Michigan teachers connect Jan. 6 insurrection to history of peaceful power transfers

Michigan history teachers are marking the approaching fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection by weaving the event into their advanced placement coursework — anchored to the election of 1800, when John Adams became the first sitting president to transfer power peacefully to a rival-party successor, according to a report by Bridge Michigan distributed by the Associated Press. Teachers at East Kentwood and Whitehall high schools draw a direct line from that founding-era precedent to its 2021 breach, asking students to analyze why peaceful transitions of power matter and what happens to democracies when they break down.

The classroom approach arrives as history teachers across the country navigate a tightening political environment: 20 states have recently passed laws restricting classroom discussions of race or history, and most teachers said in a poll that political pressures lead them to modify lessons, said Matt Vreisman, the 2023 National History Teacher of the Year.

History teachers in Michigan are using the approaching five-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection as a teaching moment rooted far earlier in American history — connecting it to the election of 1800, the first time a sitting president peacefully surrendered power to a rival-party successor, according to a report by Bridge Michigan distributed by the Associated Press.

Matt Vreisman, a history teacher at East Kentwood High School and the 2023 National History Teacher of the Year, and Brian Milliron, a history teacher at Whitehall High School, began incorporating Jan. 6 into their advanced placement classes months before Tuesday’s anniversary when they taught about the American Revolution, the Constitution, and the 1800 contest between incumbent President John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Adams, a Federalist, lost that race to Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican. The transfer that followed set a precedent for peaceful exchanges of power between rival parties — one that held through every subsequent election until 2021, when then-incumbent Republican President Donald Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden and a mob stormed the Capitol as Congress met to certify the results.

Connecting past to present

Milliron asks junior and senior students what they remember about Jan. 6 and fills in what they do not know.

“By connecting the present day event that kids literally saw to the stuff in their curriculum it helps them understand why we have a peaceful transfer of power and the negative effects when we don’t,” Milliron said.

Vreisman shows students a PBS documentary about Jan. 6, discusses democracies that have failed throughout history, and asks them to write a reflection on why peaceful transitions matter.

“Connecting historical content to current events gives students authentic practice evaluating evidence, recognizing different viewpoints, and disagreeing respectfully about the most relevant issues of today,” Vreisman said.

Curriculum context

Michigan’s curriculum standards, issued in 2019-20, became less prescriptive on the topics teachers are expected to teach, making it likely that many history and government teachers are weaving Jan. 6 into their lessons, said Nick Orlowski, executive director of the Michigan Council for History Education. State standards still require teachers to cover wide time frames — from pre-Columbian history to the present — leaving a lot of ground to cover.

The American History Association recently issued a report touching on how politics affects history instruction, Orlowski said.

“It showed that teachers are teaching from a neutral stance,” Orlowski said, adding that many teachers build inquiry into lessons, presenting students with historical questions and asking them to gather sources and reach their own conclusions. “They are not bringing their own politics into the classroom.”

Political pressures on educators

Vreisman said the broader landscape for history education has grown more difficult. Scholarship settled long ago about how race, racism and slavery shaped American institutions is now being framed as “opinions” or “one side of the story,” he said. Twenty states have recently passed laws restricting classroom discussions of race or history, and most teachers said in a poll that political pressures lead them to modify lessons, according to Vreisman.

“Historians and the public are not having the same conversation,” Vreisman said. “Within the academic field, certain truths about the past are not up for debate. But in many communities, those same truths are framed as controversial. That disconnect has real consequences in classrooms. It leaves teachers without support, and students without the tools they need to analyze evidence, evaluate claims, and make informed contributions to our democracy.”

In response, Vreisman launched a nonprofit called Empowering Histories in November. The organization provides free, inquiry-based history lessons to teachers across the country.

“Our goal as social studies is to create informed citizens who are ready to engage in matters of substance,” Vreisman said. “And current events hook students so much more.”