Donald L. Miller, with Virginia Scharff, Louis P. Masur, and Pauline Maier, follows the new United States from 1776 to 1826, examining the development of the new country's government, from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution.
In 20 short video clips, George Mason University professor Rosemarie Zagarri demonstrates scholarly analysis of the Declaration of Independence.
In 37 short video clips, ranging in length from 43 seconds to over three minutes, scholars James Campbell, Keith Stokes, Joanne Pope Melish, Gordon Wood, and Michael Vorenberg look at the triangle trade that brought Africans to the U.S. as slaves and at perceptions of slavery in colonial New England, particularly examining the views of abolitionists. Intended to accompany the Choices Program's curriculum A Forgotten History: The Slave Trade and Slavery in New England, these clips may still be used independently.
Registration is required, but free.
In this Cool Things podcast, curators at the Kansas Museum of History follow the story of a revolver owned by Albert Hazlett, one of John Brown's men during the raid at Harpers Ferry.
Ben Click looks at the National Portrait Gallery's portrait of Mark Twain by John White Alexander and tells the stories of some of Mark Twain's portrait sittings.
Linda B. Osborne discusses her book, Traveling the Freedom Road, which draws on interviews with former slaves in the Library of Congress collections to convey the aspirations, sorrows, courage, and hopes of ordinary people living through this period. More than 80 archival images complement the text. Major events covered include the rise of the domestic slave trade, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Republican Congress' Reconstruction policies.
In this Face-to-face Talk, Ann Shumard of the National Portrait Gallery details the life of Samuel Morse (1791-1872), including his early interest in portraiture and art, his career as an inventor and his work on the telegraph, and his support of Louis Daguerre's daguerreotype.
This podcast from the Smithsonian American Art Museum details the history of the museum's building, once the U.S. Patent Office, or "Temple of Invention."
To listen to this podcast, scroll to the bullet point which reads, "Listen to our podcast about the magnificent building that houses the Smithsonian American Art Museum," and select a file type.
Heather A. Williams of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discusses the paradox of Abraham Lincoln's legacy in popular culture—the simultaneous desire to "know" Lincoln and the impossibility of reconstructing a totally complete and objective picture of the man.
Paul D. Escott of Wake Forest University looks at Confederate expectations going into the Civil War that the war would be swift and decisive, and contrasts them with Jefferson Davis's expectations. He also outlines the challenges the South and Davis faced during the war, and attempts to assess Davis's performance as a leader.