Videos

Robert Watson talked about his book, George Washington’s Final Battle: The Epic Struggle to Build a Capital City and a Nation. He explained why Washington saw the creation of a successful ca…

Stephanie Jones-Rogers detailed her research into Southern white women slaveholders who, she calculates, comprised 40 percent of slave owners in some regions. The previous estimate had been …

Alexander Tsesis talked about his book For Liberty and Equality: The Life and Times of the Declaration of Independence, a history of the Declaration of Independence from its creation in 1776…

William Hyland talked about his book, George Mason: The Founding Father Who Gave Us the Bill of Rights.

Historian Harlow Giles Unger recalled the life of Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, who espoused equal rights for women, the abolition of slavery, and free heal…

Danielle Allen and Emily Sneff spoke about their discovery in Sussex, England, of the second known parchment manuscript copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Marie Jenkins Schwartz talked about her book, Ties That Bound: Founding First Ladies and Slaves. She focused on how founding mothers Martha Washington and Dolley Madison viewed slavery and t…

Professor Gunther Peck talked about the complex history of slavery, indentured servitude, and the concept of race. Professor Peck explained that language-based definitions of race born out o…

Historians and authors talked about the state of the new nation after the U.S. constitution’s ratification and the debate over adding a Bill of Rights. They also spoke about how Congress cam…

Panelists talked about the historical background and the original intent of the Declaration of Independence. They argued that starting in the 19th century abolitionists focused on the phrase…

Panelists talked about the text of the Declaration of Independence and how it reflects the time it was written. Topics included the punctuation used in the document and the differences betwe…

Lea VanderVelde talked about slaves who used the law as a pathway to freedom prior to the Civil War. She spoke about how slaves contributed to building frontier communities and discussed leg…

Marc Leepson talked about his book, What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life and described the legacy of the man who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner. A lawyer who argued over 100 …

Robert Remini, historian of the U.S. House of Representatives, presents a history of the Compromise of 1850 brokered between the North and South by Kentucky Senator Henry Clay. The Compromis…

Pauline Maier presents a history of the ratification process of the U.S. Constitution. Ms. Maier recounts the year-long debates that took place throughout the country following the 1787 Cons…

George Daughn talked about his book If by Sea: The Forging of the American Navy, from the Revolution to the War of 1812. He contended that several Founding Fathers rejected the creation of a…

Richard Brookhiser recounted the life of President James Madison (1751-1836), the fourth American president. The author examined his influence in the framing of the U.S. Constitution, collab…

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon Wood presented a series of essays that examines the underpinnings of the American Revolution. Mr. Wood explored the origins of American exceptionalism…

William Hogeland recalls the nine weeks leading up to the American Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. He focuses on the debate between the “reconciliationists” led by Pennsylvanian…

Mr. Stahr talked about his book John Jay: Founding Father, published by Hambledon and London. Jay was a central figure in the American Revolution and early Republic; a delegate to and presid…