:30 pm

Traditional crafts, Southern Foodways, and environmental sustainability are at the center of Atlanta History Center’s Fall Folklife Festival. Guests enjoy the sounds of local musicians performing bluegrass and folk music, and sample local fare from Atlanta-based food trucks. This year’s festival highlights the contributions of African American chefs and home cooks to Southern Foodways. Features include cooking demonstrations by Michael Twitty and a panel discussion with Southern chefs moderated by Erika Council, the author behind the popular blog Southern Souffle.

This program is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For more information about this program or to purchase admission tickets, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Family.

Support:Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

October 2015

Eric Lichtblau, The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler’s Men

Thursday, October 1, 2015

8:00 pm

Location: Atlanta History Center

Thousands of Nazis – from concentration camp guards to high-level officers in the Third Reich – came to the United States after World War II and quietly settled into new lives. They had little trouble getting in. With scant scrutiny, many gained entry on their own as self-styled war "refugees," their pasts easily disguised and their war crimes soon forgotten. But some had help and protection from the U.S. government. The CIA, the FBI, and the military all put Hitler's minions to work as spies, intelligence assets, and leading scientists and engineers, whitewashing their histories.For the first time, once-secret government records and interviews tell the full story not only of the Nazi scientists brought to America, but also of the German spies and con men who followed them and lived for decades as ordinary citizens. Only years after their arrival did private sleuths and government prosecutors begin trying to identify the hidden Nazis. But even then, American intelligence agencies secretly worked to protect a number of their prized spies from exposure. Today, a few Nazis still remain on our soil.

Eric Lichtblau is a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter in the Washington bureau of the New York Times and has written about legal, political, and national security issues in the capital since 1999. He was the co-recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for his stories in the New York Times disclosing the existence of a secret wiretapping program approved by President George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks. He was a reporter for the Los Angeles Times for fifteen years before joining the New York Times in 2002. A graduate of Cornell University, he is the author of Bush’s Law: The Remaking of American Justice, which one reviewer called “All the President’s Men for an Age of Terror.” In the course of research for The Nazis Next Door, he was a visiting fellow at the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. He lives outside Washington with his wife and children.

This program is held in conjunction with the Filming the Camps – John Ford, Samuel Fuller, George Stevens: From Hollywood to Nuremberg exhibition.

Bank of America Museums on Us

Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4, 2015

Visit www.bankofamerica.com/museums for more information on other participating institutions across the country.

Homeschool Day: Colonial Georgia

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

1:00 – 4:00 pm

From its beginning as a refuge for the poor and persecuted, to its role in the Revolutionary War, explore the history and the people of the Georgia colony.

Support:Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Magic Monday: Historic Halloween

Monday, October 12, 2015

10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Kids show off their favorite costumes in a Halloween parade, costume contests, and trick-or-treating throughout the museum. Crafty creatures make Halloween-themed art projects and listen to spooky tales.

Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Cherokee Garden Library 40th Anniversary: Ken Druse, Natural Companions: The Garden Lover’s Guide to Plant Combinations

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

7:00 pm

Location: Atlanta History Center

To celebrate the Cherokee Garden Library's 40th anniversary, the Garden Library hosts gardening superstar, Ken Druse.

Called “the guru of natural gardening” by The New York Times, Ken Druse is a celebrated lecturer, photographer, and author. He has a dynamic weekly radio show and podcast called “Ken Druse – The Real Dirt” and he writes frequently for the The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, House Beautiful, and many others publications.

Ken Druse’s newest hit is Natural Companions: The Garden Lover’s Guide to Plant Combinations. In Natural Companions, Druse presents recipes for perfect plant pairings using diverse species that look great together and bloom at the same time. Natural Companions features more than one hundred special botanical images of amazing depth and color. This is a book all garden lovers must have.

Communicating the pleasures and importance of the natural world is always Druse’s main emphasis. Through his books, lectures, and weekly radio show and podcasts, Druse calls attention to the world of plants that surround us, sustain us, and lift our spirits. In The Roots of My Obsession: Thirty Great Gardeners Reveal Why They Garden, he shares a sentiment of all true dirt gardeners, “The only way to avoid the pangs of withdrawal from an addiction like gardening is to garden more. This is one habit I have no intention of breaking.”

