1. The Republic of Virtue (60 Min.) -- Some of the first images made in America resemble ancient ones.  Jeferson and the Founding Fathers feel that classicism lends the young national power and authority.  From heroic statues of George Washington to the architecture of Washington, D.C., the new republic adopts and transforms the classical style to serve a new, democratic ideal.
2. The Promised Land (60 Min.) -- Before there is an America, disparate bands of settlers strive to carve out an identity in a virgin land.  In the West, Spanish missions use art to convert the natives to Catholicism.  In the East, plain Protestant settlers are suspicious of art's pleasures.  And in Virginia, an exiled aristocracy recreates its ideal of England.  Early portraits of these settlers ask us to consider the emergency of this new person, this American.
3. The Wilderness and the West (60 Min.) -- From the majestic primal America, there arises the idea of landscape as God's fingerprint.  Landscape painting holds deep religious and patriotic connotations; soon, the belief in Manifest Destiny is embodied in art.  Traveling from Yellowstone to the Hudson Valley, Hughes explores the artists Albert Bierstadt, John James Audubon, Frederic Church, Frederic Remington and Thomas Cole.  In their work he finds the conflicting impulses to worship the land and to conquer it, to create a myth of the West just as the frontier itself is closing.
4. The Gilded Age (60 Min.) -- The many sides of America in the 19th century:  the extravagant "cottages" of Newsport's tycoons, the triumph of the Brooklyn Bridge, the haunting realism of Civil War photography, the elegant portraits of John Singer Sargent, the American Impressionism of James Whistler and Mary Cassatt.  Together with a new breed of distinctly American artists like Thomas Eakins and Winslow Homer, they mirror widely different experiences of the American Dream.
5. A Wave from the Atlantic (60 Min.) -- Waves of immigrants in the early 20th century bring both their old culture and a thirst for the new.  Their tenements are documented by photographer Jacob Riis and the socially conscious Ashcan School.  Then, after the historic 1913 Armory show, artists like Joseph Stella, Paul Strand, Alfred Steiglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe forge a modernism that is uniquely American.  Some celebrate the industrial sublime.  Yet nature is the inspiration that leads Frank Lloyd Wright to develop an organic architecture at the heart of modern design.
6. Streamlines and Breadlines (60 Min.) -- The mythic images of the 1920's and 30's are as urban as the skyscrapers rising up in New York and as rural as the heartland idealized by Regionalists like Thomas Hart Benton, Isamu Noguchi, Lewis Hine, and the artists of the WPA celebrate the worker as hero, Jacob Lawrence tells stories of black America, and ambitious New Deal projects like Hoover Dam project self-confidence in hard times.  Which is the real modern America -- the isolation painted by Edward Hopper, or the jazzy vitality captured by Stuart Davis?
7. The Empire of Signs (60 Min.) -- In the post-war era, America's power is unrivaled, and its artists make an explosive break with the past.  Hughes considers the impact of Hiroshima on art, traces the development of abstract expressionism and the life of Jackson Pollack, and explores how artists as differest as James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg, Joseph Cornell, Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns reacted to the new consumer culture.  We end with the nation on the even of divisive conflicts, as media images begin to overwhelm anything created by artists.

The Age of Anxiety (60 Min.) -- Our final program explores how American art has reflected the upheavals of the last 25 years.  Hughes traces the evolution of abstract art and minimalism and consiers the spiritual richness of earth works, in which nature is the artist's medium.  He ends the series by profiling a wide range of contemporary artists.  Using a diversity of mediums and approaches, Richard Serra, Susan Rothenbert, James Turrell and others continue to capture uniquely American visions.

 Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison portray two of the Renaissance's most 
 colorful figures in this historical drama based on Irving Stone's best-seller 
 set in the early 16th century.  When Pope Julius II (Harrison) commissions 
 Michaelangelo (Heston) to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel., the 
 artist initially refuses.  Virtually forced to do the job by Julius, he later 
 destroys his own work and flees Rome.  Eventually resumed, the project 
 becomes a battle of wills fueled by artistic and temperamental differences 
 that form the core of this movie.

Takes the viewer through the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and the struggle for civil rights.

A Life Affirming True Story—Based on the best-selling autobiography by the extraordinary Maya Angelou.  Her life began in vicious, racist, Depression-era Arkansas with the sensitive Maya being shunted between her grandmother’s house and her mother’s—where she is raped—and withdraws into total silence.  Finally, she speaks again and in her valedictory address, shares her realization.  "in order to life your voice, you have to lift your head."  Now, with her head held high, Maya has shared her voice, her life, with us—and, it’s a rich and rare experience.

