Civil War to Civil Rights

Though the Civil War began the movement to extend equality to African Americans, the promises of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments provide easier to accomplish in theory rather than in practice. The promising start towards racial equality soon faltered during the tensions of Reconstruction and laws were soon enacted across the country which enforced segregation of the races and the second-class status of African Americans. Today, nearly 150 years since the end of the Civil War, people of all races, colors, creeds and beliefs continue the struggle to make America a nation where truly "all men are created equal."

Duration
7 Days /6 Nights

Group size

Customization
Available!

Tour Pricing Estimated Inclusions: 6 nights' hotel accommodation; 6 breakfasts; 4 lunches; 6 dinners; admissions, entrance, and guide fees as stated in the itinerary, including taxes & gratuity. Except gratuity for guide fees is not included on adult tours unless otherwise requested.


Highlights Include:
  • Gettysburg National Military Park
  • Battlefield Tour
  • Harpers Ferry Walking Tour
  • Antietam Battlefield
  • Lincoln's Cottage
  • National Portrait Gallery
  • Illuminated Monuments Tour
    • Lincoln Memorial
    • Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
    • FDR Memorial
    • Iwo Jima Memorial
  • US Capitol Building
  • Supreme Court
  • Library of Congress
  • Smithsonian Museum of American History
  • WWII Memorial
  • 9/11 Memorial
  • Air Force Memorial
  • Spirit Dinner Cruise
  • Arlington National Cemetery
  • Frederick Douglass Home
  • Surratt House

Day One:
  • Arrive in Gettysburg and check into your local hotel.
  • Visit the Gettysburg National Military Park featuring the Battle of Gettysburg Cyclorama. This 360 degree, three-dimensional artwork, puts viewers right in the middle of the final Confederate assault on July 3, 1863.
  • Following the museum, meet your guide for a battlefield tour.
  • You’ll have dinner this evening at a local restaurant along Lee’s Retreat from Gettysburg and stop along the way at what was once a secret location for the for Underground Railroad.
  • Additionally, you’ll meet “Abraham Lincoln” and hear his famous ‘Gettysburg Address’ speech before returning to your hotel.
Day Two: 
  • Enjoy breakfast at your hotel before departing for Sharpsburg and Harpers Ferry, both battle locations on Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Maryland Campaign in September 1862.
  • You’ll tour the Antietam Battlefield and visit the Pry House Field Hospital, followed by lunch at the Bavarian Inn, a romantic country inn offering European elegance and world class service from its scenic location perched on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River.
  • After lunch you will depart on a walking tour of tour Harpers Ferry itself, full of historical facts and information and uniquely positioned at the point of three connecting states: Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland.
  • Later, depart for Washington, D.C., check in to your local hotel, and enjoy an included dinner.
Day Three:
  • Have breakfast at your hotel.
  • Depart for Manassas Battlefield Park where the Confederate army reached the height of its power during its second victory here in August 1862.
  • Lunch is on own at Union Station, before Union Station opened, in 1903, each of the major railroads operated out of two separate stations in DC and had tracks running directly through the National Mall, once opened Union Station allowed the Mall to become the pedestrian haven that it is today.
  • Following lunch you will visit Lincoln’s Cottage, the seasonal residence of President Lincoln, now a historic landmark, and the location where he wrote his first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.
  • Tour the National Portrait Gallery, featuring Presidential Portraits, as well as the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Museum.
  • Walk in the founder of the American Red Cross’ footsteps and discover the incredible true story of the Missing Soldiers Office.
  • Enjoy an included dinner before an after-dark Illuminated Monuments Tour featuring the memorials for Lincoln, MLK, FDR, and Iwo Jima.
Day Four:
  • Breakfast will be at the hotel followed by a tour of the US Capitol building, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress.
  • Visit Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation Monument and participate in a discussion period. Proceed on to the Smithsonian Museum of American History and discover hands on opportunities to expand your understanding of our nation’s history.
  • Enjoy an included dinner at a local favorite before touring the monuments of WWII, 9/11 and the Air Force Memorial.
Day Five:
  • Enjoy breakfast at your hotel before touring the National Archives in Washington DC where you can explore our nation’s history through documents, photos, and records.
  • Lunch is included this afternoon prior to visiting the new Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), a ground-breaking insight into the creation of our country as it exists today.
  • Afterwards, tour a second Smithsonian museum of your choice.
  • For your evening activities, activities, your group can choose from: dinner and bowling, taking in a performance at the historic Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts, or a Spirit Dinner Cruise along the Potomac River!
Day Six:
  • Have breakfast at your hotel before a visit to Arlington National Cemetery to pay your respects and witness the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
  • Visit the Arlington House, and The Robert E. Lee Memorial.
  • The memorial honors Lee's military and public leadership in pre- and post-Civil War America.
  • Congress designated the memorial to recognize that "the desire and hope of Robert E. Lee for peace and unity within our Nation has come to pass."
  • From the portico you can contemplate our nation's fate as you gaze across the river that once divided us. Afterwards, depart for Cedar Hill, the home of the famed abolitionist, Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery, Douglass escaped to spend his life fighting for justice and equality for all people.
  • Enjoy an included lunch then depart for the Surratt House for a tour & discussion. The museum provides resources for research into the impact of a tumultuous period of our national history, from 1840 to 1865, with special emphasis on the study of the people and events surrounding the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
  • Enjoy dinner at a local favorite.
Day Seven:
  • Enjoy breakfast at your hotel before checking out and departing for home.

Here at Go Performing & Go Student Tours our School Trips and Tours continue to be designed to experience STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Mathematics.
We also design tours with SEL education in mind. All of our tours are designed around Self-Awareness, Self-management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision-Making.
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*Base rate does not include motor coach transportation, airfare, airport transfers, driver gratuity, guide gratuity, (student groups exempt) or any upgrades or add-ons unlisted from itinerary as stated. Personalized itineraries with custom pricing and/or additional transportation can be created and added based on client needs and upon client’s request. Estimated prices may vary based on day of arrival, time of year, and other conditions. MARS will customize quotes or personalize itineraries for FREE.

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