From the Kansas State Historical Society website:
"Imagine a world in which the living commune with the dead. Most people today find that a bizarre concept, but 100 years ago it was a fun pastime for the Wichita family who used this Ouija board.
Behind-the-scenes: Staff members describe creepy artifacts in our collection."
From the Kansas State Historical Society website:
"In honor of Memorial Day, we consider a service flag that was proudly displayed by a Kansas family during World War I. Their son was serving his country 'over there'."
From the Kansas Museum of History website:
"Some art has strong historical value. These paintings by Croatian American artist Marijana Grisnik depict memories of an old Kansas City neighborhood known as Strawberry Hill."
From PBS:
For centuries, the prospect of conceiving a human being in a laboratory seemed ripped from the pages of science fiction. Then, in 1978, everything changed. This American Experience documentary tells the story of doctors, researchers, and hopeful couples who pushed the limits of science and triggered a technological revolution in human reproduction. In so doing, they landed at the center of a controversy whose reverberations continue to this day.
Susan Pearson of Northwestern University, speaking at the Organization of American Historians 2009 meeting, discusses late 19th-century reimagining of the role of the family and the best interests of children, leading to reform in child protection. She holds that this change sprang from change in liberal ideology during this time period.
Donald L. Miller and Douglas Brinkley look at the United States from 1929 to 1937—the time of the Great Depression. The presentation discusses FDR's presidency and his New Deal; the work of journalists such as photographer Dorothea Lange; the establishment of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC); Eleanor Roosevelt; criticism of FDR; the re-invigoration of the labor movement; and the Social Security Act.
From the Lincoln Online Conference website:
"Through a selection of images of nationally important Lincoln artifacts, participants . . . explore the life and times of this extraordinary figure. Each object will convey an aspect of Lincoln's character and experiences. The presentation is based on a new exhibition of the same name showcasing more than 60 historical treasures associated with Lincoln's life from an iron wedge he used to split wood in the early 1830s in New Salem, Ill., to his iconic top hat he wore the night he was shot at Ford's Theatre (both of which will be discussed during this session). The webcast—led by Harry Rubenstein, chair of the Division of Politics and Reform at the National Museum of American History—will tell a new and very intimate story of the life and legacy of this remarkable individual."
Free registration is required to access the webcast.
Donald L. Miller and Louis P. Masur trace the American impulse to reform from 1800 to 1848. They look at the development of political parties, including the Democrats and the Whigs; reform associations and movements, including changes in attitudes toward education, alcohol, and punishment of criminals; women's rights efforts; the fervor of the Second Great Awakening; and the continuing debate over slavery.
In this episode of the weekly San Francisco Timecapsule, Richard Miller presents some of the reminiscences of author Charles Warren Stoddard (1843-1909) on his childhood in San Francisco.
Bibi Gaston, author of The Loveliest Woman in America: A Tragic Actress, Her Lost Diaries and Her Granddaughter's Search for Home, talks about the life of her grandmother, Rosamund Pinchot, actress, socialite, and eventual suicide, and about the research she undertook to uncover Pinchot's life story.