Creativity with Bill Moyers (PBS Home Video)  Some people are born great and some people have greatness thrust upon them.  Maya Angelou was born to greatness.  She is a true Renaissance woman.  Hailed as one of the greatest voices of contemporary literature, she is a poet, a best-selling author, an educator, a historian, an actress, a playwright, a civil-rights activist, a producer and a director.  Her wisdom is legendary.  Her prowess is unsurpassed.  Bill Moyers takes Maya Angelou back home to Stamps, Arkansas, for the first time since her childhood.  She was hesitant to return to a place which once gave her great joy and tremendous pain.  In this poignant program, Maya Angelou reflects on her life and how it has shaped her art.  It is a moment you won’t soon forget/  Learn the secret joys and sorrows of this remarkable woman.  She is a woman of substance whose impact continue to be felt by people around the world. 

1. Take Me To Chicago -- Discusses factors, such as Jim Crow laws and the advent of the mechanical cotton picker, that made innumerable rural southern blacks believe what they heard about a better, freer life in Chicago.
2. A Dream Deferred -- Discusses the urbanization of rural southern blacks, how northern politicians ignored the growing resentment, and how blacks' resentment peaked in the sixties.
3. Strong Men Keep A-Comin' On -- Explores the last stages of the great migration, which saw the election of Chicago's first African-American mayor, many black families moving out of the ghetto to middle-class success, and integration beginning to bear fruit.

Comprehensive documentary on the causes, battles, and consequences of the Civil War, from Fort Sumter to Appomattox, using archival photos, and on-site film from battlefield parks. 

1. The Cause, 1861 -- 2. A Very Bloody Affair, 1862 -- 3. Forever Free, 1862 -- 4. Simply Murder, 1863 -- 5. The Universe of Battle, 1863 -- 6. The Valley of the Shadow of Death -- 7. Most Hallowed Ground, 1864 -- 8. War Is All Hell -- 9. The Better Angels of Our Nature.

The North and South had been evolving into two distinct societies and culture every since independence.  Now, in mid-century, Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party were coming into prominence in the North, where industrialization was moving ahead at a fast pace.  In the South, there was the impact of the cotton gin on its economic development, and rumbles of secession from the Union . . . the issues of slavery, westward expansion, and abolitionist propaganda having served to draw the North and South further apart.  Finally, at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, the first fateful shot was fired, and the War Between the States began.

Ask your students if they think America is #1.  Then let them watch the videos, do the worksheets provided, analyze what they have learned, and decide for themselves.

