This program uses contemporary journals and letters and battlefield reenactments to focus on the Western strategy in the Civil War and explain one of the most intriguing scenarios in American history. Union forces had abandoned Albuquerque and Santa Fe; the Rebels were headed West, their goal to reach California and secure the Southwest. The brutal Battle of Glorieta Pass on March 28, 1862, concluded when Union men slipped into the Rebel rear and...

Between 1790 and 1860, thousands of slaves fled the South for liberation on the "Underground Railroad," a system of invisible tracks and anonymous conductors who gave shelter to fugitive slaves. Through interviews with national experts, and examination of archival records and artifacts, this program provides an overview of the underground movement. In addition to interviews with descendants of slaves, conductors, and abolitionists, the program includes...

Obscured by competing images stemming from popular and revisionist history, the real Abraham Lincoln can be difficult to know. In this program, three leading American historians-Pulitzer Prize-winner David Herbert Donald, of Harvard University; Pulitzer Prize-winner Daniel Boorstin, of the Library of Congress; and Eric Foner, of Columbia University-join syndicated columnist and author Ben Wattenberg to separate the man from the mystery by exploring...

In 1865, the laying down of arms was just the beginning of the long battle for equal rights facing African-Americans. After documenting the final months of the War Between the States-Lincoln's second inauguration, Sherman's march through the Carolinas, the Siege of Petersburg, the destruction of Richmond, General Lee's surrender at Appomattox, and Lincoln's assassination-this program considers the outcome of the war and its cost, Reconstruction, the...

The great abolitionist Frederick Douglass comes back to life in this acclaimed theatrical performance featuring Fred Morsell, as he dramatically re-creates Douglass's famous speech on slavery and human rights. With an eloquence and intelligence rarely matched, Frederick Douglass became a giant in the struggle against racial injustice. He called upon all Americans of every color to work to fulfill the vision of a just society that was proclaimed in...

The War Between the States rages. In 1863, the Confederate Army seems poised for victory. Following the bloody battle of Antietam, President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. Former slaves join the Union army in droves. With superior transportation (railroads), communication (telegraph lines), and battlefield technology, the Union prevails and America is on track to become a global superpower.

The U.S. Constitution is the world's oldest written charter of government in continuous effect. Much of the success of this document can be attributed to the way the Constitution has changed to meet the needs of the American people. The framers of the Constitution wisely anticipated the need to make changes to the Constitution as the world itself changed. Between 1787, when the Constitution was written, and the present time, thousands of proposed...

The U.S. Constitution is the world's oldest written charter of government in continuous effect. Much of the success of this document can be attributed to the way the Constitution has changed to meet the needs of the American people. The framers of the Constitution wisely anticipated the need to make changes to the Constitution as the world itself changed. Between 1787, when the Constitution was written, and the present time, thousands of proposed...