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.

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Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library Director Betty Sue Flowers discusses the library's collection of Johnson's recorded phone conversations and plays one such conversation, in which Johnson called Harry Truman to ask him to attend a state funeral in Greece.

To view this video, scroll to "Betty Sue Flowers," and select "Play."

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library Director Cynthia Koch talks about a nine-foot papier-mache caricature of President Roosevelt displayed at a Gridiron Club Dinner. She then goes on to describe FDR's election to a third term in office and his struggle to be paired with the vice president of his choice.

To view this video, scroll to "Cynthia Koch," and select "Play."

Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Director Timothy Walch talks about the embroidered Belgian flour sacks sent to Herbert Hoover as thanks for his work as the head of the Commission for the Relief of Belgium during World War I.

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Ford Presidential Library Director Elaine Didier describes an artifact in the collection of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library: the staircase by which U.S. citizens and individuals loyal to the U.S. climbed to helicopters to escape Saigon during the last days of the city's fall to anti-U.S. forces. She also describes the process by which the library acquired the staircase.

To listen to this lecture, scroll to "Elaine Didier."

Acting Director of Clinton Presidential Library Emily Robison describes a gift President Clinton received from the country of Belarus: a woven-wicker horse sculpture.

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Director of the Bush Presidential Library Warren Finch describes his two favorite items in the library's collection: a ready-room chair from the World War II aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto; on which George Bush, Sr. served and a rock painting of Managua, Nicaragua, gifted to the library by Violeta Chamorro.

To watch this clip, scroll to "Warren Finch" under "Presentation: My Favorite Things," and select "Play."

Carter Library Director Jay Hakes discusses Jimmy Carter's Nobel Peace Prize Medal, including why Carter received it and its display at the Carter Presidential Library.

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This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, examines several years of Abraham Lincoln's life, including his election to the U.S. Congress in 1846; his opposition to the Mexican-American War, articulated in his "Spot" Resolutions; and his support of abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia and opposition to allowing slavery to spread into the territories. The lecture also examines Lincoln's views on religion and discusses religious and cultural tensions and trends during these years, including the Second Great Awakening, the Mormon War, and anti-immigrant and -Catholic sentiments. This lecture continues from the lecture "Lincoln's Biography, Part Three: Springfield, the Law, and the Whig Party, 1837-1843."

To view this documentary, scroll to "Multimedia Slideshow," and select "Congress and the Mexican War, 1844-1849."

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, traces the settlement of Illinois from the early years of European exploration of North America to the 1860s. It focuses particularly on the relationship between settler groups and Native Americans, on the construction of infrastructure that linked Illinois to the rest of the emerging U.S., and on the changing culture of the state's occupants.