1. The Browns of Providence and Merchant Capitalism -- Early settlement. ~ The search for trade. ~ The tobacco trade, other staple exports. ~ The New England merchant. ~ The Browns of Providence. ~ Political and economic developments. ~ Colonial wars and American independence. ~ An urban mercantile hierarchy. ~ Economic specialization, reorganization. ~ Growth after independence. ~ The demise of merchant capitalism.
2. Samuel Slater and the Industrial Revolution -- Colonial and early national economic expectations and developments. ~ Agriculture vs. Manufacturing. ~ Cottage industry vs. The factory. ~ Export economy vs. Mixed economy. ~ The textile industry. ~ Early developments:  British experience, American adaptations. ~ Samuel Slater; technological adaptation. ~ Factory system at Lowell. ~ Cotton gins; War of  1812. ~ Labor supply; the "Mill Girls". ~ American industry transformation. ~ Technology and resource application. ~ Energy—water and steam. ~ Mechanization and cumulative innovation;  the Wilkinson example.
3. James J. Hill and the Transporatation Revolution -- The water transportation system. ~ Steamboats. ~ Rivers and canals. ~ Eastern railroads. ~ Transcontinental railroads. ~ Government subsidy in the first decade. ~ James J. Hill’s Great Northern system. ~ The railroad industry—structure and rate policies. ~ Rate discrimination. ~ Competitive markets. ~ Mergers.
4. Andrew Carnegie and Business Ideology -- Andrew Carnegie’s immigrant background. ~ The iron industry before Carnegie. ~ Carnegie’s rise to leadership in steel. ~ Early railroad connections. ~ Commitment to iron manufacture. ~ Competition, cost cutting, output expansion. ~ Progress through technology:  Bessemer converters. ~ Carnegie’s ideology. ~  Radical Scottish politics, America democracy. ~ "Social Darwinism," Herbert Spencer, "Gospel of Wealth". ~ Scientific management, labor unions, corporate capitalism. ~ Philanthropy vs. Charity; Carnegie’s legacy.
5. John D. Rockefeller and the Rise of Oligopoly -- John D. Rockefeller:  robber baron or industrial statesman. ~ The rise of big business. ~ A national marketplace. ~ Changing industrial technologies. ~ Immigration. ~ The oil industry as a case study. ~ Standard Oil. ~ Oligopoly—benefits and risks.
6. J. P. Morgan and Finance Capitalism -- Early American finance. ~ Merchants as intermediaries. ~ Private bankers. ~ Chartered commercial banks. ~ Sound money vs. Easy credit. ~ Finance capitalism, 1863-1914. ~ National Bank Act. ~ National money, capital markets. ~ J. P. Morgan, international merchant, investment banker. ~ Morgan’s finance capitalism—a money trust? ~ Finance capitalism since Morgan’s death. ~ Competition and specialization. ~ The Great Crash and Depression. ~ Deregulation.
7. Herbert Hoover and Political Capitalism -- 19th Century Government and business relations. ~ Laissez-faire vs. Progressivism. ~ Progressive historians:  Beard, Hacker, Parrington. ~ Revisionism:  Gabriel Kolko. ~ Interviews:  conservatism; Albro Martin; radicalism: Martin Sklas; pluralism:  Ellis Hawley. ~ Hoover’s ideology. ~ Progressive phase, progressive corporatism. ~ The depression and voluntarist responses. ~ The New Deal, Hoover’s retreat. ~ Political economy since 1932.
8. Henry Ford and Mass Consumption Society -- A cheap car for the middle class. ~ Model T. ~ Moving assembly line. ~ $5 day. ~ River Rouge. ~ Industrial self-sufficiency. ~ Ruthless cost cutting. ~ Auto’s impact on urban, rural culture. ~ Mass consumption. ~ Challenges to the car culture since 1950.
9. Alfred Sloan and Corporate Bureaucracy --  Railroads develop central organization. ~ Vertical integration, mergers. ~ Professional managers replace owners. ~ Industrial research laboratories. ~ General Motors. ~ Durant’s holding company. ~ Multi-divisional structure. ~ Decentralization, diversification. ~ Conglomerates. ~ Impacts of giant corporations. ~ Competition. ~ Progress. ~ Community Life. ~ Political democracy.
10. IBM and the Communications Revolution -- Earlier communications innovations. ~ Telegraph, telephone, office machines. ~ Accounting formats, statistical analyses. ~ Electronic computer in World War II. ~ From tubes and relays to transistors and integrated circuits. ~ Falling costs, spreading uses. ~ Computers and communications. ~ Computers and society. ~ Centralization vs. Decentralization. ~ Big Brother, privacy issues. ~ Automation, job productivity. 

                                    (Has Teacher's Guide)

The eighth largest country in the world springs to life in the northern subtropical forests only to disappear among the ice and endless winds of the Antarctic.  Between these two extremes Argentina unfolds.  The country offers some of the most unsophisticated and natural beauty in the world;  the rocky spine of the magnificent Andes with its snow-capped peaks, vast plains, slow-moving brown rivers, great rain and cloud forests, Iguazu with 275 falls cascading over a giant horsehoe over two miles wide, lunar deserts, high plateaus, hills of many colours, the vast isolation and endless expanses of the pampas, "living" glaciers, seas of cactus and stragely sculptued rock formations with 6,000 year old petroglyphs.

Barcelona welcomes you with the same flair, efficiency and graciousness that marked the 1992 Olympic Games.  One of the great modern cities of the world, Barcelona maintains a strong sense of its identity as the capital of Catalonia and is fiercely loyal to its cultural traditions.  Above all, Baracelona is a city of contrasts, in which the ancient and contemporary are beautifully combined.

A story of genius Gustave Eiffel, who built the Eiffel Tower. It's a monumental tale of a graceful steel sculpture almost 1,000 feet tall, and of the technological challenges and breakthroughs its construction entailed.

Travelogue of those parts of Switzerland where the heritage is French, discussing the production of cheese, and chocolate, and the mixture of modern technology with traditional ways. 

