BICENTENNIAL ALLIANCE
The Bicentennial Alliance is a coalition of statewide non-profit organizations and government agencies working together to develop and promote statewide projects commemorating the Missouri Bicentennial. Current members include Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, Missouri Arts Council, Missouri Council for History Education, Missouri Folk Arts Program, Missouri Historical Society, Missouri Humanities Council, Missouri Prairie Foundation, Missouri State Archives, Missouri State Fair, Missouri State Library, The State Historical Society of Missouri, and the University of Missouri Office of Extension and Engagement.
Learn about some existing Bicentennial Alliance projects below.
BICENTENNIAL PENNY DRIVE
The Bicentennial Penny Drive, a project of Missouri Humanities Council, is a fundraiser taking place in Missouri public elementary and intermediate schools. The goal of the penny drive is to raise funding for the conservation of founding state documents in honor of the approaching bicentennial of Missouri Statehood. To learn more, contact Claire Bruntrager, Missouri Humanities Council associate director, at claire@mohumanities.org or 314.781.9660.
FOUR YEARS TO STATEHOOD
Missouri Council for History Education and Missouri Humanities Council have partnered to create lesson plans to aid teachers in educating students about the state’s struggle for admission into the Union called Four Years to Statehood. The lessons introduce students to four young people who lived in Missouri during the years 1818 to 1821: a boy in French Ste. Genevieve, an Osage girl near Arrow Rock, an enslaved boy in Pike County and his descendants, and the daughter of Missouri's first Attorney General. Each unit has a short narrative and a variety of activities where students can learn about the history of Missouri and the town and county in which they live. The units are designed for third through fifth grade, but can easily be used in middle and high school.
The lesson plans are available on the Missouri Council for History Education website for free teacher download, and workshops will be presented around the state to discuss their use. To learn more, contact Gary McKiddy, past president of Missouri Council for History Education, at gmckiddy2@gmail.com or Claire Bruntrager, Missouri Humanities Council associate director, at claire@mohumanities.org or 314.781.9660.
THE MISSOURI CRISIS AT 200
On February 15-16, 2019, the Kinder Institute for Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri and Missouri Humanities Council will convene the first-ever international conference reassessing the Missouri Crisis. The best papers presented at the conference will be selected for development into chapters of a multi-authored book to be published in conjunction with the bicentennial commemorations in 2021. Learn more about the conference at the Kinder Institute for Constitutional Democracy website.
Two hundred years later, you can watch the Missouri statehood process unfold. The Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri and Missouri Humanities Council are "live-tweeting" Missouri's struggle for statehood, and the nation’s struggle with that. Follow the project here.
STRUGGLE FOR STATEHOOD, 1818-1821: A TRAVELING EXHIBIT
Struggle for Statehood is a traveling exhibit created by the Kinder Institute for Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri and Missouri Humanities Council. The exhibit chronicles the three years that the controversy over Missouri’s admission into the Union was fiercely debated and reexamines the lasting significance of the conflict on a local and national scale. The exhibit will lead visitors through the story of Missouri’s admission with accessible educational content, including historical accounts and stories of people that this controversy touched. It will have a high-quality graphic design and interactive kiosks. The traveling exhibit will go on display in early 2019 and travel to different counties until December 2021. Additionally, every site will receive funding and planning assistance for public programs around the Struggle for Statehood exhibit. Potential programming includes speaking events with scholars and writers, education performances for children and schools, and commemorative events all aimed to provide a local aspect and highlight local issues related to the crisis. To learn more, contact Claire Bruntrager, associate director, at claire@mohumanities.org or 314.781.9660.