Join the Rosenbach Museum & Library in considering the development of the office of the presidency over the last 249 years. View rare books and manuscripts documenting presidential history from George Washington to Franklin Delano Roosevelt; discuss how the powers of the executive office fit into the separation of powers as outlined in the U.S. Constitution; and reflect on the evolving role of the presidency in the wider work of the federal government and American national life. The tour will include time for reflection and dialogue among participants about the executive office and civic participation. 

In this hands-on class, you will learn to create dynamic booklets of your own, from the humble pamphlet to a single-sheet book to the French door zine. No prior zine-making experience is required. 

This tour features the Rosenbach’s collections from Mexico and Texas, including materials from the Spanish Empire, the early years of Mexican independence, and relations with the expanding United States in the 1800s.

This engaging seminar, held in the Rosenbach’s historic house, will begin with a discussion of how slavery helped shape the Constitution, which ironically, was written in Pennsylvania–the first state in the nation and the first political jurisdiction in the Western World to take steps to end slavery. 

In this hands-on printing workshop, you will use a tabletop press to create your own, personal copies of U.S. founding documents–such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights—complemented by a selection of important engravings from the Rosenbach’s holdings. 

Esteemed civil rights scholar john a. powell offers a framework for building connection across differences through the practice of bridging.