1. Life, Times and Wonders of the Pyramids and the Cities of the Pharaohs -- (81 Min.) -- The land of the Pharaohs rises from the sand through the work of Egyptologists, historians and video artists.  Before Rome's Caesar, Greece's Pericles and Moses' exodus from Egypt, the Pyramids were already old.  Egyptologists and video artists take us back 5,000 years to view the awakening of Egypt--a civilization that created colossal structures with simple tolls and massive manpower.  What sort of people built these structures?  Egypt is an amalgam of two things:  the constancy of the Nile and the labor of its people.  The reconstructions in this video recapture the splendor of Egypt including two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Pyramids and the (Pharos) lighthouse at Alexandria.  Marvel at twenty-five historical recreations, including the Temple of Luxor, Temple of Ammon at Karnak, Temple of Ramses, the Step Pryamid at Saqqara, and the Great Temple of ABu Simbel with its four statues of Ramses II.  In a culture where dying was made into a rite, this video revels the magnificence of Egyptian life before death.
2. Life, Times and Wonders of Athens & Ancient Greece -- (78 Min.) -- The Golden Age of Greece is magnificently recreated by archeologists, historians and video artists.  Anicent Greece and 25 of the most significant structures and monuments, as originally built, comes alive as Greek customs and daily life are revealed through computer graphics, archival film and classic art.  Tour the Acropolis in the 5th Century B.C.  Gaze at the Statue of Athenia and the Parthenon, the pride and joy of the Athenians.  Walk the Agora, Theatre of Dionysus, Olympia (home of the Olympic Games) and the Temple of Zeus.  Stand before Delphi's Temple of Apollo where the oracle spoke.  Travel to Mycenae, City of Agamemnon:  Santorini and Atlantis, the legendary lost continent.  It's all here--places and events that have fired the imaginations of people for centuries.  Greeks Gods and Goddesses, thinkers and builders, athletes and heroes.  Ancient Greece was a civilization like no other in history.
3. The Story of Rome and Pompeii -- (71 Min.) -- The grandeur of Imperial Rome & Pompeii is recreated by Italian archeologists, historians, and video artists.  The magnificence of Rome and Pompeii as they were about 2,000 years ago is reconstructed before your eyes.  See the Colosseum, as its stood, with 50,000 Romans applauding the bloody gladiator spectacles.  Walk the Roman Forum in all its spendor.  See the Circus Maximus where 150,000 cheered the chariot races.  Gaze at the lavish lifestyles in both Rome and Pompeii--the baths, theatres, temples, palaces and shopping markets.  Watch Nero's Rome ablaze and Vesuvius' devastation of Pompeii, recreated as it might have happened.  It's all here.  The first video that answers our curious imaginations about what these cities looked like and how the people in each really lived.

Here is Grat Smoky Mountains National Park in all its seasons and in all its splendor.  An incredible yet fragile biodiversity of life abounds in this half-million acre sanctuary.  From butterflies to black bears, from mosses and lichens to old-growth forests, from salamanders to turkeys and white-tailed deer--all are spectacularly shown in this video.

Documentary on Teotihuacan, the Toltecs, the Olmecs, the Aztecs, & the Mayas; their cultures, their legacies & their histories.

Enter the Loire Valley to find the 16th century alive today.  Traverse the spacious ground of Chateau de Chambord, the vision if its creator, Francois I.  Climb the balustrade of the enormous double staircase.  Observe French sculpture, paintings and decor.  Visit the charming cities of Blois, Orleans, and Tours.  Explore the abundant vineyards bursting with the fruit of this fertile valley.  Feel a touch of royalty in a medieval day gone by, here in the Loire Valley.

Follows Charles Boyer as he takes the viewer on a tour of the Louvre.  He discusses the history of the Louvre, describes the characters of the rulers who acquired the great collection of art through the centuries, points out the changes which have been made in the structure of the building, and explains that French civilization can be surveyed through the history of the Louvre.

Madrid beckons one and all with her diverse attractions.  For lovers of art, the famous Prado museum offers the masterpieces of El Greco, Goya and Velazquez.  For those who enjoy energy and exuberance, there is the Puerta del Sol, full of lively cafes, or the Plaza Mayor, heart of old Madrid.  For lovers of shopping, a search throught he sale in the Ribera de Curtidores almost always uncovers a hidden treasure.

Explores, in detail, the capital city of France, including its people, history and architecture.

Invites you to experience Paris, France, with the sights to see, hotels, restaurants, entertainment, shopping, services, including special tours, and travel tips.

Explore Spain, Madrid, Toledo, Seville and Andalusia with travel writer Rick Steve, as he takes you to the best places plus sights off the tour bus routes.  Loaded with lots of historical facts--educational and entertaining.

The grounds and gardens of the White House are as rich with history, tradition and personally as the house itself.  Indeed, the grounds are an extension of the building and serve the same three functions:  home of the First Family, office of the President, and a symbol of Democracy throughout the world.  This fascinating, behind-the-scenes tour of the President's Park features an original score performed by the U. S. Marine Band.  You will watch rare footage of first families in their "backyard".  You will tour private areas never seen by the public.  You will learn how the grounds grew and evolved with changing administrations over two centuries.  And you will come away with a new appreciation of this special place.

