Harvard Professor of Surgery Kevin R. Loughlin reviews the medical histories of presidents from George Washington to the present day. Loughlin focuses on "secret" medical problems hidden from the public and on causes of death.
A panel reviews the life, times, and memory of Robert F. Kennedy. Robert F. Kennedy's wife attends the panel as an audience member.
The Andrew Johnson National Historic Site honors the life of the 17th President. Andrew Johnson's presidency, 18651869, illustrates the United States Constitution at work following President Lincoln's assassination and during attempts to reunify a nation torn by civil war. His presidency shaped the future of the United States and his influences continue today.
The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).
This website features approximately 20,000 documents relating to President Abraham Lincoln's life and career. All of the materials are available as page images and about half have been transcribed. Resources include correspondence, reports, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings. While the documents date from 1833 to 1897, most material was written between 1850 and 1865, including drafts of the Emancipation Proclamation and Lincoln's second inaugural address. A chronological index offers names of correspondents and document titles.
Special presentations on the Emancipation Proclamation and the Lincoln assassination provide introductions, timelines, and 24 images of related documents and engravings. Additional resources include 16 photographs of the Lincolns and key political and military figures of Lincoln's presidency. This is an excellent resource for researching Lincoln's presidency and American politics prior to and during the Civil War.
Smithsonian curators examine a photograph of civil rights activist Medgar Evers (1925-1963), looking at what it says about the tension between racial groups at the time and the call for social change an accumulation of such media objects can communicate.
To follow the story of Lincoln's assassination, NPR's Renee Montagne accompanies James Swanson to Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC.
P. T. Barnum's American Museum burned down under mysterious circumstances in 1865 after nearly a quarter century of patronage. The original museum tried both to entertain and educate with exhibits on natural history, American history, and reform efforts along with attractions of a sensational nature. With the exception of African Americans, who were barred from entry until the Civil War, New Yorkers of diverse ethnic, gender, and class identities mingled in the museum's shared cultural space.
Visitors to this website can explore an interactive 3D recreation of the museum or an archive of images, documents, accounts, and essays on 16 original Barnum exhibits, including the Fejee mermaid; Joice Heth, a former slave advertised as George Washington's nursemaid; "Swedish Nightingale" Jenny Lind; John Brown; Jefferson Davis; the Lincoln assassination; the Civil War in New York; and phrenology. The website allows visitors to immerse themselves in the popular culture of Barnum's era.
From PBS:
A highlight of the nationwide Lincoln Bicentennial celebration is this unprecedented two-hour documentary on the life and legacy of the man widely considered one of our best—and most enigmatic—presidents. It addresses many of the controversies surrounding Lincoln about race, equality, religion, politics, and depression by carefully interpreting evidence from those who knew him and those who study him today.
As described on the Library of Congress website: "The assassination of the 16th president is one of the singular events in American history, and historian Anthony Pitch uses primary source material to document and reveal previously unknown facts about Lincoln's death...Pitch details the murder plots that were unsuccessful as well as the successful one by referencing hundred of sources." Most of his research was conducted at the Library of Congress, and Pitch discusses the sources he discovered and referred to while writing his book.
Historian Harold Holzer compares Lincoln's 1861 Address at Independence Hall and Obama's Race Speech at the Constitution Center.
To listen to this lecture, select "Historian Harold Holzer compares Lincoln's Address at Independence Hall and Obama's Race Speech at the Constitution Center" under "Supplemental Materials" in the right sidebar.