Tom Hay, supervisor of the Courthouse at Colonial Williamsburg, looks at public protest and victimization of Loyalists in the period leading up to the American Revolution, including tarring and feathering, burning in effigy, and other public humiliations.
Linda Baumgarten, Curator of Textiles and Costumes at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about 18th-century clothing and fashions, including how they reflected class differences.
Bryan Simpers and Bereni New, of Colonial Williamsburg, interpret the married couple Alexander and Barbry Hoy. As Alexander and Barbry, they discuss their struggles as a middling family adjusting to the changes brought by the Revolution.
Note: this podcast is no longer available. To view a transcript of the original podcast, click here.
Kelly McEvoy, Colonial Williamsburg peer teacher in the volunteer dance department, describes the social importance of dancing in colonial society, and the education of children in dance.
Colonial Williamsburg historian Lou Powers discusses the holiday season as it existed in the colonial era, as well as touching on calendar systems and class divisions.
Dr. Kent Germany, professor of history at the University of South Carolina, argues that the rise of suburbs and the decline of the inner city factored into the larger struggle for civil rights in the 1960s and 1970s and set up the conditions exposed by Hurricane Katrina.
This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, examines the role of women in 19th-century Illinois. It looks at the development of the idea of separate gender spheres of influence—work for men and the home for women; the application and adaptation of this idea in the frontier; the developing power of women in pushing for social reform; the status of Native American and African-American women; and the gender perceptions of Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd.
Kathryn Kish Sklar of SUNY—Binghamton discusses the rising importance of successful schools in antebellum frontier towns and the feminization of the teaching profession that accompanied the new demand for teachers. Sklar also looks at the impact of the Second Great Awakening on the education of female teachers.
To view this clip, select "Education, Culture, and the Patterns of Frontier Settlement" under "Frontier Settlement Video."
Kathryn Kish Sklar of SUNY-Binghamton discusses the immigration of Germans and Irish to the U.S. during the antebellum period, to serve as members of the working class. Sklar considers immigrant labor as supporting the development of the new middle class, and also looks at the changing role of women in immigrant families.
To view this clip, select "Women's Changing Roles in Immigrant Families" under "Economic Development and Labor Video."
Professor Robert D. Johnston explores the issue of class in the United States, focusing particularly on the middle class. He argues for the middle class as a respectable, valuable social class, capable of radical social action; he uses the figures Martin Luther King, Jr., John Brown, and politician and physician Harry Lane (1855-1917) as examples.
The lecture link is broken. Either it was incorrectly linked by the host, or it is no longer available.