Discover dazzling Costa Rica, the jewel at the heart of Central America, where mist-shrouded peaks loom over fertile valleys, and lush tropical forests touch unspoiled seashores.  Fall in love with Costa Rica's friendly ticos in the capital city's lively Mercado Central, view the Teatro Nacional--a tribute to this country's love of the arts--and marvel at ancient artifacts in the subterranean Museum of Gold.  Tiptoe around the lunar landscape of the volcano, Irazu, and visit the village of Sarchi where traditional wooden oxcarts become colorful works of art.  Breathe in the fragrant scent of orchids at exotic Lankester Gardens and join in the struggle this pacifist nation faces in preserving it's fragile natural wonders.

La Belle France--where life is a pleasure and love an art.  Begin in Brittany at the Mont-Saint-Michel abbey, perched on a huge granite rock.  Discover haute couture, renouned artworks and graceful charm in Paris, home of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Latin Quarter and Majestic Versailles.  Enjoy the splendor of France's great chateaux at Chambord and Chenonceaux.  Chat with local vintners in Champagen and Bordeaux.  Meet Paul Bocuse at his restaurant in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or near Lyon.  Watch the bulls run at the Bayonne festival and go truffle hunting in the Dordogne.  In sun-blessed Provence, tour the cosmopolitan port of Marsille and the medieval papal capital of Avignon.

Come with us to sunny Spain, land of bullfights, flamenco, and 2,000 years of history.  Begin in Madrid's Royal Palace and see the paintings of Velazquez and El Greco, then go on to the Prado for Goya.  Stroll through the oldest part of the city, to the Plaza Mayor and the restaurant Botin, where Hemingway dined.  Take an excursion to Avila, the walled 11th century home of Saint Teresa.  Continue on to the Alcazar at Segovia:  Toledo and the famed cathedral; Cordoba and its gypsy caves.  Savor the exotic flavor of Granada, center of Moorish Spain, and pause in the Alharbra, where nightingales sing in the gardens.  Soak up sun along the Costa del Sol and then complete your tour in Barcelona, Spain's second city.

A quick look at some of the important cultural and political events in Great Britain that made the 1930s memorable, particularly the Edward & Mrs. Simpson scandal, 1936 Olympics, & effects of the economic depression.

A quick look at some of the important cultural and political events in Great Britain that made the 1940s memorable, particularly the effects of WWII at home & Princess Elizabeth's wedding.

A quick look at some of the important cultural & political events in Great Britain that made the 1950s memorable. Also includes some noteworthy international events.

A quick look at all of the important cultural and political events that made the 1960s memorable.

Paul Muni plays Benito Juarez, the Lincolnesque leader of the fight to free Mexico from foreign rule.  Oscar-nominated Brian Aherne portrays doomed Emperor Maximilian.  And Betty Davis, using her famed eyes to glorious effect, is Carlotta, the devoted Empress who ultimately slips into madness.  Within its sweep of political maneuverings, war and retribution, this 1939 epic delivered a double-edged message.  Moviegoers easily see the parallel between Juarez's brave struggle and the gathering storm of Nazism confronting the free world.

Surveys some of the great and influential American women including Abigail Adams, Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Sanger, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Sojourner Truth who called for equal rights, birth control, abolition of slavery, and more.

No man better fits the term Renaissance Man than this illegitimate son of a notary in the small Italian village of Vinci.  His countless accomplishments include pioneering work in the field of human anatomy, the invention of the helicopter and creation of the world's most famous patining, the Mona Lisa.  His statue of a horseman was considered to be the greatest work of sculpture in the world when it was completed in 1493.  Unfortunately, it was destroyed in 1500.  It is no exaggeration to call him the greatest creative mind of all time.

Features the papers of the Tennessee presidents, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Andrew Johnson and their legacy to American democracy.

Explains the first 10 amendments of the American Constitution, called the Bill of Rights. Encourages the viewers to understand and exercise their political rights.

Using photographs and recreations, shows the history of the great Indian wars, when early American pioneers began to move into Native American lands.

Stresses the value of studying social studies which include history, anthropology, sociology, economics, political science, psychology and geography. 

Puts the viewer in the passenger seat for an adventurous field trip through the heartland of the U.S.  Traveling highways and byways through six states, our host visits a variety of people and places in search of the true meaning of history.  Why History? dispels the myth that history is limited to the study of names, dates and events from the distant past.  Instead, it reveals how analyzing and interpreting history is as an integral part of understanding the past, present, and future of human activity--including social, political, scientific, economic, and cultural endeavors.

