U.S. Army "Big Picture" episode looking at South Korea's development from the end of the Korean War in 1953 until 1969. The film celebrates the country's economic development and details the cooperative effort to monitor and fortify the tense border with North Korea.
Former President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917. To mark the centennial of his birth, the Smithsonian American Art Museum collected dozens of images that chronicle the life of the 35th president. Our guide is photojournalist Lawrence Schiller, the exhibit's guest curator.
Brown University professor Michael Vorenberg speaks about the 14th Amendment and efforts by Congress to use the U.S. military to enforce civil rights for African Americans during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era. This 50-minute talk was hosted part of a symposium hosted by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society.
Historian and author Lisa Tendrich Frank looks at the myths surrounding encounters between slave-holding Confederate women and Union soldiers that occurred during General William Tecumseh Sherman's "March to the Sea" through Georgia in 1864. This talk was part of the annual Civil War Institute conference at Gettysburg College.
U.S. Air Force film documenting a series of six nuclear tests at the Atomic Energy Commission's Pacific Proving Grounds in 1954. One of the tests was 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945, and remains the most powerful atmospheric nuclear test ever conducted by the United States. Exceeding expectations, the explosion's radiation encompassed 5,000 square miles of the area, leading to many cases of radiation sickness in civilians & military personnel. This film is hosted by Joint Task Force 7 Supreme Commander Major General Percy Clarkson and was shown in 1954 to U.S. congressional oversight committees. The Energy Department made the film public in the 1990s.
"Military Effects Studies on Operation Castle" is a report detailing the aftermath of six powerful nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. The film shows the effects of radiation on civilians and American military personnel. Using maps, graphs, animation and films of the explosions and damage, the report outlines the military advances in nuclear weapons since 1945 and the possible effects of atomic bombs and fallout on American cities. The previously classified film was made public by the Energy Department in the 1990s.
Chief Leschi was chief of the Nisqually tribe, and was chosen to represent the Nisqually and Puyallup tribes at the signing of the 1854 Medicine Creek Treaty. In 1858 he was tried for murder and hanged. Cynthia Iyall shares the story and the efforts 150 years later to exonerate Chief Leschi.
John Avlon, Editor in Chief of The Daily Beast discusses his book: "Washington's Farewell: The Founding Father'sWarning to Future Generations." In a conversation with the National Constitution Center's scholar in residence, Michael Gerhardt, John Avlon argues that Washington warned future generations about the dangers of hyper-partisanship, excessive debt, and foreign wars.
Andrew Gomez shares the story of how Tacoma's Chinese population was driven out of the city in 1885. Today, the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park represents the city's acknowledgment of the Chinese expulsion, and serves as a reminder of the city's multicultural past, present and future.
A Library of Congress "Congress and History" conference session looking at the history of committees in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1789 until the beginning of the Civil War. This program focuses on three papers by political scientists. The first deals with how committees responded to public petitions and complaints in the early republic, the second explores the development of the committee system, and the third examines how standing committees influenced the legislative agenda in the years before the Civil War.
Antique furnishings curator Patrick Sheary talks about early 20th century electronic household appliances. He also discusses different ways manufacturers marketed and distributed new products to consumers, who were predominately housewives. The Daughters of the American Revolution Museum hosted this event.
Esteemed historians, writers, and professors discuss the history behind how Salem, Massachusetts became known as "The Witch City." The panelists discuss whether the commercialization of Salem through the creation of Witch City is an economic benefit or gross insensitivity to the tragedy that occured over 300 years ago. This hour and 20-minute long panel discussion was a part of the 325th Anniversary Symposium held at Salem State University in Massachusetts.
Michael Sullivan, faculty at the University of Washington-Tacoma, talked about the 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse and the effect it has had on the study of bridge design and civil engineering today. Video of the bridge collapsing is shown.
A session from a Library of Congress annual "Congress and History" conference featuring the historical and political legacy of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia). This program focuses on two papers by political scientists looking at what one participant calls ..".an explosion of partisan warfare in 1980s America."
