Pulitzer Prize-winning author James M. McPherson examines the contemporary popular perspectives on the Civil War, both of Northerners and Southerners, civilians and soldiers. McPherson uses the popular music of the period as a framework for discussing the changing views, and focuses on the growing desire to end the war and the increasing sense of hopelessness that it would ever end.
An audio version can be downloaded.
Professor H. Robert Baker looks at the 1854 public protest against the return of fugitive slave H. Robert Baker, and examines the resulting trials and political decisions that followed—ending with the Wisconsin Supreme Court declaring the Fugitive Slave Law unconstitutional.
Audio and video options are available.
Author Jacqueline Tobin reexamines the history of the Underground Railroad, looking at the extension of the Railroad into Canada and the escape of fugitive slaves into Canada. She also examines the life of ex-slaves as free people in Canada.
Video and audio versions are available.
From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American history website:
"University of Maryland Distinguished University Professor Ira Berlin suggests that the unique circumstances of American slavery continue to shape the nation even today. Unlike most other slave-holding countries, the United States had a large indigenous slave population and one of the most stringent definitions of race—the '"one drop" rule'—in the world. The result is a society whose very fabric is bound up in the legacy of human bondage."
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.
Professor Eric Foner traces the development of the concept of "freedom" in the U.S., beginning with the nation's founding and continuing up to 2005 (the present day at the time of the lecture). He focuses on race relations and fights by minorities for civil liberties as focus points for the definition of freedom.
Last president of the Republic of Texas Anson Jones farmed near Washington during and after his presidency. Jones named his farm "Barrington" after his Massachusetts home, Great Barrington. There he lived with wife Mary, their four children, his sister, sister-in-law, and five slaves. The family home, two slave cabins, a kitchen building, smokehouse, cotton house, and barn made up Barrington Farm. With Jones's daybook as their guide, the interpreters at Barrington Living History Farm conduct themselves much as did the earliest residents of the original farmstead. The Jones home is original; the outbuildings are replicas constructed by Texas Parks and Wildlife using Jones's own journal and drawings. Visitors to the farm can experience the sights, smells, and sounds of the 19th century. The scene is complete with heritage breeds of livestock. Interpreters, dressed in period style clothing, help visitors better understand what life was like 150 years ago. Visitors can participate in the work of the farm and become a part of the exhibit.
The farm offers demonstrations, tours, classes, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).
In this lecture, historian Philip D. Morgan compares the Lowcountry and Chesapeake slave cultures and reveals much about the way of life of some of the earliest African Americans. Although South Carolina in the 18th century was built by slave labor, Virginia only began to "recruit" slaves in large numbers at the beginning of that century. Consequently, there were substantial differences in the black cultures that emerged in the two regions.
James Oakes of City University of New York examines Abraham Lincoln's views on race and slavery, including his reaction to the Dred Scott Decision. Oakes argues that Lincoln was a racial egalitarian.