1. Make Germany Pay -- This program takes an in-depth look at the critical problems Germany faced from its defeat in World War I to its acceptance by the League of Nations in 1926.
2. Boom and Bust -- Modern consumer society began in the U.S. in the years following World War I, but unbridled aluence came to a screeching halt with the stock market crash of 1929.
3. Hitler's Germany 1933-36 -- By 1933 Hitler and the Nazi Party had control of Germany.  This program covers the reoccupation of the Rhineland, the initial persecution of the Jews, and the growth of the Nazi propaganda machine.
4. Roosevelt and the New Deal -- When Franklin Delano Roosevelt became president in 1933, he began a vast number of programs, called the New Deal, to battle the Great Depression.
5. Why Appeasement?  -- Travel the road to World War II, from Hitler's demand for the Sudetenland and Chamberlain's acquiescence, to the Nazi invasion of Poland the Britain's declaration of war.
6. Britain Alone -- In September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany.  By June 1940 France had fallen and Britain was left alone until December, 1941, when the U. S. joined the effort.
7. Stalin and the Modernization of Russia -- This program traces the U.S.S.R's history from Lenin's death in 1924 through Stalin's rise to power, his economic policies, and his ruthless political purges.
8. Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima -- An examination of the events that led Japan into World War II is coupled with a history of the war period up to the dropping of the bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
9. The Road to Berlin -- Follow the final four years of World War II from Germany's devastating defeat at Stalingrad through the Allied invasion of France to the capture of Berlin and the end of the war.
10. India:  the Brightest Jewel -- The independence movement in India culminated with the partition of the country into India and Moslem Pakistan amid rejoicing, bloodshed, and bitterness.
11. One Man's Revolution -- Mao Tse-tung -- This program covers Mao's career including his rural beginnings, the legendary Long March, the Japanese invasion of China and the Cultural Revolution.
12. Cold War:  Confrontation -- The Berlin Airlift and the Korean War increased the hostility between the communist East and the capitalist West.  This program examines in depth these two critical events.
13. Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Khrushchev -- Controversy over Cuba further divided the world's two great powers.  This program details the crises that brought Castro, Khrushchev, and Kennedy into conflict.
14. China Since Mao -- This program explores the changes in China's society, political environment, and economic ideology since the death of Chairman Mao.
15. Arabs and Israel Since 1947 -- This study of the relationship between the Arab states and Israel explains the political, religious, and economic forces that underlie the tensions in the Mideast.
16. The Third World -- This program examines the events behind the gradual move toward independence in Third World countires and their struggle to meet the challenge of self government.

1. The Conflict Ignites -- Looks at the dramatic outbreak of the war at Lexington and Concord, and examines the forces that made this escalation unavoiable.
2. 1776 -- Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and a nation began to emerge amidst disheartening setbacks.  George Washington took command of the fledgling Continental Army but was routed out of New York State by the British army of William Howe.  The Many events of this most imprtant year are examined.
3. Washington and Arnold -- Wars are fought by unknown soliders but they are won or lost by their commanders.  On the British side there was Burgoyne and Howe; the Colonists had Geroge Washington and still-loyal Benedict Arnold.  The early battles shaped some of the lasting images in our history, including Burgoyne's Hudson campaign and washington's famous crossing of the Delaware.  As war raged across the American wilderness, Ben Franklin struggled to gain recognition for the infant nation.  His dramatic mission before the French court is highlighted along with the efforts of two great American commanders.
4. The World At War -- From Valley Forge, Washington led his newly trained army into battle against the British at Monmouth.  At the same time, John Sullivan and George Rogers Clark fought against loyalists and Indians on the western front.  This video focuses on these important conflicts and looks at the worst winter of the war with the mutiny at Morristown.
5. England's Last Chance -- The American commander Nathaniel Greene forced Britain's Lord Cornwallis to retreat into Virginia, while Daniel Morgan led a company of men to victory in the Battle of the Cowpens, often thought of as the most brilliant tactical encounter on American soil.  The American generals beat the British back from all but two ports in the South in a series of encounters.
6. Birth of the Republic -- This video looks at what came after the war--the Treaty of Paris, which secured American independence, and the Constitutional Convention, where Madison and others struggled to put into words the framework for a new form of government.  The program ends with a look at what happened to some of the heroes of the War of Independence in the years that followed.

See firsthand, in this award-winning documentary by famed filmmaker John Ford, the events that led up to and took place during the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor.  Winner of the 1943 Academy Award for Best Documentary, this film masterfully pieces together the various individual acts of heroism and wholesale acts of carnage in a way that both makes sense and captures the intensity of that fateful day.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt has called December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy..."  The treachery of the Japanese attack, the unpreparednesss of America and her armed forces, the magnitude of our losses (several great battleships remain scuttled in Pearl Harbor, a memorial to those who died there), and the resiliency of the American spirit which rose up to meet the challenge.  All that and more is contained in this spellbinding film.

