Steering Oar

Description

To navigate the Kansas River in the 1820s, you needed the right equipment—a keelboat. Curators and experts at the Kansas Museum of History look at the history behind a steering oar which helped a fur trader's keelboat stay the course on the mighty Kaw.

The Journeys of Lewis and Clark

Description

Many Americans think Lewis and Clark were sent west simply to explore the newly-acquired Louisiana Purchase. In fact, the Lewis and Clark Expedition was part of an international contest to control North America and exploit its wealth and an important part of Thomas Jefferson's plan for the development of the United States and the future of its Native American population.

Dr. Dan Thorp of Virginia Tech explores the nature of earlier European activities in the North American West and how they shaped the timing and nature of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Native American Archaeology, Part Two

Description

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.