Professor Peter Myers investigates Martin Luther King, Jr.'s concepts of civil disobedience and political action, as well King's thought, as found in his writings and speeches, more generally. Myers examines particularly the objectives King wished to achieve with his work.
This lecture continues from the lecture Martin Luther King, Jr., Part One.
Professor Peter Myers investigates Martin Luther King, Jr.'s concepts of civil disobedience and political action, as well King's thought, as found in his writings and speeches, more generally. This lecture continues in Martin Luther King, Jr., Part Two.
Professor David Foster analyzes Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, looking at what the novel, its characters, and the life of its author reveal about the "American character" and views of American ideals and life at the time of its writing.
This lecture continues from the lecture Mark Twain and the American Character, Part One.
For the lecture, follow the link below and scroll down to the second seminar under Wednesday, August 4.
An older version of this lecture can be found here.
Professor David Foster analyzes Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, looking at what the novel, its characters, and the life of its author reveal about the "American character" and views of American ideals and life at the time of its writing.
For the lecture, follow the Website Title link and scroll down to the first seminar under Wednesday, August 4.
This lecture continues in Mark Twain and the American Character, Part Two.
An older version of this lecture can be found here.
Professor Lucas E. Morel reviews the life and views of Martin Luther King, Jr., focusing on the March on Washington and King's "I Have a Dream" speech. This lecture continues from the lecture Martin Luther King, Jr., Part One.
For the lecture, scroll down to the third seminar of Wednesday, August 4. Readings, available for download, accompany the lecture.
An older version of this lecture can be found here.
Professor Lucas E. Morel reviews the life and views of Martin Luther King, Jr., examining his views of race relations, his religious beliefs, and his definition of civil disobedience, as suggested in his writings and speeches. This lecture continues in the lecture Martin Luther King, Jr., Part Two.
For the lecture, scroll down to the second seminar of Wednesday, August 4. Readings, available for download, accompany the lecture.
An older version of this lecture can be found here.
Gilded Age Plains City: The Great Sheedy Murder Trial and the Booster Ethos of Lincoln, Nebraska tackles the issue of urban development through the lens of a nationally-followed murder case.
A document archive provides a rich variety of related primary sources—39 legal documents, 225 newspaper articles, 39 newspaper illustrations, 129 photographs, and 42 postcards. Documents range from items directly related to the Sheedy murder trial to sources depicting parts of the city or describing Lincoln culture and society.
One practice worth applauding on this site is it's loyalty to the concept of scaffolding. The first page offers links to vocabulary, an extensive list of Lincoln personages, and a similarly detailed timeline.
Selecting "Explore the City" brings up an introductory essay on Lincoln, Nebraska in the 1890s, as well as an interactive map. The map shows many buildings in red or yellow. Yellow buildings offer period images of the structure, as well as a description of its purpose. Red buildings only have the explanation. The most fascinating feature of the map is that it allows you to select a subsection of the city, such as "demimonde," "physician," "boosters," or "transportation." Each of these options alters the map so that only buildings within that particular subcategory are shown in red or yellow. This lets you see how food distribution and transportation, for example, are grouped in different parts of the city. Each subcategory also has an accompanying essay offering more on the social clime of 1890s Lincoln, Nebraska.
"Spatial Narratives" offers a series of texts on the location and nature of various city subcultures—practitioners of law, boosters, men, African Americans, women, the working class, and university students. Obviously, these subcultures overlapped both in body and in spatial terms within the city.
At this point, one might wonder where the Sheedy case comes into the picture. The third major site section "Interpretation and Narrative" introduces the murder. The narrative includes links to relevant newspaper articles.
Taken as a whole, the site is likely not particularly useful in the K-12 classroom. However, when used in pieces, it can be seen as an example of the ways in which cities develop, racial and moral tensions of the 1890s, or media "spin" of the period versus that of today.
John Lloyd of California State Polytechnic University examines important documents in U.S. history, including the U.S. Constitution and documents related to abolitionism and nullification, in order to establish a context for the Civil War.
Eric Arnesen, Professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Chicago addresses the interplay between the African-American experience between Reconstruction and the Great Migration, the U.S. Constitution, and shifting democratic ideals.
Audio and video options are available.
Professor Robin Einhorn looks at the 19th-century understanding of the Constitution and the changes that were made to it following the Civil War.