The North and South had been evolving into two distinct societies and culture every since independence.  Now, in mid-century, Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party were coming into prominence in the North, where industrialization was moving ahead at a fast pace.  In the South, there was the impact of the cotton gin on its economic development, and rumbles of secession from the Union . . . the issues of slavery, westward expansion, and abolitionist propaganda having served to draw the North and South further apart.  Finally, at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, the first fateful shot was fired, and the War Between the States began.

World War II thriller--the true life story of the first American aid raids on Japan.  This is the story of Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle the tough and inspiring mastermind of the historic crew of the "Ruptured Duck" commanded by Captain Ted Lawson.  Lawson's daydreams of the bride he left behind are intertwined with the nightmarish terrors of a tense Pacific crossing, thunderous bombings, and the fate of his men on their painful mystic odyssey through mainland China.  The story is from Lawson's diary with all its explosive action and unbridled emotion intact.  Not only is Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo a historical cinematic saga of the war in the Pacific, "but a thoroughly romantic tale" of American patriotism at its best.

Important events are explored and historical figures of each period are presented: 

1. Three Worlds Meet (Origins - 1620) -- Includes human arrival in North Ameria, Native American Life, the Americas, West Africa and Europe on the eve of contact, Age of Exploration, the Columbian exchange and ecological interactions and the Spanish conquests.
2. The Era of Colonization (1585-1763) -- Includes the European settlers, Jamestown settlement, Puritan settlements and society, Quakers in Pennsylvania, the French and Indian War, and much more.
3. Slavery and Freedom -- Explores America's history during the era of slavery and freedom.  Covers the Atlantic World and mercantilism, cultivation and trade of sugar in the new world, indentured servitude and chattel slavery, the Great Awakening, and other related topics.
4. The American Revolution -- Includes the causes of the American Revolution, Patriots and Loyalists, and the Declaration of Independence.
5. A New Nation (1776-1815) -- Includes the Continental Congress, the Articles of Confederation, the Northwest Ordinance, Shay's Rebellion, the Constitutional Convention, and much more.
6. Expansionism -- Includes territorial expansion and the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark expedition, War of 1812, Native American resistance, Tecumseh and the Trail of Tears, Manifest Destiny, Oregon Trail, Mexican-American War and the California Gold Rush.
7. Democracy & Reform -- Includes the ante bellum reform movements, temperance, women's suffrage, and the aboliton movement.
8. Cause of the Civil War -- Includes plantation slavery and the industrial north, the Missouri Compromise, Nat Turner's Rebellion, and the Dred Scott Case.
9. The Civil War -- Includes secession and conlifct, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Battle of Gettysburg.
10. Reconstruction & Segregation (1865 - 1910) -- Includes the assassination of Lincoln, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, and the Compromise of 1877.
11. Industrialization & Urbanization (1870-1910) -- Includes the railroads, the rise of heavy industry and the birth of corporate America, extrative industries, the cattle frontier and the Homestead Act of 1862, immigration and the migration west, the rise of industrial cities, and more.
12. Immigration & Cultural Change -- Includes "old" and "new" immigration, the world of the immigrants, a new working class, the limits of mobility and ethnic diversity, the Chinese Exclusion Act, new forms of leisure and mass entertainment and the American Dream.
13. A Nation in Turmoil -- The Railroad Strike of 1877, the world of capital and the world of labor, women and children in the workplace, the rise of organized labor, strikes and labor strife, the Populist Revolt, the Crash of 1893, and election of 1896.
14. The Progressive Movement -- Includes the roots of progressivism, settlement houses, clash of cultures between the Progressives and immigrants, political reform, New Nationalism vs. New Freedom, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, Socialists and Wobblies, and the suffrage movement.
15. U.S. & the World (1865-1917) -- Includes the conquest of the American West, the Dawes Act, the Spanish-American War, and the Panama Canal.
16. The Great War -- American neutrality and the road to war, the Great Migration, and the Espionage and Sedition Acts.
17. The Roaring Twenties -- Includes the consumer revolution and the rise of advertising, the automobile culture, motion pictures, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Scopes Trial.
18. The Great Depression & the New Deal -- Includes the causes of the Great Depression, the stock market crash, the Dust Bowl, and the birth of the modern welfare state.
19. World War II -- Includes Pearl Harbor, Rosie the River, Japanese- American internment, and the beginnings of the Atomic Age.
20. Post-War U.S.A. -- Includes the Fair Deal, the G. I. Bill the Cold War, the arms race, McCarthyism, and rock and roll.

