National History Academy is a four-week residential summer program for rising 10th-12th grade students, held each July in Middleburg, Virginia. The Academy brings together passionate high school students from across the country to explore American history through immersive, hands-on learning experiences at the nation’s most significant historic sites.
Blending classroom discussion with place-based learning, the program helps students connect the past to the present, deepening your understanding of the ideas, conflicts, and individuals that have shaped the United States. Campers walk in the footsteps of presidents, civil rights leaders, and soldiers who fought for the nation’s founding and survival, gaining behind-the-scenes access to landmarks few ever experience.
The Academy is a life-changing experience for high school students with an interest in the history, law and government of the United States of America
Over the course of the program, students visit historic sites across Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, tracing the evolution of the American experiment from the colonial era through the present day. Guided by expert historians and master teachers, you will engage with primary source documents, case studies, and the real places where history happened.
The curriculum explores enduring themes: daily life in the colonies; the principles of liberty and equality in the founding documents; the moral and political struggle over slavery; the transformation of the economy through industrialization; and the fight for civil rights.
Each week, students spend three days visiting historic sites and three days in the classroom, connecting your experiences to larger historical narratives. Through case discussions, parliamentary debates, and guest speakers, you will analyze the choices and character of America’s leaders and reflect on your own role in shaping the future.
The Academy offers more than a history lesson—it is a life-changing experience for young people interested in civics and democracy. The Academy inspires students to think critically, engage deeply, and become active citizens who carry forward the lessons of the past.
Comprehensive Curriculum
Our curriculum is designed to challenge you to think critically, collaborate with your peers, and engage directly with the historic sites we visit. Built around four core components, the Academy’s experiential approach brings history to life through active participation and reflection: (1) Case Method Institute history cases; (2) parliamentary debates; (3) a speaker series and (4) visits to the defining sites of American history.
Watch what our students have to say about this unique learning approach here.
History Cases
Case Method Institute Cases
The Academy uses the History of American Democracy curriculum developed by Harvard Business School Professor David Moss. This case-based approach immerses you in pivotal moments of American history, inviting you to analyze events from multiple perspectives and step into the shoes of history’s decision-makers. By connecting these discussions to on-site experiences and guest lectures, you’ll gain a deeper, more contextual understanding of the past and its relevance today.
Debates
Braver Angels Debates
In partnership with Braver Angels, the Academy hosts a series of structured parliamentary debates that foster civil discourse and open-minded dialogue. These debates challenge you to grapple with modern issues, mirroring the moral and political struggles faced by historical figures studied in the cases. You’ll select your own topics, organize arguments, and deliver persuasive speeches for an audience of your peers, developing empathy, confidence, and respect for differing viewpoints along the way.
Guest Speakers
Speaker Series
National History Academy brings nationally recognized experts and change makers to campus to connect classroom lessons with real-world experience. Past speakers have included Civil Rights leader Ernest Green of the Little Rock Nine, Christy Coleman, CEO of the American Civil War Museum, Academy Award-winning actor Robert Duvall, and Cecile Ganteaume, curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. These inspiring conversations offer students direct insight into how history continues to shape our world.
Site Visits
Historic Site Visits
At the heart of the Academy are its immersive historic site visits. You won’t just take tours—you’ll gain behind-the-scenes access and speak with site directors, historians, and scholars who bring these places to life. Over the course of the program, students visit more than 30 defining sites of American history, including colonial and Revolutionary landmarks like Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown; presidential homes and retreats belonging to Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Lincoln; National Park sites such as Harpers Ferry, the Appalachian Trail, and the National Mall; battlefields including Gettysburg, Antietam, and others that shaped the nation’s destiny; and Civil Rights sites that tell the stories of Frederick Douglass, John Brown, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Past cohorts have also experienced extraordinary moments like seeing Hamilton or To Kill a Mockingbird at the Kennedy Center, or watching Gettysburg in Gettysburg with the film’s director, Ron Maxwell.
These experiences, combined with the Academy’s case studies, debates, and expert-led discussions, create a powerful and collaborative learning environment. You’ll not only study history but experience it, developing the critical thinking, creativity, and communication skills that prepare you for college and beyond.
The whole Academy experience is designed to produce three learning outcomes:
To understand the foundations of American democracy
To deepen the appreciation and understanding of the American experience
To encourage civic engagement and citizenry