Richard Brookhiser – author of “Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington” – has turned his attention to James Madison and is working on a biography of the founder best remembered as “The Father of the Constitution.” In a talk at Hillsdale College, Mr. Brookhiser makes the case that Madison should also be recalled as “The Father of American Politics.”

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Founding Father James Madison was President of the United States from 1809 to 1817. John Douglas Hall portrays President James Madison as though the year was 1811 rather than 2011.

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The twenty-six-hundred-acre estate of Montpelier was once home to the nation’s fourth president , James Madison and his wife Dolley. It lies about 90 miles south of the nation’s capital in Orange County, Virginia. American History TV visited the site for a tour with Michael Quinn, president of the private non-profit Montpelier Foundation that manages the property.

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James Madison, the fourth President of the United States & often referred to as the "Father of the Constitution," owned about a hundred slaves at Montpelier, his 4600- acre estate in Orange County, Virginia.  American History TV traveled 90 miles south of the nation's capital to learn about an archaeological project investigating the enslaved communities of James Madison's Montpelier.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell talks about the political career of fellow Kentuckian John J. Crittenden, a member of the U.S. Senate in the 1880s.  A friend and ally of Henry Clay's, Crittenden also served as Kentucky's governor and twice as U.S. attorney general. Senator McConnell emphasizes Crittenden’s commitment to the Union before and during the Civil War and reflects on what current lawmakers can learn from former legislators. This event was hosted by Eastern Kentucky University.

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How is slavery interpreted at historic sites – and how has that interpretation evolved over the last quarter century? Those were among the questions addressed at a conference convened at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello to consider the history of slavery scholarship and how it makes its way to the American public.

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These are unedited excerpts from a 1995 conversation with President Eisenhower’s son, John. A retired U.S. Army Brigadier General, he talks about his father’s role as Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He also discusses Ike’s relationships with American and British generals and how he compromised with Allied nations to bring World War II in Europe to an end. Independent producer George Colburn conducted this interview as part of a documentary series on Dwight D. Eisenhower’s military and political career – a period covering from 1941 to 1961.  His latest project –  “Eisenhower’s Secret War” – debuts on public television stations nation-wide in May. Hosted by Evan Thomas, author of “Ike’s Bluff," Mr. Colburn’s two-part program focuses on Ike’s campaign to wage peace in the aftermath of World War II.

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In this program from our 1999 "American Presidents: Life Portraits" series we focused on James Garfield's life and career. Historians discussed Garfield's military service, his election as president and assassination shortly after his inauguration. Suzanne Miller, the site manager at Garfield's home in Mentor, Ohio, talked about several of the artifacts and documents that Garfield left behind. 

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