Heart of American History Tour 2020 – SpringKevin Turley2021-01-28T11:56:52-06:00
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Pricing | Highlights | Speakers | Schedule | Accommodations | Study Prep
Talk about a tour with purpose: our kids and us learned so many things about Washington, D.C that we would have missed if we went on our own. The tour guides are great! We had the time of our life and this tour will be a cherished lifetime memory.” —Pat M.
Event Summary
oin historian Bill Potter, Colonel John Eidsmoe and evangelist Bernie Beall for a tour that has been years in the planning and which will offer the most diverse, iconic, fascinating, provocative, educational and entertaining historical sites imaginable. Even if you have been to the nation’s capital city before, you have neither seen all the places of this expedition nor interpreted each of them in the light of God’s providence, as we will do together.
Mount Vernon
Museum of the Bible
Jefferson Memorial
WWII Memorial
Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
Supreme Court
Library of Congress
Antietam Battlefield
Lincoln Memorial
Included in This Tour
- Opening night meet & greet Monday, May 18
- All venue admissions and guide fees throughout the tour
- Transportation on top-of-the-line motor coaches
- Metro pass during the tour
- Teaching from 3 professional historians/churchmen: Bill Potter, John Eidsmoe and Bernie Beall
- Battlefield Box Lunch from Panera at Antietam
- Farewell banquet at historic Mrs. Kay’s Toll House on Friday, May 22
- Wireless audio guiding system so you don’t miss a word.
- Rich fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ
Ticket Pricing Information
Adults (16+):$649.00
Youth (5-15): $599.00
Child (0-4):FREE *Please note that free children are expected to share meals and ride on the lap of a family member on the coach.
Landmark Events tours are worth every cent! A great avenue in learning history through a Biblical perspective (God’s providence). What a blessing to walk side-by-side with a historian through a museum or cemetery. Thank you Landmark Events!” —Greg and Jenny J.
Tour Highlights
The Antietam National Battlefield is the scene of the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. General Lee’s controversial first invasion of the North brought what many considered an undefeatable army fresh off a drubbing of the Yankees at Manassas, to Maryland and to bring the war to a conclusion in favor of the Confederacy. Providence intervened dramatically and the desperate battle that followed broke all boundaries for savagery in a hard war. From it issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Antietam National Battlefield Memorial, Burnside’s Bridge
Arlington House in Arlington National Cemetery
The most revered cemetery in the United States lies just across the Potomac River from the capitol, in Arlington, Virginia. It is the final resting place of 400,000 soldiers, including the Tomb of the Unknown representatives of America’s military dead and the graves of 367 Medal of Honor recipients. This site will elicit a patriotic sigh and thankful acknowledgement to God for his Grace in giving our nation a sacrificial spirit to defend the Republic.
We will honor and remember several founders of our nation at Mt. Vernon — George Washington’s incredible plantation — and at the magnificent Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Both historic sites will remind us that God installs unique men to lead nations and accomplish his purposes at specific times in history. Singular in their character and attainments, both Washington and Jefferson changed history and guided the United States to conform to their view of the Constitutional founders.
We will visit the new World War II Memorial, the Viet Nam Memorial Wall and the iconic Korean Conflict Memorial in honor of our veterans. We will discuss the biblical appropriateness of honoring war veterans and the nature of architectural memorial iconography in America.
World War 2 Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
At the National Archives and the Library of Congress we will view documents of our national heritage and tell stories of the providential ways in which God has preserved our country. We will explore the galleries and learning center to see how our civil government in Washington interprets itself.
Mt. Vernon
Museum of the Bible
No visit to Washington is complete without a visit to the looming giant of the Lincoln Memorial. Few men of history have generated so many admirers — the constitutional and war policies of the 16th President have been cited as precedent by Presidents Woodrow Wilson, FDR, George Bush and others. So many myths have developed over the years that Old Abe could give the ancient Greek deities a run. Not every historian admires the man from Illinois; should prove to be an interesting visit.
