Videos

Historians discussed the arrival of the first African slaves to Virginia in 1619 and their encounters and cultural exchanges with Native Americans and English settlers. The John W. Kluge Cen…

Ralph Ehrenberg and Herman Viola talked about their book, Mapping the West with Lewis in Clark. They also displayed the original 1814 map that was created by Meriwether Lewis and William Cla…

Law professors talked about the origins of the Magna Carta and its influence on the U.S. Bill of Rights. This event took place at the Library of Congress, where a 1215 copy of the Magna C…

Mr. McCullough talked about his book John Adams, published by Simon and Schuster, a biography of the Founding Father and second president of the U.S. After his presentation he answered quest…

Mark Dimunation talked about The Federalist Papers. The collection of 85 essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay were written in 1787-88 to encourage the states to ratify t…

Michael Kranish, a reporter in the Washington bureau of The Boston Globe, recounts the ideological and political maturation of Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Kranish examines Jefferson’s election to…

Mr. Philbrick talked about his book, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, published by Viking. He described the history of the Pilgrims and Nantucket. After his presentation he…

Mr. Remini talked about his book, The House: The History of the House of Representatives, published by Collins. He told stories of the history of “the People’s House” and responded to audien…

David McCullough talked about his book, 1776, published by Simon and Schuster. He discussed the American Revolutionary War and how Americans should not forget the sacrifices of those soldier…

National Musuem of the American Indian Director Richard West gave the closing keynote address celebrating American Indian Heritage Month. He is a citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes …

Professor Jill Lepore gave a talk, illustrated with photographs, about her book, A Is for American: Letters and Other Characters in the Newly United States, published by Alfred A. Knopf. The…

Panel members discussed republicanism and religion, and the role of women in religion in the early republic.

Daniel Dreisbach and Guilia Adelfio talked about the history of religion in America, and the events behind the constitutional separation of church and state. They also took audience calls, f…

Mrs. Maier talked about her new book, American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Indepedence. She focused particularly on the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence which is curre…

Noel Rae and others read from the book he edited, “Witnessing America: The Library of Congress Book of Firsthand Accounts of Life in America 1600-1900.” The book is based on Library of Congr…

Dr. Bernard Bailyn, a Pulitzer Prize winner, talked about The Federalist Papers, a collection of essays written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison and collected into a book du…