Just in time for Cycle 3, South Florida Classical Conversations is headed to our nation’s capital! Join other homeschoolers and their families for an immersive learning experience like no other. Not only are our Foundations’ students learning about American history this year, but Challenge A, 1, and 3 also discuss our history with increasing depth. A trip like this can help a student make connections and remember unique facts about our country.
A once-in-a-lifetime trip, specially curated to complement and elevate Cycle 3 and Challenge curriculum—all CC families are welcome to join!
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 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 Friday, November 17
- All venue admissions and guide fees throughout the tour
- Transportation on top-of-the-line motor coaches
- Metro pass during the tour
- Battlefield Box Lunch from Panera at Antietam
- Farewell banquet, Tuesday, November 21
- Wireless audio guiding system so you don’t miss a word.
- Rich fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ
Ticket Pricing Information
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.
Event Schedule
Note: Schedule days and venues subject to change.
Friday, November 17
8:00pm | Introductions & Orientation at SpringHill Suites |
Saturday, November 18
8:00am | SpringHill Suites to Capitol Hill | |
9:00am | Supreme Court—Exterior | |
10:00am | Walk to Library of Congress / Entry | |
10:30am | Library of Congress | |
11:30am | Walk to Capitol | |
12:00pm | Capitol / Lunch in Cafeteria, then Tour Capitol | |
2:30pm | Walk to National Archives | |
3:30pm | National Archives | |
4:30pm | Dinner on your own near Mall | |
6:30pm | Meet at Washington Monument | Walk the Monuments: Washington, WWII, Viet Nam, Lincoln, Korea |
Sunday, November 19
9:00am | Free to Worship | |
2:00pm | Museum of the Bible | |
8:00pm | Evening Discussion & Fellowship |
Monday, November 20
8:00am | SpringHill Suites to Arlington | |
9:00am | Arlington National Cemetery | Changing of the Guard | |
11:30am | Arlington to Antietam | |
1:30pm | Antietam Battlefield | |
4:30pm | Return to Hotel | |
8:00pm | Movie Night: The Conspirator |
Tuesday, November 21
7:30am | Depart to Monticello | |
10:00am | Monticello | |
12:30pm | Monticello to Mount Vernon | |
3:00pm | Mount Vernon | |
3:30pm | Mount Vernon Mansion Tour | |
5:30pm | Dinner at Mount Vernon Inn |
Accommodations
NEW! We changed hotels to SpringHill Suites Alexandria Old Town/Southwest* (2950 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia). Make online reservations here by October 20 to secure discounted rate.
King bed or 2 Queen beds in a suite with Trundle bed that converts to 2 single beds. $159/nt + tax
This charming, hotel is just a 15-minute walk from the Eisenhower Metro for fast & easy travel to Downtown Old Town Alexandria, Reagan International Airport (DCA) & the Washington, DC area. We have reserved the meeting room for after-dinner discussions and fellowship each evening. This hotel’s location is well suited to travelers who enjoy the excitement of a city vacation in a friendly neighborhood atmosphere. Head to the historic waterfront in Old Town Alexandria to stroll cobblestone streets or dine in a historic tavern!
* Note, there is another Springhill Suites in Old Town Alexandria on Richmond Hwy—that is NOT our hotel.
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
- 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.
- 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