Professor Ira Katznelson argues that U.S. government policies, beginning in the 1930s, favored white citizens over black citizens in practice, even if the policies' wordings were race-neutral. He discusses this in relation to affirmative-action policies favoring minorities today.
Audio and captioned video options are available.
Historian and lawyer Diane Rapaport recovers stories from pre-Revolutionary-War New England court records, examining cases that highlight the concerns of ordinary people and reveal the daily life of Puritans during this period. The presentation includes slides.
Audio and video options are available. The video can be watched with or without captions.
Historian Russell Bourne looks at the role of waterfront "mobs" in the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and other pre-Revolutionary events. He focuses on events of radical mass violence as precursors of the Revolutionary War.
Audio and video options are available.
Ray Raphael discusses whether or not Samuel Adams really gave a "signal" for the Boston Tea Party, the real story of Paul Revere's ride, and the role of the average person in the events leading up to the American Revolution. Raphael focuses on the overlap of history and storytelling, and the creation of history-based mythology.
Audio and video options are available.
Pulitzer-Prize-winning historian Joseph Ellis tells six stories from the early years of the American Republic, looking at the choices the Founding Fathers faced and the choices they made. Ellis examines the impact these decisions had on U.S. history and how they relate to current situations and life.
Professor Brendan McConville describes the systematic use of violence and intimidation by revolutionary committees and congresses leading up to the Revolutionary War. He focuses on the British view of these events as attacks and atrocities and on the degree to which the revolutionaries' methods contradicted today's idealistic view of Patriot colonists.
Pulitzer-Prize-winning author David McCullough talks about his book 1776, which covers the year 1776 in American history and the corresponding Revolutionary War events.
Filmmaker Austin Hoyt answers questions on his new documentary, American Experience: Victory in the Pacific, which examines the final year of World War II in the Pacific, including the rationale for using the atomic bomb, and features firsthand recollections of both American and Japanese civilians and soldiers. The presentation includes a collage of audio and visual clips from the film.
Audio and video options are available.
Professor Robert J. Allison reviews the history of Boston, focusing on major events and historical figures in the city's past.
Audio and video options are available.
Professor Anouar Majid covers the history of U.S./Islam cultural conflict, very generally. His presentation is followed by a question-and-answer session.