Dr. Julie Solometo of James Madison University attempts to reconstruct the lives of Native Americans as they stood on the eve of and during contact with European colonists in North America. She examines particularly the impact of disease and drought on Native Americans and colonists both, and at the collapse of the Powhatan Chiefdom.

To listen to this lecture, select "Part 2" under the April 19th listing.

Dr. Julie Solometo of James Madison University attempts to reconstruct the lives of Native Americans as they stood on the eve of and during contact with European colonists in North America.

To listen to this lecture, select "Podcast Part 1" under the April 19th listing.

This 20-minute video shows Penn State University's experimental iron smelting and how a small two-foot chimney can replicate a medieval/colonial iron furnace.

The video can be viewed as one file or as six separate smaller sections.

According to Penn State, "In 1974, in preparation for the American Bicentennial, the American Iron and Steel Institute made a half-hour film in cooperation with Walt Disney to promote an understanding of industrial society. The film told the story of American steel making from its primitive beginnings to recent practices and future needs. Scenes of colonial iron manufacture, modern steel plants, and steel products are interspersed with scenes of Donald Duck doing what he does best: being a good worker, getting run over by wheelbarrows, and getting frustrated. This scene, about 10 minutes into the film, explains how iron is mined and smelted in the Middle Ages—and it ends with Donald's literal transformation into a colonial ironmaster."

Jack Rakove of Stanford University discusses the influences that shaped early American political thought, including the move to rebellion and the formation of the U.S. government at the American Revolution's end.

To listen to this lecture, select "250 Years of Political Theory: Machiavelli, Locke, and Montesquieu" under "Listen to Dr. Rakove's lectures."

Paul Rahe of the University of Tulsa argues that Herodotus's coverage of classical Greek military history presents a "near ideal template for the analysis of American military history," in that it records the military struggles of republics Rahe interprets Herodotus's depictions of political and military heroes and considerations of relative cultural values as supporting "political liberty and the rule of law"— values which he suggests the U.S. has held and must continue to hold.

A transcript is available on the series page.

Michael Johnson of Johns Hopkins University discusses slavery from an educator's perspective, looking particularly at his own techniques for teaching the subject. He examines the topic from a broad view, establishing context for his later discussion of Frederick Douglass. This lecture was delivered as part of "America in the Civil War Era: A History Institute for Teachers," held May 17-18 at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Wachman Center and by the Clausen Center for World Business, Carthage College and Adult Education, Carthage College.

Audio and video options are available.

Kyle Zelner of the University of Southern Mississippi discusses the military history of British North America prior to the Revolutionary War, arguing for the significance of this history to both military and general U.S. history overall. Zelner also covers the Revolutionary War itself. This lecture was part of "What Students Need To Know About America's Wars, Part I: 1622-1919: A History Institute for Teachers," held July 26-27, 2008, at the First Division Museum in Wheaton, IL, sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Wachman Center and by the Cantigny First Division Foundation.

Video and audio options are available.

Smithsonian curators Candace Green and Emil Her Many Horses outline the nature of Lakota winter counts, pictorial documents which identified each year by an important event, and discuss what may be learned from these today.

Forensic anthropologist Dr. Doug Owsley discusses the colonial remains found at Harleigh Knoll in the Chesapeake Bay area and some of the information that studies of such remains can reveal.