Professor David Tucker discusses the ideal "American character" and government, as suggested by several of the Founding Fathers, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton.
To listen to this lecture, scroll to session four, and select the RealAudio link to the left of the main body of text.
U.S. Navy captain John Rodgaard reviews the life of Charles Stewart (1778-1869), longest-serving officer in U.S. Navy history who eventually commanded the USS Constitution and came to share its nickname, "Old Ironsides." The presentation includes slides.
This feature is no longer available on WGBH.
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the continuation of the American Revolution for another two years following the defeat of the British at Yorktown in 1781.
This feature is no longer available.
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the Battle of Concord. When American Minutemen were defeated at the town of Lexington by British soldiers, thousands of Americans rushed to fight the British at Concord. The British were outnumbered and forced to retreat to Boston.
This feature is no longer available.
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the events that occurred when British troops learned that American colonists had been storing weapons in the countryside and British soldiers were sent to retrieve them. The Minutemen met the British in the town of Lexington and the battle that ensued is generally considered the beginning of the American Revolution.
This feature is no longer available.
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the situation in North American following the French and Indian War. The French no longer had holdings in the Americas; since Britain was the only remaining superpower left on the continent, the relationship between the colonists and the British grew increasingly strained.
This feature is no longer available.
This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces the war that Indian chief Pontiac launched against the British and Americans to push them out of Indian lands, in response to Americans continued settlement in Native American territory west of the Appalachian Mountains.
This feature is no longer available.
This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces Samuel Slater, a mill worker from England, who borrowed technology that spurred the textile industry in America.
This feature is no longer available.
Historian John Michael Vlach looks at the stables at Hampton National Historic Site. He talks about the work slaves did in these stables, including as stablehands and jockeys, during the antebellum period.
This feature is no longer available.
Dianne Swann-Wright, Director of African-American and Special Programs at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, discusses the contributions of slaves in creating Monticello—both in clearing the land and establishing the house itself and in crafting furniture and other pieces to finish the house.
This feature is no longer available.