Donald L. Miller, with Pauline Maier; Waldo E. Martin, Jr.; and Stephen Ambrose, looks at the growing tensions, from 1846 to 1861, that finally led to the Civil War. The presentation examines the issue of slavery and its expansion; the Compromise of 1850; the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin; reactions to the Fugitive Slave Act and the U.S. Supreme Court Case Dred Scott vs. Sandford; John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry; and the election of Abraham Lincoln as leading to the South's secession.

In 12 short video clips, scholar J. Douglas Smith analyzes cartoons on massive resistance, a 1950s campaign led by Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr., to resist desegregation following Brown v. Board of Education.

In 47 short video clips, ranging in length from 43 seconds to over three minutes, 11 different scholars examine changes for the U.S. in the recent past and issues facing the country today, including the end of the Cold War, environmental concerns, international relations, terrorism and WMDs, and trade. Intended to accompany the Choices Program's curriculum The U.S. Role in a Changing World, these clips may still be used independently.

Registration is required, but free.

In 17 short video clips, ranging in length from 52 seconds to over two minutes, scholars Susan Allee, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, and David Kennedy look at how global response to genocide has developed over the past century and examine U.S. response to several genocides. Intended to accompany the Choices Program's curriculum Confronting Genocide: Never Again?, these clips may still be used independently.

Registration is required, but free.

Constitutional issues come to life in this Emmy Award-winning series. Key political, legal, and media professionals engage in spontaneous and heated debates on controversial issues such as campaign spending, the right to die, school prayer, and immigration reform. This series will deepen understanding of the life and power of this enduring document and its impact on history and current affairs, while bringing biases and misconceptions to light. This video instructional series on the American Constitution is appropriate for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; it consists of 13 one-hour video programs and coordinated books.

The story of the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692 has served as a dramatic moral tale in American culture since the late 17th century. Narrated in history textbooks since the early 18th century and fictionalized in later works of literature, the Salem witch trials tragedy has been interpreted in different ways, suited to changing social and cultural circumstances over time.

Dr. Benjamin Ray of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia explores the role of religion in early America through this iconic narrative. This talk focuses on the most recent historical research and indicates the new shape the story is taking. It discusses the changing nature of historical accounts and shows how students can directly engage the primary source documents and develop their own conclusions.

Dr. Michael Klarman of the University of Virginia School of Law analyzes and interprets the Brown case and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement. He annotates Justice Douglas's conference notes on Brown, tells stories about the justices, details how justices decide cases, explains why Brown was a hard case for many of the justices, and makes conclusions on why they were nonetheless eventually able to reach a unanimous outcome. He discusses the various ways in which Brown mattered and did not matter by linking Brown with the rise of southern massive resistance, violence, and ultimately the enactment of civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s. Klarman includes lessons on how and why Court decisions matter, how historians tend perhaps to overemphasize the importance of the Court's contributions to racial change in the U.S., and important reminders about how violence was necessary to prompt most whites to care about the civil rights of southern blacks.

David Herbert Donald, Charles Warren Professor of American History and Professor of American Civilization Emeritus at Harvard University, talks about the qualities and experience that made Abraham Lincoln both an exceptional and an unlikely national leader.

How can U.S. citizens today view Native American history through a Constitutional lens? In answering that question, Bob Miller, Lewis & Clark Law School professor and Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, uncovers the history of Federal Indian Law. Professor Miller describes the Doctrine of Discovery's long reach, from the founding of the colonies through the writing of the Constitution all the way to Russia planting its flag on the Arctic seafloor in 2007.