Admission for this lecture is $25. Reservations are required, please call 404.814.4150 or reserve tickets online at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Lectures. All lecture ticket purchases are nonrefundable.

Haunted Halloween

Friday, October 23, 2015

6:30 – 9:30 pm

Be prepared for thrills and chills as you walk through the foggy gardens and haunted historic houses! Families are invited to experience the Atlanta History Center after dark with fun kid-friendly activities and ghostly encounters. Enjoy food for purchase and visit one of several cash bars for your favorite libation.

This special holiday program is $10 for members; $15 for nonmembers; $8 for children. For more information on this program, please visit online at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Family.

November 2015

Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Noon – 5:00 pm

Visitors of all ages learn about and experience a Day of the Dead Festival. Guests enjoy storytelling, crafts, and authentic Mexican food and entertainment. View a display of altars honoring lost family and friends that are decorated with flowers, favorite foods, and beverages.

This is a free admission day at Atlanta History Center. Guests are invited to enjoy the outdoor festival, and if time permits, to continue their free day adventures with a variety of Atlanta History Center offerings from discoveries of signature and traveling exhibitions to historic house experiences and explorations of beautiful gardens and trails. Food and drinks are available for purchase.

For more information about this program, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Family.

Support:Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council and the Instituto de Mexico and the Mexican Consulate.

Homeschool Day: Second World War

Thursday, November 5, 2015

1:00 – 4:00 pm

Join us as we commemorate the 70thanniversary of the end of WWII. From Roosevelt to Rosie the Riveter, landing on the beaches to liberating the camps, gain a unique perspective about the war that shaped the world we know today.

Support:Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Bank of America Museums on Us

Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8, 2015

Visit www.bankofamerica.com/museums for more information on other participating institutions across the country.

Magic Monday: Nature Walk

Monday, November 9, 2015

10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Discover Atlanta History Center’s gardens and see native plants and animals in their natural habitat. Make crafts, including binoculars and nature bags, to prepare for a stroll around the campus that will have your little one going wild for the nature around them.

Support:Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

December 2015

Homeschool Day: Holidays in History

Friday, December 4, 2015

1:00 – 4:00 pm

Enjoy our annual holiday program and experience how Christmas was celebrated in years past, from the 1860s Smith Family Farm to the 1930s Swan House and beyond.

Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Bank of America Museums on Us

Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6, 2015

Visit www.bankofamerica.com/museums for more information on other participating institutions across the country.

Life in the Past Lane: Beginning Genealogy

Saturday, December 5, 2015

10:30 am – Noon

Many people are curious about their ancestors, but don’t know where to start or how to find them. Individuals who are researching their family history also worry about which online sources to trust and how to avoid getting lost on the information superhighway. Join Senior Archivist Sue VerHoef for a beginning genealogy program designed to help you embark on your own “ancestral quest.”

Candlelight Nights

Friday, December 11, 2015

6:00 – 10:00 pm

Step back in time and experience Christmas past with a candle-lit stroll through a crisp wooded trail that transports you to the warm glow of the holidays. Visit each of the three historic houses to experience how Southerners celebrated Christmas during the pioneer days, the Civil War era, and the 1930s. Guests experience holiday traditions of years past with interpreters and special activities. Enjoy food for purchase and visit one of several cash bars for your favorite libation.

This special holiday program is $10 for members; $15 for nonmembers; $8 for children. For more information on this program, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Family.

Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Magic Monday: Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 14, 2015

10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Celebrate the holidays at the Atlanta History Center! Join in sing-alongs, dances, and crafts to get everyone in the Christmas spirit.

Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

Members-Only Lounge at Candlelight Nights

Friday, December 18, 2015

6:00 – 8:30 pm

Atlanta History Center members can stop by the special Members-Only Lounge in McElreath Hall. Activities include cookie decorating, ornament making, and a special appearance by Santa Claus.

To make a reservation, please email Membership@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com. For more information, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Membership.

Candlelight Nights

Friday, December 18, 2015

6:00 – 10:00 pm

This special holiday program is $10 for members; $15 for nonmembers; $8 for all children. For more information on this program, please call 404.814.4000 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Family.

Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council.

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