According to the Gilder Lehrman website, "Henry L. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era and Professor of History at Gettysburg College Allen Guelzo examines Abraham Lincoln's motivations for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in January of 1863. Guelzo contends that the proclamation is among the most misunderstood of the Civil War era, a necessary and even desperate attempt by Lincoln to enact a form of emancipation that would pass legal muster. Guelzo traces the evolution of Lincoln's views on emancipation with particular emphasis on the strategic and moral calculus that factored into the momentous proclamation of 1863."

Jill Lepore, Professor of Early American History at Harvard University, speaks about her book, The Name of War: King Philip’s War and the Origins of American Identity, and traces the meanings attached to this brutally destructive war. Lepore examines early colonial accounts that depict King Philip's men as savages and interpret the war as a punishment from God, discusses how the narrative of the war is retold a century later to rouse anti-British sentiment during the Revolution, and finally describes how the story of King Philip is transformed yet again in the early 19th century to portray him as a proud ancestor and American patriot.

When slavery was introduced to the colonies in 1600, the reaction was a struggle to become free. Writer Christy Coleman discusses the efforts of slaves to secure freedom and the creation of an Electronic Field Trip on the subject for Colonial Williamsburg.

Interested in learning more about Electronic Field Trips? Click here!

Harvey Bakari, manager of African American history interpretation at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about the participation of African Americans in the American Revolution and their fates following the war.

The manager of African American history interpretation at Colonial Williamsburg, Harvey Bakari, talks about how interpretation of African American history has changed at Colonial Williamsburg over the past three decades.

Harvey Bakari of Colonial Williamsburg talks about the role of African Americans in the American Revolution, including Lord Dunmore's Raw Ethiopian Regiment and the Rhode Island Regiment.

Greg James, an interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about the Rhode Island Regiment, an all-black American army unit that fought in the Revolutionary War.

Richard Josey, an interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about the life of the historical figure he portrays, James Armistead, a slave who served as a double agent during the Revolutionary War.