Do History: Martha Ballard's Diary Online

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This interactive case study explores the 18th-century diary of midwife Martha Ballard and the construction of two late 20th-century historical studies based on the diary: historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's book A Midwife's Tale and Laurie Kahn-Leavitt's PBS film by the same name.

The site provides facsimile and transcribed full-text versions of the 1,400-page diary. An archive offers images of more than 50 documents on such topics as Ballard's life, domestic life, law and justice, finance and commerce, geography and surveying, midwifery and birth, medical information, religion, and Maine history. Also included are five maps, present-day images of Augusta and Hallowell, ME, and a timeline tracing Maine's history, the history of science and medicine, and a history of Ballard and Hallowell. The site offers suggestions on using primary sources to conduct research, including essays on reading 18th-century writing and probate records, searching for deeds, and exploring graveyards. A bibliography offers nearly 150 scholarly works and nearly 50 websites.

Tom Brokaw and Chronicling the Greatest Generation

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Newsanchor Tom Brokaw discusses his chronicling of the Greatest Generation in his book with the same title. The Greatest Generation tells the stories of America's citizens who came of age during the Great Depression and World War II. Brokaw also discusses his career with NBC Nightly News, where he has been the sole anchor and managing editor since 1983.

The lecture audio is available in mp3 format.

The Peabody Sisters: Igniting American Romanticism

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Writer Megan Marshall describes the lives of the Peabody sisters—Elizabeth, Mary, and Sophia—three women who contributed to the Transcendental movement of the 1800s. Elizabeth worked as an educator; Sophia, eventual wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne, wrote, painted, and illustrated; and Mary also worked for reform. All had connections with major intellectual figures of this period.

This lecture's audio is available in mp3 format.

Writers Among Us: Seth Jacobs

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Professor Seth Jacobs traces his research into the history of the Vietnam War and the discoveries that he incorporated into his book America's Miracle Man in Viet Nam: Ngo Dinh Diem, Religion, Race, and US Intervention in Southeast Asia. Jacobs argues that a midcentury religious revival in America, as well as policymakers' racist perceptions of Asians, led the United States to support the disastrous, autocratic Diem regime in South Vietnam, when other candidates for U.S. support existed.

Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham: African American Lives

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Professor and author Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham discusses the creation of the book African American Lives, coedited with Henry Louis Gaters, Jr. The book covers the lives of over 600 notable African Americans, from earliest colonial times to the present day. Higginbotham examines the impact of these individuals on history, the challenges presented in choosing individuals for coverage, and the research required to compile the book.

Audio and video options are available.