PBS
Founding Fathers (July 5, 2004)
Ray Suarez speaks with three historians, Richard Brookhiser, Ron Chernow and Jan Lewis, about what the founding fathers might have thought of America today.
PBS
The Long History Of Presidents As Authors
Journalist and historian Craig Fehrman has written a book called “Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote.” He sits down with John Yang to discuss the long history of presidential writing, the...
PBS
Lynne Cheney On American Presidents Of 'The Virginia Dynasty'
Four of America’s first five presidents were born and raised within a 60-mile radius in the state of Virginia. Those men -- George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe -- and their sometimes complicated...
TED Talks
Douglas Rushkoff: How to be "Team Human" in the digital future
Humans are no longer valued for our creativity, says media theorist Douglas Rushkoff -- in a world dominated by digital technology, we're now just valued for our data. In a passionate talk, Rushkoff urges us to stop using technology to...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The dark history of Mount Rushmore | Ned Blackhawk and Jeffrey D. Means
Between 1927 and 1941, workers blasted 450,000 tons of rock from a mountainside using chisels, jackhammers, and dynamite. Gradually, they carved out Mount Rushmore. Today, the monument draws nearly 3 million people to South Dakota's...
TED Talks
Adam Davidson: What we learned from teetering on the fiscal cliff
At the end of 2012, the US political system was headed for the "fiscal cliff" -- a budget impasse that could only be solved with bipartisan agreement. Adam Davidson, cohost of "Planet Money," shares surprising data on how bipartisan we...
TED Talks
TED: How urban spaces can preserve history and build community | Walter Hood
Can public spaces both reclaim the past and embrace the future? Landscape architect Walter Hood has explored this question over the course of an iconic career, with projects ranging from Lafayette Square Park in San Francisco to the...
TED Talks
TED: How I'm discovering the secrets of ancient texts | Gregory Heyworth
Gregory Heyworth is a textual scientist; he and his lab work on new ways to read ancient manuscripts and maps using spectral imaging technology. In this fascinating talk, watch as Heyworth shines a light on lost history, deciphering...
Be Smart
Thomas Jefferson and The Giant Moose
America's first great science battle wasn't the space race or the atom bomb, it was fought between Thomas Jefferson, a French nobleman, and in the middle a giant moose. Some people call Jefferson our only scientist-President, and T.J....
TED Talks
Marc Pachter: The art of the interview
Marc Pachter has conducted live interviews with some of the most intriguing characters in recent American history as part of a remarkable series created for the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. He reveals the secret to a great...
Crash Course
Thomas Jefferson & His Democracy Crash Course US History
In which John Green teaches you about founding father and third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson is a somewhat controversial figure in American history, largely because he, like pretty much all humans, was a...
Crash Course
Where US Politics Came From Crash Course US History
In which John Green teaches you where American politicians come from. In the beginning, soon after the US constitution was adopted, politics were pretty non-existent. George Washington was elected president with no opposition, everything...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What you might not know about the Declaration of Independence - Kenneth C. Davis
In June 1776, a little over a year after the start of the American Revolutionary War, the US Continental Congress huddled together in a hot room in Philadelphia to talk independence. Kenneth C. Davis dives into some of the lesser known...
Crash Course
Biology Before Darwin: Crash Course History of Science
You’ve probably heard of Charles Darwin, but before we get to him, you really need to understand how different people, throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, tried to answer the same question: “what is life?”
Crash Course
Who Won the American Revolution Crash Course US History
In which John Green teaches you about the American Revolution. And the Revolutionary War. I know we've labored the point here, but they weren't the same thing. In any case, John will teach you about the major battles of the war, and...
Brainwaves Video Anthology
Stephen J. Parks - Democratic Futures Project
New ReviewSteve Parks, a professor of English at the University of Virginia and director of the Democratic Futures Project, reflects on his 30-year mission to use education as a tool for strengthening democracy. He believes the classroom has a...
Bedtime History
John Adams for Kids
Meet John Adams, one of the most important leaders in early American history! 🇺🇸 He helped America become an independent country, worked alongside famous figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and later became the second...
Curated Video
Declaration of Independence For Kids
Why did the American colonies decide to break up with Britain? 🇺🇸 In this fun and easy-to-understand video, you'll learn what the Declaration of Independence is, why it was written, and what it means for the United States today!
Bedtime History
What was the Louisiana Purchase?
Discover the story behind the Louisiana Purchase, one of the most important land deals in American history. In this video, we explain how the United States bought a huge amount of territory from France in 1803, doubling the size of the...
Brainwaves Video Anthology
Annette Gordon-Reed - Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy
Annette Gordon-Reed, a professor at Harvard University, wrote a groundbreaking book in the 1990s examining the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman at Monticello. Initially interested in how...
Makematic
Colonial Williamsburg
A restored and reconstructed 18th century city, Colonial Williamsburg recreates many of the sights, sounds, and smells of colonial life. But what was its significance in revolutionary Virginia?
Makematic
The History of Federal Banking
Discover the turbulent story behind the creation of the United States national banks, in which all three branches of the federal government combined to safeguard the nation's economic stability.
Makematic
Lewis and Clark
In the early 1800s, Meriweather Lewis and William Clark charted the vast Louisiana Territory, providing the first maps and detailed documentation of its geography, plants, animals, and Indigenous populations.
Makematic
The Early Executive Branch
As Chief Executive of the Executive Branch of government, the US President has immense power and authority. Power that comes primarily from the Constitution and the traditions set by our first four Presidents.