From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website:

"In 1807, Aaron Burr was tried and acquitted on charges of treason for his 'adventures' in the American West, but he had fallen out of favor in American life long before, after he had run for president against Thomas Jefferson, served a single term as vice president, and shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in an 1804 duel. A free spender, a womanizer, and the only Founding Father who was actually descended from the English aristocracy, Burr was famously secretive and conspiratorial, leaving little archival record of his dealings. In this lecture, historian Gordon Wood argues that Burr's true treason was not his actions in the West but his naked ambition, his lack of principals and character that made him a threat to the young republic."

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute website:

"Martin Van Buren, son of a tavern keeper, architect of the Democratic Party, the first U.S. president to be born after the founding of the United States, and the only president for whom English was a second language (he grew up speaking Dutch), is widely regarded as a failed president, but Ted Widmer, author of Martin Van Buren argues that the 'little magician' was in fact a critical force in early American politics. Van Buren was a political prodigy who turned politics from a solemn rite to a form of entertainment, organizing all-day rallies complete with alcohol and obliging women. Van Buren, Widmer says, essentially created America’s strong two-party system, and should not be consigned to the dustbin of U.S. presidential history."

Anthony J. Badger, author of the new book FDR: The First Hundred Days, talks about FDR's first 100 days and how they have been interpreted by historians across the political spectrum.

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute website:

"On October 16, 1854, from the steps of the courthouse in Peoria, Illinois, an obscure former congressman named Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech arguing that slavery was incompatible with the Founders' vision of America as articulated in the Declaration of Independence. Lewis Lehrman, co-founder of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and author of Lincoln at Peoria: The Turning Point, explores the origins and the consequences of this important speech."

From the Gilder Lehrman website:

"Columbia University professor Christopher Brown examines the rise of anti-slavery thought during the Revolutionary Era. Focusing on the often contrasting motivations behind the anti-slavery rhetoric of the British and the Americans, Brown pointedly illustrates how the anti-slavery movement was a global phenomenon that emerged from a wide variety of ideologies."

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American history website:

"Institute President James G. Basker examines early strains of abolitionism in eighteenth century literature. From John Newton, the slave trader-turned-minister who wrote the anti-slavery hymn 'Amazing Grace,' to black poets Jupiter Hammon and Phillis Wheatley, Basker argues that slavery was very much on the minds of eighteenth century writers and readers."

Professor Eric Foner argues that the idea of sending African American slaves to colonize Africa (an idea which Abraham Lincoln at times embraced) was part of the larger idea of emancipation for American slaves, but it did not allow its supporters to consider how freed slaves might become part of American society. It was Lincoln's consideration of this very issue, Foner says, that distinguishes him from other advocates of emancipation.

Columbia University Professor Andrew Delbanco discusses the changing and competing images of Abraham Lincoln throughout American history. Lincoln, Delbanco argues, is a cipher of self-perception for Americans of every era, partly a consequence of his pragmatism and ideological flexibility.

Catherine Clinton, professor of U.S. history at Queens University Belfast, sifts through the myths and realities of Abraham Lincoln's early life. Lincoln's youth was beset by poverty and loss—his mother died when he was only 10, and his father suffered from bouts of melancholy. Clinton argues that these ordeals helped Lincoln to deal with later obstacles and tragedies.