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 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.

In 16 short video clips, scholar Chandra Manning looks at the song "John Brown's Body," the events it relates to, and its evolution over time.

In 11 short video clips, scholar Chandra Manning demonstrates scholarly analysis of letters by Civil War soldiers.

In 37 short video clips, ranging in length from 43 seconds to over three minutes, scholars James Campbell, Keith Stokes, Joanne Pope Melish, Gordon Wood, and Michael Vorenberg look at the triangle trade that brought Africans to the U.S. as slaves and at perceptions of slavery in colonial New England, particularly examining the views of abolitionists. Intended to accompany the Choices Program's curriculum A Forgotten History: The Slave Trade and Slavery in New England, these clips may still be used independently.

Registration is required, but free.

Linda B. Osborne discusses her book, Traveling the Freedom Road, which draws on interviews with former slaves in the Library of Congress collections to convey the aspirations, sorrows, courage, and hopes of ordinary people living through this period. More than 80 archival images complement the text. Major events covered include the rise of the domestic slave trade, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Republican Congress' Reconstruction policies.

In this oral history, Hermond Norwood of the Library of Congress interviews Fountain Hughes regarding his time as a slave in Charlottesville, VA.

Loren Schweninger of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro describes the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, including their meeting in the White House following Lincoln's inaugural address.

John David Smith of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte considers Abraham Lincoln's reasons for allowing black troops to fight in the Civil War and for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.

Joseph T. Glatthaar of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill describes President Abraham Lincoln's military policy, focusing on his emphasis on saving the Union and the place of race issues in this philosophy.