Name: Washington, His Legacy, and the Civil War
Start: 2026-10-10T08:30:00-0400
End: 2026-10-10T16:00:00-0400
Location: George Washington's Mount Vernon

Discover George Washington's Role in the American Experiment

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union . . . " So begins the foundational document of our government—the Constitution.

It can be argued that no one did as much to create this new nation of states unified under an effective national government than George Washington.

As the defining Founding Father, his name and legacy have been used to support the ideologies and actions of subsequent generations. This was especially true in the decades leading to our nation's second Revolution—the Civil War. Both the Union and Confederacy claimed Washington's legacy.

Schedule of Events

8:30 a.m.	Welcome, Introductions, Pre-Seminar Survey, and Agenda Overview
9 a.m.	Washington's Evolving Views of Enslavement as Planter, General, and President Dr. Timothy E. Hicks
10 a.m.	Museum tour of More Perfect Union Dr. Gordon L. Jones
11 a.m.	Pieces of a Life: How Artifacts Can Personalize Students' Understanding of History Barbara Manwell
12 p.m.	Lunch
1 p.m.	Independent Exploration at the Atlanta History Center
2:30 p.m.	Teaching Place and Source Inquiry with Mount Vernon Dr. Timothy E. Hicks
3:30 p.m.	Closing Thoughts and Survey

Registration Requirements

Who can register?

Teachers MUST teach in a formal K-12 classroom or school setting.
The workshop is limited to 30 teachers.
A waitlist will be available if registration meets full capacity.

Questions? Please contact [email protected]

Meet the Speakers

Dr. Gordon L. Jones

Dr. Gordon L. Jones is the Senior Military Historian and Curator at Atlanta History Center. He is responsible for the care and interpretation of more than 12,000 objects relating to the American Civil War era, including the DuBose, Dickey, and Wray Collections. He has been on staff at the Center since 1991. Dr. Jones earned his M.A. in Public History from the University of South Carolina and his Ph.D. from Emory University’s Institute of the Liberal Arts where he specialized in Civil War memory, performance, and popular culture.

He led the five-year project to move, restore, and exhibit the 1886 cyclorama painting The Battle of Atlanta, as well as its accompanying exhibition, which opened in 2019. Most recently, Dr. Jones led the research and curation of Atlanta History Center’s re-envisioned permanent Civil War exhibit, More Perfect Union, which offers a deeper, more inclusive, and truth-centered understanding of America’s Civil War.

He is currently working on another new permanent exhibit, Hard Hand of War, which will focus on the battlefield experience of Civil War soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Dr. Jones has been a member of the Atlanta Civil War Roundtable since 2001, serving as president from 2016-17. He has given a variety of talks and interviews on Civil War topics and appeared in multiple videos created by the American Battlefield Trust and others.

Additionally, he has contributed to various documentaries, including When Georgia Howled: Sherman on the March, in association with Georgia Public Broadcasting. In 2024, he was honored by Emerging Civil War, a collaboration of 30 historians, with its Award for Service in Civil War Public History. He is also the author of Confederate Odyssey and a contributor to The Civil War in Georgia, both published by the University of Georgia Press.

Meet the Educators

Dr. Timothy E. Hicks

Dr. Timothy E. Hicks is a graduate of Furman University (BA in History) and the University of South Carolina (MAT in History; Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction). Nationally-board certified in Early Adolescence/Social Studies-History (2002-2022), he has taught at Dent Middle School in Columbia since 1994. Currently, he is teaching eighth grade South Carolina and United States history in The Learning Collaborative, the district’s oldest middle school academic magnet program.

A mock trial coach for 25 years, a teacher and judge in National History Day, a school department leader, an intern and new teacher mentor, a Master Teacher at the 2023 White House History Teacher Institute, and a George Washington Teacher Institute 250 Ambassador, Dr. Hicks has presented at the district, state, and national levels. He is a primary author of The South Carolina Journey, a textbook used in most districts across the state, as well as curriculum available at the South Carolina Department of Education.

He has been honored with state awards by Gilder Lehrman, the Society of the Cincinnati of South Carolina, Daughters of the American Revolution, South Carolina Council for the Social Studies, and the South Carolina Bar. He was named the 2020 National American History Teacher of the Year by the National Society Daughters of Colonial Wars.

Currently, Dr. Hicks serves as the President of the South Carolina Council for the Social Studies, the state's largest professional organization for history teachers.

Barbara Manwell

Barbara Manwell is the Director of Education at Atlanta History Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a graduate of Calvin University (BA in Philosophy) and Nova Southeastern University (M.S. in Social Studies Education) and holds a graduate certificate in Educational Leadership from the University of West Georgia. In her role at Atlanta History Center, she oversees, coordinates and supports the work of several department leaders and initiatives, including school tours, education outreach, summer programming, and monthly offerings for children and families.

Additionally, she develops partnerships with schools and organizations, creates and delivers professional developments for teachers, contributes to a variety of public programs, and helps design activities that make exhibits more engaging and meaningful for students and children. She regularly presents at the Georgia Council for Social Studies conference, as well as collaborates with museum educators at other local cultural institutions.

Prior to her career in museum education, Barbara spent over two decades as a school-based educator and leader in both Florida and Georgia. She taught history, economics, and government, while serving as department chair multiple times. A highly experienced International Baccalaureate instructor for both IB Theory of Knowledge and IB Psychology, she served as an IB examiner and Extended Essay Coordinator.

Later she shifted to a role in school leadership, becoming the IB Diploma and Career-related Programme Coordinator at Marietta High School in Marietta, Georgia. In her time teaching, she was honored as a Teacher of the Year, a Georgia STAR Teacher, and a University of Chicago Outstanding Educator.