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. 9
United States Supreme Court Building 10
Scripture, biblical characters and allusions to the Christian faith abound throughout Washington D.C. on public buildings. We will be calling attention to the faith of the founders and many of the men who served in government through the centuries as they left their worldviews carved in stone. The antithesis between God’s Law and secular humanism, Christianity and paganism, the Sovereign Lord and wannabe-sovereign man are everywhere apparent if you know where to look. We will visit the Supreme Court Building and discuss the origins of law and the syncretism that has characterized our legal system.
Event Speakers
Bill Potter
An experienced historian and avid bibliophile, Bill Potter combines a lifelong study of American history with an uncommon ability to captivate audiences of all ages as he traces the providential acts of God throughout the ages. Mr. Potter has taught history in high schools and colleges, has led many tours of American and European historical sites and brings to each event a wealth of experience and knowledge. An experienced researcher and writer, Mr. Potter possesses a practical knowledge of antiquarian books, documents, and artifacts and has published several short books and has penned many articles and book reviews for publication. Bill has earned a well-deserved reputation as a man gifted in communicating the story of God’s providential hand in American history. As a father of eight children, he appreciates the necessity of passing on to the succeeding generations the richness of both our regional and national history. He and his wife, Leslie, reside in Virginia.
John Eidsmoe
John Eidsmoe is a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel and Alabama State Defense Force Colonel, and a graduate of the Air Command & Staff College and the Air War College. He is Professor of Law at the Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy and, in his various teaching assignments, his students have given him the Outstanding Professor Award or Professor of the Year Award five times. He has served as Senior Staff Attorney with the Alabama Supreme Court and is currently Legal Counsel for the Foundation for Moral Law. Eidsmoe also serves on the boards of Lutherans for Life, The Plymouth Rock Foundation, and the Gospel Martial Arts Union, and is a constitutional attorney who has defended homeschools, Christian schools, the right of students to study the Bible in public schools, and the right to display the Ten Commandments in the public arena. He has authored numerous books, including Historical & Theological Foundations of Law, Christianity & the Constitution, God & Caesar, and Columbus & Cortez, and has produced a variety of audio and video lecture albums including The Institute on the Constitution and Here I Stand: A Biblical Worldview for a New Millennium. He holds seven academic degrees in law, theology, history, and political science. He and his wife, Marlene, have been married since 1970, have three children, and live in rural Pike Road, Alabama.
Bernie Beall
Bernie and his wife Linda founded Great Commission Families in 2006 as a local family ministry helping families to “take steps of faith toward greater involvement in the Great Commission”. Prior to Great Commission Families, they were on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ for 23 years, including 8 years as the D.C. Metro Director, then on the National Team for CCC’s International Student Ministries. Today, a big part of their ministry is creating family-friendly evangelistic outings by leading spiritual heritage outreach events in Washington, D.C. showing the evidence of our Christian heritage on display throughout our nation’s capital and surrounding region, including at the local major Civil War battlefields. Bernie and Linda met at Penn State University in 1979 where Bernie graduated in Agriculture and Linda in Nursing. Today, Bernie is an ordained minister with the Evangelical Church Alliance. Bernie and Linda have four grown children and live in Maryland not far from their nine grandchildren, and near the family dairy farm where Bernie grew up.
Event Schedule
Note: Schedule days and venues subject to change.