Explores the settlement and growth of the American West during the 18th and 19th centuries and the impact this growth had on the Native American population.  Episode 1. Westward, the course of empire takes its way. -- Episode 2. The approach of civilization. -- Episode 3. The war for the Black Hills. -- Episode 4. Ghost dance.

Provides teachers and students with invaluable lessons about one of the most divisive periods in our nation's history. 

A look at American civil defense infomercials, plus interviews with historians and former government officials about why they were needed.

This is an educational program designed to explain the basics of insurance and apply them to everyday situations that students can understand.   The How Insurance Works unit provides materials that will help students the basic principles and language of insurance, risk—and, of course, Choice, Chance and Control.  The Social Sciences unit examines insurance by tracing the industry’s development through history and exploring its roles in shaping society through the present.  The Mathematics unit delves into the statistical theories of insurance, teaching students to figure the probabilities behind their own life decisions.  The Consumer Economics unit puts students in direct contact with the insurance world, preparing them with the skills and tools to protect their chosen lifestyles. 

Confronts the truth and controversy behind legendary Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and William Bennet Travis's desperate defense. It examines the impulsive heroics, the fatal miscalculations, and the vain ambitions of three men out to carve their marks on American folklore.

Brief biography of the Dakota chief who urged his followers to change their way of fighting and brought them a glorious victory over Custer. 

Uses original footage, diaries, paintings, photos and commentary to tell the history of the Texas Rangers, legendary tamers of the wild West.

Depicts the life of the Western lawman Wild Bill Hickok.

Traces the lives of three of the American West's most famous women through their letters, diaries, paintings, photos, and commentary by historians.

See firsthand, in this award-winning documentary by famed filmmaker John Ford, the events that led up to and took place during the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor.  Winner of the 1943 Academy Award for Best Documentary, this film masterfully pieces together the various individual acts of heroism and wholesale acts of carnage in a way that both makes sense and captures the intensity of that fateful day.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt has called December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy..."  The treachery of the Japanese attack, the unpreparednesss of America and her armed forces, the magnitude of our losses (several great battleships remain scuttled in Pearl Harbor, a memorial to those who died there), and the resiliency of the American spirit which rose up to meet the challenge.  All that and more is contained in this spellbinding film.

An analysis of the propaganda techniques used by the United States and Japan to win the support of their citizens during World War II. 

World War II thriller--the true life story of the first American aid raids on Japan.  This is the story of Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle the tough and inspiring mastermind of the historic crew of the "Ruptured Duck" commanded by Captain Ted Lawson.  Lawson's daydreams of the bride he left behind are intertwined with the nightmarish terrors of a tense Pacific crossing, thunderous bombings, and the fate of his men on their painful mystic odyssey through mainland China.  The story is from Lawson's diary with all its explosive action and unbridled emotion intact.  Not only is Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo a historical cinematic saga of the war in the Pacific, "but a thoroughly romantic tale" of American patriotism at its best.

The Civil War was the culmination of years of divison and political conflict between the largely agrarian South and the industrialized North.  It was a war that employed the very latest in military technology to wreak death and destruction on the combatants, and was the first major armed confrontation to be recorded in photographs.  With material drawn from the world-famous resources of the Bettmann Archieves, this book graphically portrays the reality of a war that tore apart but ultimately united the American nation.

This is the most complete history of the ancient Maya available on CD-ROM.  Based on original photography and video taken at 40 different archaeological sites, the title covers the history, cultural achievements, and ultimate demise of the ancient Maya people.  This volume covers the ancient Maya civilization of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize, spanning the period from 2000 B.C. to A.D. 1500.

Designed to build and reinforce critical thinking and social skills, this interactive program introduces many important topics and issues in the history of American immigration and encourages group discussion, problem-solving and more.

Everyday lives of thirty families around the world are examined, using photographs, interviews, and video.

Every National Geographic Magazine article, photograph, map and magazine cover from 1888 to 1996.  Consists of 9,048 fascinating articles and 178,567 pages with spectacular photographs.  Has 100 years of classic advertisements.

An atlas presenting political, topographical, and statistical maps, as well as information on national anthems, country flags, world rankings, and city profiles.

Includes hundreds of interactive maps, audio segments of native speakers and music from around the world, video clips of activities on every continent, essays, statistics, and an interactive glossary.

Clues about geography reveal Carmen Sandiego's trail as she roams the world looking for items to steal.