Historian and lawyer Diane Rapaport recovers stories from pre-Revolutionary-War New England court records, examining cases that highlight the concerns of ordinary people and reveal the daily life of Puritans during this period. The presentation includes slides.

Audio and video options are available. The video can be watched with or without captions.

Historian Eve LaPlante examines the life of Judge Samuel Sewall, who condemned over 30 people to death for witchcraft in 1692 and publicly apologized in 1697, spending the rest of his life in penitence and social action. The presentation includes slides.

Professor Karen Ordahl Kupperman and historian Walter W. Woodward examine the history of the Jamestown colony in-depth, focusing on the personalities involved, including John Smith.

Director of the Massachusetts Historical Society William Fowler follows the history of the French and Indian War, emphasizing its importance as a turning point in U.S. history that remains little taught and little known popularly.

Three scholars present papers on the history of slavery and the African slave trade in New England. The papers are "The Removal of 'Cannibal Negroes' from New England to Providence Island," "A Colonial Tale of Slavery, Freedom, Contract, and Harvest," and "Unruly Slaves, Uneasy Masters, and Unmerited Favor: Wielding Discipline, Wrestling with Conscience, and the Construction of Race in Puritan New England."

Video and audio options are available.

Three scholars present papers on the history of Native American and African slavery and the slave trade in New England. The papers are "Another Face of Slavery: Indentured Servitude of Native Americans in Southern New England," "Freedom and Conflicts over Class, Gender, and Identity: The Evolving Relationship between Indians and Blacks in Southern New England, 1750–1870," and "Enslavement and Indians in Southern New England: Unraveling a Hidden History."

Two scholars present papers on the history of slavery, the slave trade, and African-American life in New England. The papers are "Creoles and Colonization: African Colonization Movements in Rhode Island and Nova Scotia in the Age of the American Revolution" and "William Lanson and the Vagaries of Early Free Black Life in New Haven, Connecticut, 1800-1831."

Professor Jill Lepore describes the war between colonists and Native Americans that broke out in New England in 1675. She emphasizes the impact of cultural memory of events in constructing national identity.

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 and author Howard Zinn traces the evocation of divine right and approval as a force in U.S. politics, looking at how it has been used to support economic and military interests. He focuses particularly on how it has been used to justify war and violent action, both in the past and today, in the Middle East.