Monday, May 18
| 8:00pm | Opening Meet & Greet (Guest introductions and tour overview) |
Tuesday, May 19
| 7:45am | Meet in Hotel lobby | |
| 8:00am | Depart on coach to Mount Vernon (lunch available in food court) | |
| 1:30pm | Depart Mount Vernon | |
| 3:30pm | Monuments on the Mall Tour: Washington, WWII, Viet Nam, Lincoln, Korea, Jefferson & Mason | |
| 5:00pm | Return to Hotel | |
| 8:30pm | Optional after-dinner discussion with John Eidsmoe and Bill Potter |
Wednesday, May 20
| 7:45am | Meet in hotel lobby | |
| 8:00am | Depart from hotel to Metro Station — exit Union Station | |
| 9:00am | Supreme Court | |
| 10:30am | Capitol Visitors Center | |
| 11:15am | Lunch available in Capitol Cafeteria | |
| 12:00pm | Tour of Capitol | |
| 1:45pm | Library of Congress | |
| 3:30pm | National Archives | |
| 8:30pm | Optional after-dinner discussion with Bill Potter — Q&A on subjects of the day |
Thursday, May 21
| 7:45am | Meet in Hotel lobby | |
| 8:00am | Depart hotel on coach | |
| 9:30am | Antietam Battlefield Tour (lunch provided) | |
| 1:00pm | Depart Antietam | |
| 2:30pm | Arlington Cemetery, Arlington House, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Changing of the Guard) | |
| 5:30pm | Depart Arlington Cemetery | |
| 8:30pm | Optional movie night — The Conspirator |
Friday, May 22
| 8:00am | Board Metro | |
| 9:00am | Museum of the Bible | |
| 2:00pm | Smithsonian Air and Space Museum | |
| 5:00pm | Return to hotel via Metro | |
| 7:30pm | Farewell Banquet |
Accommodations
For your convenience, a block of rooms has been reserved at the DoubleTree in Silver Spring (8727 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20910). The hotel is clean, convenient and well suited to our needs. Surrounded by restaurants, and just three blocks from the Red Line on the Metro, this neat hotel will be the site of the opening reception and the after-dinner discussions.
We reserved rooms with 2 double beds and a living room area, so families can be comfortable. Our special rate of $149 per night is valid from May 18 – May 22.
Follow this link to make reservations online, or call the hotel at (301) 563-3843 and ask for Heart of American History rate, group code HAH.
Study Preparation
Key People
- George Washington
- Thomas Jefferson
- Robert E. Lee
- George B. McClellan
- Abraham Lincoln
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Audie Murphy
- John J. Pershing
- John Marshall
- Charles A. Lindbergh
- Paul Tibbets
- Randolph Hearst
Key Events
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- Ratification of the Constitution
- McCulloch v. Maryland
- Roe v. Wade
- War Between the States
- War with Spain
- Election of Thomas Jefferson (1800)
- Election of Abraham Lincoln (1860)
- The Second World War
- Dropping of the Atomic Bomb
- Solo Flight across the Atlantic
Key Issues
- How to interpret American History biblically
- The nature of republican government
- Patriotic iconography and memorial
- The Atomic controversy
- Competing law-words and worldviews
- Espionage and legitimacy
- Constitutional interpretation
- The role of heroes in our history
- Does the mass media create popular culture or reflect it?
- Uses of the “Great Man” theories
- Providences galore!
- How can we best fight for God’s Kingdom in a pagan land?
Bibliography/Recommended Reading
The historic works connected with the subjects we will teach and discuss is vast and impossible to cover in a few or even short books. Nonetheless, there are some books that will be helpful in both the short and long run for study of the historical artifacts of our tour, both intellectual and material. As usual, there is much on the internet that is very helpful for learning about the actual monuments and memorials we will visit, but their meaning, purpose, and relevance is at the real heart of our tour.
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- God and Government, by Gary DeMar
- The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States, by Benjamin F. Morris
- The Theme is Freedom: Religion, Politics, and the American Tradition, by M. Stanton Evans
- George Washington’s Sacred Fire, by Peter Lillback
- George Washington, Indispensable Man, by Thomas Flexner
- George Washington, Founding Father, by Richard Brookhiser
- Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam, by Stephen Sears
- The Real Lincoln, by Thomas DiLorenzo
- Abraham Lincoln, by David Donald
- The Jefferson Image in the American Mind, by Merrill Peterson
- Presence of the Past: A History of the Preservation Movement in the United States before Williamsburg, by Charles B. Hosmer
- The Enola Gay, by Paul Tibbets
- Lindbergh, by A. Scott Berg
- Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies and Secret Operations, by Trahair and Miller
- Constitutional Chaos by Andrew Napolitano
- history.com/topics/william-randolph-hearst
- pbs.org/crucible/frames/_journalism.html
Upcoming Events
Spirit of 1776: Philadelphia
July 6-10, 2026
Spirit of 1776: Boston
August 3-7, 2026
