MOUNT VERNON, Va. – Pulitzer Prize winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and Bancroft Award winning author Philip Morgan are among the speakers scheduled for the 2005 George Washington Teachers’ Institute to be held at Mount Vernon on June 27 and 28. Reservations are now being accepted from teachers for this FREE program at Mount Vernon. Interested teachers should contact Mount Vernon’s Education Department at 703-799-8604 by June 17 for reservations. Space for this program is limited.

The program is made possible through the generous support of Mr. and Mrs. John J. McDonnell.

The June 27 program will focus on the military and economic implications of the French and Indian War, where Washington gained early military and political experience. Speakers include: Timothy Shannon from Gettysburg College, author of “Atlantic Lives: A Comparative Approach to Early America”; Matthew Ward from the University of Dundee, author of “Breaking the Backcountry: The Seven Years War in Virginia and Pennsylvania”; and Washington Post writer Joel Achenbach, author of “The Grand Idea: George Washington’s Potomac and the Race to the West.” Afternoon activities include a book signing, workshops and a private evening tour of the Mansion.

The program continues on June 28 focusing on the following issues: Washington’s Indian policies, slavery in the 18th century, women and war in the 18th century and a first person perspective of Martha Washington. Featured speakers are Eric Hinderaker from the University of Utah, author of “Elusive Empires: Constructing Colonialism in the Ohio Valley, 1673-1800”; Philip Morgan from Johns Hopkins University, author of “Slave Counterpoint: Black Culture in the Eighteenth-Century Chesapeake and Lowcountry”; and Pulitzer Prize winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich from Harvard University, author of “A Midwifes Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812”.

Events, programs, and activities are subject to change.

Public Information: 703-780-2000; 703-799-8697 (TDD); www.mountvernon.org George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, open to the public since 1860, communicates the character and leadership of Washington to millions of Americans each year through a variety of interpretive programs on the Estate and in classrooms across the nation. Mount Vernon is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, founded in 1853, making it America’s oldest national preservation organization. Mount Vernon is located at the southern end of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, just 16 miles from Washington, D.C. Hours of operation: April-August, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; March, September, October, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; November – February, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular admission rates for 2005: adults, $11.00; senior citizens, $10.50; children age 6-11, when accompanied by an adult, $5.00; and children under age 5, FREE. Admission fees, restaurant and retail proceeds, along with private donations, support the operation and restoration of Mount Vernon.

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