Donald L. Miller and Louis P. Masur trace the American impulse to reform from 1800 to 1848. They look at the development of political parties, including the Democrats and the Whigs; reform associations and movements, including changes in attitudes toward education, alcohol, and punishment of criminals; women's rights efforts; the fervor of the Second Great Awakening; and the continuing debate over slavery.

Donald L. Miller, with Virginia Scharff, Douglas Brinkley, Stephen Ambrose, and Pauline Maier, follows American history from 1803 to 1861. Focusing on Westward Expansion, the presentation begins with the Louisiana Purchase and continues on to examine transportation available in this time and the development of a slave-based economy in the South.

Donald L. Miller, with Virginia Scharff, Louis P. Masur, and Pauline Maier, follows the new United States from 1776 to 1826, examining the development of the new country's government, from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution.

Donald L. Miller, with Pauline Maier and Waldo E. Martin, Jr., follow American history from the end of the French and Indian War through the American Revolution. On the way, they look at taxation and the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Continental Congresses, the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Thomas Paine's Common Sense and its effects, the Declaration of Independence, and the war itself.

Donald L. Miller, with Pauline Maier and Virginia Scharff, follow the growth of the British American colonies from 1663 to 1763, examining the expansion of the economy (and of the slave trade), population increase, the development of slave culture, social structure (particularly in the city of Philadelphia), political trends, the life of Benjamin Franklin, and the French and Indian War.

National Portrait Galley curator Sid Hart discusses Thomas Jefferson and John Adam's relationship, Jefferson's time as vice president, and his campaign for the presidency and contentious election.

Eric Langhorst, Missouri eighth-grade history teacher, reviews the National Archives book Our Documents, which collects 100 political documents chosen as the most important in U.S. history.

In 12 short video clips, George Mason University professor Meredith Lair examines a political cartoon on the Vietnam War and atrocities committed during it, including the My Lai Massacre.

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.

According to the Foundation of U.S. History website:

"Dr. Allida Black discusses FDR’s April 28, 1935, Fireside Chat focused primarily on the Works Relief Program."

The presentation is divided into 10 short clips.