Videos

Author Elizabeth Mitchell talked about her book, Liberty’s Torch: The Great Adventure to Build the Statue of Liberty, in which she looks at the challenges faced by French sculptor Frederic A…

Author Nathaniel Philbrick examined George Washington’s time as president by retracing his journey through the new republic. This virtual program was hosted by the National Archives.

Robert Levine talked about the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War and the lives of Frederick Douglass and President Andrew Johnson. This virtual program was hosted by the National Ar…

Environmental historian Adam Sowards looked at the contested history of America’s public lands, and the often opposing ideas about how they are best used and preserved. He explained how publ…

In 1844, parts of Philadelphia burned as a result of an anti-Irish Catholic mob. Zachary Schrag described the political turmoil, use of force by the militia and the aftermath of the fires. T…

Historian Woody Holton looked beyond the Founding Fathers and explored the role of women, Native Americans, and African Americans during the American Revolution. This virtual program was hos…

National Book Award-winning author Kevin Boyle provided a social and political history of the United States during the 1960s. This was a virtual event hosted by the National Archives in Wash…

How did George Washington’s experimentation with farming influence his views on slavery? Author Bruce Ragsdale offered his thoughts in Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Que…

Eleanor Roosevelt biographer David Michaelis and Allida Black, editor emeritus of the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, talked about her life and her life’s work, especially in human and wom…

Author Mary Sarah Bilder looked at the life of Eliza Harriot Barons O’Connor, one of the first female lecturers in the 1780s, and her impact on American intellectual life. This virtual event…

Andrew O’Shaughnessy, vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello, talked about Jefferson’s post-politics life, including his vision for what became the University of Vir…

Author Linda Hirshman talked about the pre-Civil War relationship among abolitionists Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Maria Weston Chapman before the Civil War. The National …

At the end of his life, Benjamin Franklin set up a loan program for tradesmen in Boston and Philadelphia to help start their careers. Author Michael Meyer talked about the legacy Franklin le…

Amy Sohn looked at the life of 19th century U.S. Postal Inspector Anthony Comstock, who used his position to promote morality laws that included the 1873 Comstock laws that prohibited the sh…

Jean Becker, former chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, recalled the 41st president’s post-presidential life. This was a virtual event hosted by the National Archives.

Author and journalist Lisa Napoli profiled four female journalists, Susan Stamberg, Linda Wertheimer, Nina Totenberg, and Cokie Roberts, whose reporting helped establish National Public Radi…

While photographs of earlier conflicts exist, the Civil War was the first to be extensively documented through this then-nascent medium. Deborah Willis shared dozens of images of African Ame…

Historians discussed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act of April 16, 1862. The act freed about 3,100 slaves in the nation’s capital and compensated owners up to $300 for e…

In 1962, President Kennedy authorized the creation of the Department of the Army Special Photographic Office to film and photograph the Vietnam War for the Pentagon and the U.S. Congress. Fi…

Harvard University history Professor Serhii Plokhy provided a history of the Cuban Missile Crisis. This was a virtual event hosted by the National Archives.