Online G3 is proud to present our first workshop making use of the Case Method to explore crucial moments from U.S. history that defined how American government works and how it affects Americans every day.
What is the Case Method? From the Case Method Institute’s website:
“The core pedagogy of Harvard Business School since the early 20th century, the case method boasts a unique ability to make complex concepts accessible and develop students’ leadership skills, all while creating an engaging intellectual atmosphere.
A “case” is a short narrative document – a story – that presents a particular challenge facing an individual or organization. Each case reflects the information available to decision-makers at the time, and builds to a particular decision point, but without revealing what decision was actually made. For each class, students are asked to read the case and to put themselves in the shoes of the actual decision-makers to consider what they themselves would have done given the information available at the time.”
This first workshop using the Case Method will focus on two of the pivotal moments that defined the early Republic. The two cases we will explore are described in detail below from Case Method Institute materials:
Case 1: James Madison, the “Federal Negative,” and the Making of the U.S. Constitution (1787)
This case begins with the American Revolution and concludes at the Constitutional Convention. It describes the many challenges faced by the United States under the Articles of Confederation—including debt, contraction of trade, recession, inflation, and Shays’ Rebellion—and how those problems informed key features of the U.S. Constitution.
Case 2: Battle Over a Bank: Defining the Limits of Federal Power Under a New Constitution (1791)
This case covers the first term of George Washington’s presidency and the push to ratify the Bill of Rights. It focuses especially on Alexander Hamilton’s proposal for a national bank and the question of whether Congress should have powers beyond those explicitly listed in the Constitution.
Between the two cases we will also, briefly, investigate a mini-case that builds on case 1.
Each case will get an in-webinar introduction. Then the cases will be read by students offline before the subsequent webinar. Then, in the webinar the instructor and the students together will explore the crucial facts of the case, building towards the real-life conclusions reached by our founding fathers. This will be an opportunity for students to engage with history as if they themselves were the crucial decision makers. Active participation will bring the best results for students and their peers.
This is 6-session teen focus workshop. Webinars are 50 minutes long. Recordings are available for students who must miss a session.
