World War II

Description

Donald L. Miller looks at World War II and the United States' experience of it, on the home front; in the air; and, finally, on the ground in Europe.

FDR and the Depression

Description

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.

The Twenties

Description

Douglas Brinkley and Donald L. Miller look at the U.S. from 1913 to 1929, focusing on the rise of the automobile. The presentation begins with the career of Henry Ford and examines mass production and the development of competition to match Ford, before continuing to Los Angeles and its growth as transportation took off; the movie industry; and the Stock Market Crash of 1929.

TR and Wilson

Description

Douglas Brinkley, with Donald L. Miller, examines the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, focusing on their views of the United States' place in the world. Brinkley and Meyer also look at Socialist Eugene Debs's campaigns for the Presidency from 1900 to 1920.

Capital and Labor

Description

Donald L. Miller examines the rise of capitalism and the impulse to reform in American history from 1882 to 1901. Topics include New York as the financial capital of the U.S., Jacob Riis's photographic documentation of the Lower East Side slums, John Pierpont Morgan and his push for merging companies into corporations, the mining industry in Pennsylvania and worker abuse within it, and labor organization in response to this abuse.

The West

Description

Donald L. Miller, with Virginia Scharff and Louis P. Masur, looks at the settling of the American West between 1862 and 1893. Topics covered include the transcontinental railroad, conflict between Native Americans and settlers, women suffrage in the Wyoming Territory, and political and ideological conflict between farmers and industrialists.

The New City

Description

Donald L. Miller looks at the growth of the city as an American entity from 1882 to 1894. In this presentation, Miller looks particularly at Chicago as a representative of the "new city." Topics include the World's Columbian Exposition, the development of the department store and the skyscraper, the city's transportation system, movement from cities out to suburbs, and reform efforts (including the establishment of Hull House) to address the new problems presented by slums and sweatshops.

America at the Centennial

Description

Donald L. Miller, with Pauline Maier; Waldo E. Martin, Jr.; Virginia Scharff; Louis P. Masur; and Douglas Brinkley, discusses the social environment at the bicentennial of the United States, 1876. Using the 1876 World Exposition as a hub, the presentation examines issues including the situations of Native Americans, women, and African Americans following the Civil War; the emphasis on industrialism and progress; and the trend towards individualism and self-improvement.

We Had Sneakers, They Had Guns: Kids Who Fought for Civil Rights in Mississippi

Description

From the Library of Congress website:

"As an illustrator and journalist, Tracy Sugarman covered the nearly one thousand student volunteers who traveled to the Mississippi Delta to assist black citizens in the South in registering to vote. Two white students and one black student were slain in the struggle, many were beaten and hundreds arrested, and churches and homes were burned to the ground by the opponents of equality. Yet the example of Freedom Summer resonated across the nation. The U.S. Congress was finally moved to pass the civil rights legislation that enfranchised millions of black Americans.

Blending oral history with memoir, We Had Sneakers, They Had Guns chronicles the sacrifices, tragedies and triumphs of that unprecedented moment in American history."

Law Day 2009: Emancipation Proclamation

Description

From the Library of Congress website:

"What effect did the Emancipation Proclamation have on the Civil War? Did it have a broader effect on the slave trade throughout the Americas? In celebration of Law Day, these questions and many more were discussed by Congressman G.K. Butterfield, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., Dean Kurt Schmoke and Professor Emeritus Roger Wilkins, with PBS Newshour's congressional correspondent Kwame Holman moderating."