This mini documentary, produced by NBC, describes Thomas Paine's anonymous pamphlet, "Common Sense"—published shortly after the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775—that helped persuade Americans to push for full independence from Britain.

Kyle Zelner of the University of Southern Mississippi discusses the military history of British North America prior to the Revolutionary War, arguing for the significance of this history to both military and general U.S. history overall. Zelner also covers the Revolutionary War itself. This lecture was part of "What Students Need To Know About America's Wars, Part I: 1622-1919: A History Institute for Teachers," held July 26-27, 2008, at the First Division Museum in Wheaton, IL, sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Wachman Center and by the Cantigny First Division Foundation.

Video and audio options are available.

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, traces the history and status of African Americans in Illinois, beginning with the early years of North American exploration and continuing on to the Civil War.

Edward L. Ayers of the University of Virginia looks at the early antebellum support of African colonization as an answer to U.S. racial tensions, and considers it as a possible root of the later abolitionist movement.

To listen to this lecture, select "The Movement of African-American Colonization" under "African-American Experience Video."

Eric Foner of Columbia University looks at antebellum consideration of African colonization as a means to deal with race tensions, focusing on the opposition of most free African Americans to the proposition.

Eric Foner of Columbia University discusses Abraham Lincoln's preference, pre-Civil War, for the establishment of African colonies as a solution to race tensions in the U.S.; and looks at his movement away from this solution during the Civil War.

To view this clip, select "Abraham Lincoln and the Problem of Race and Slavery" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."

James O. Horton of George Washington University discusses Abraham Lincoln's consideration of establishing African colonies as a solution to race tensions in the U.S. and African-American reactions to suggestions of the establishment of such colonies.

To listen to this clip, select "Abraham Lincoln and the African-American Colonization Movement" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."

Michael Johnson of John Hopkins University discusses Lincoln's views on race, focusing on his favoring of colonization as a solution to race tensions.

To view this clip, select "Lincoln's Ideas About Race" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."

Forensic anthropologist Dr. Doug Owsley discusses the colonial remains found at Harleigh Knoll in the Chesapeake Bay area and some of the information that studies of such remains can reveal.

Professor John Smolenski describes the French and Indian War (or Seven-Year War), looking at its significance in North American history and its neglect in popular memory and understanding.