Webinar Archive
American Controversies, 2022-2023
- Is the Constitution a pro- or anti-slavery document?
- Was the passage of the 14th amendment a new Founding?
- To what extent does the U.S. Constitution permit state officials to question the legitimacy of federal laws and take actions that defy these laws?
- Is the Constitution a “living” document?
- Did the “Roaring Twenties” cause the Great Depression?
- Did the New Deal and the Great Society fulfill the goals of the Progressive Era?
- Do American ideals require American intervention abroad?
- Did modern government destroy the separation of powers?
- What are the limits of executive power?
Documents in Detail, 2022-2023
- Political Parties: Plunkitt of Tammany Hall
- Political Parties: Progressive Party Platform of 1912
- American Foreign Policy: Pacificus-Helvidius Debates
- American Foreign Policy: Henry Clay’s Market Speech
- American Foreign Policy: Against American Imperialism
- Abraham Lincoln: Peoria Address
- Abraham Lincoln: Fragment on the Constitution and Union
- The Judiciary: Abraham Lincoln’s Speech on the Dred Scott Decision
- The Judiciary: Beyond Originalism
Documents in Detail, 2021-2022
- American Revolution: List of Prints to Illustrate British Cruelty
- Westward Expansion: March of the Flag
- Causes of the Civil War: Speech on Repeal of the Missouri Compromise
- Gender & Equality: Equality of the Sexes
- Free Speech: Texas v. Johnson
- Reconstruction: The United States Cannot Remain Half-Slave and Half-Free
- World War II: The Four Freedoms
- The Cold War: Truman’s Farewell Address
- Slavery & Its Consequences: Report on the Negro Family
- Congress: The Revolt of 1910
The American Presidency, Fall 2021
- The Executive Power Defined
- Powers in Conflict and Concert: The President and Congress
- Presidential War, Emergency, and Foreign Policy Powers
- Precedent and Process: The United States Supreme Court and the President
- The Modern Presidency
Remember the Ladies, Spring 2021
Documents in Detail, 2020-21
- Brutus 2
- James Madison’s Speech on the Proposed Amendments to the Constitution
- “Property,” James Madison
- Thomas Jefferson’s Letters to John Holmes and Henry Lee
- Fort Hill Address, John C. Calhoun
- Veto Message of the Bill on the Bank of the United States, Andrew Jackson
- “Cornerstone” Speech, Alexander Stephens
- Final Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln
- Resolution Submitting the Thirteenth Amendment to the States, Abraham Lincoln
- Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass
Enduring American Questions, Fall 2020
- Was the American Revolution really a revolution?
- Why are Both the Constitution and Bill of Rights Essential?
- Did Slavery Cause the Civil War?
- How Did the Progressives Differ from the Founders?
- Did the New Deal End the Great Depression?
Documents in Detail, 2019-20
- Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
- Federalist 1
- Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address
- The Webster-Hayne Debates
- John C. Calhoun’s Speech on the Oregon Bill
- Abraham Lincoln’s Fragment on the Constitution and Union
- Plessy v. Ferguson
- 1912 Progressive Party Platform
- Speech on the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
- Herbert Hoover’s Speech on the New Deal
Spring 2020: Special Webinars
- Reform and the Pulpit: The Post-WW2 Civil Rights Movement and the American Church
- Reform and the Pulpit: Abolition and the American Church
- What Can We Learn from the Election of 1980?
- What Can We Learn from the Election of 1860?
- What Can We Learn from the Election of 1800?
- D-Day+76 Years and the Liberation of Europe
- Heroes of American Medicine: Clara Barton and Jonas Salk
- Heroes of American Business: Henry Ford and Madam CJ Walker
- American War Heroes: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert Gould Shaw
- Heroes of the American Founding: Abigail and John Adams
- The Power of the Pulpit in Times of Crisis – From the American Revolution to the Coronavirus
- The American Family in Times of Crisis – Education, Healthcare, and the Trade-offs of Coming Home
- Fire in a Crowded Theater – Civil Liberties in Times of Emergency
- Bad Medicine? – The Effects of Economic Emergencies on Liberty, Democracy, and Prosperity
- Presidential Leadership in Times of Crisis
- The Flu Epidemic of 1918
American Minds, 2019-20
- Jonathan Edwards
7 AUG 19 - Benjamin Franklin
7 SEP 19 - Alexander Hamilton
5 OCT 19 - Henry Clay
2 NOV 19 - Harriet Beecher Stowe
7 DEC 19 - Frederick Douglass
11 JAN 20 - William Jennings Bryan
1 FEB 20 - Jane Addams
7 MAR 20 - Douglas MacArthur
4 APR 20 - Ralph Ellison
2 May 20
Documents in Detail, 2018-19
- Memorial and Remonstrance, James Madison
29 August 2018 - Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, James Madison
19 September 2018 - Brutus I
24 October 2018 - Bill of Rights
14 November 2018 - Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to Roger Weightman
19 December 2018 - Speech on the Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, Abraham Lincoln
23 January 2019 - Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, Theodore Roosevelt
20 February 2019 - “Fourteen Points” Message, Woodrow Wilson
20 March 2019 - 1944 State of the Union Address, Franklin D. Roosevelt
24 April 2019 - “Great Society” Speech, Lyndon Johnson
15 May 2019
Great American Debates, 2018-19
- Patriots vs. Loyalists
18 August 2018 - Federalists vs. Antifederalists
8 September 2018 - Hamilton vs. Jefferson
13 October 2018 - Frederick Douglass vs. William Lloyd Garrison
10 November 2018 - Abraham Lincoln vs. Stephen A. Douglas
1 December 2018 - Secessionists vs. Unionists
12 January 2019 - Imperialists vs. Non-Interventionists
2 February 2019 - Election of 1932: FDR vs. Hoover
2 March 2019 - MLK vs. Malcolm X
6 April 2019 - The Great Society vs. Modern Conservatism
11 May 2019
Documents in Detail, 2017-18
- Declaration of Independence
30 August 2017 - James Madison: Federalist 51
20 September 2017 - James Monroe: Monroe Doctrine
18 October 2017 - Frederick Douglass: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
15 November 2017 - Abraham Lincoln: Gettysburg Address
13 December 2017 - Theodore Roosevelt: New Nationalism Speech
24 January 2018 - Franklin D. Roosevelt: Commonwealth Club Address
21 February 2018 - George Kennan: The Long Telegram
21 March 2018 - Martin Luther King, Jr.’: “I Have a Dream” Speech
18 April 2018 - Ronald Reagan: A Time for Choosing
16 May 2018
Moments of Crisis, 2017-18
- Intolerable Acts
26 August 2017 - Election of 1800
9 September 2017 - Nullification Crisis
7 October 2017 - Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
18 November 2017 - Sinking of the USS Maine
2 December 2017 - Attack on Pearl Harbor
6 January 2018 - Cuban Missile Crisis
3 February 2018 - Bloody Sunday in Selma
3 March 2018 - Watergate
7 April 2018 - Iran Hostage Crisis
12 May 2018
Documents in Detail, Spring 2017
- Abraham Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address
25 January 2017 - Martin Luther King, Jr.: Letter from Birmingham City Jail
15 February 2017 - James Madison: Federalist 10
22 March 2017 - Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Address Delivered at Seneca Falls
19 April 2017 - George Washington: Farewell Address
17 May 2017
Landmark Supreme Court Cases, 2016-17
- Marbury v. Madison
27 August 2016 - McCulloch v. Maryland
10 September 16 - Dred Scott v. Sandford
15 October 16 - Brown v. Board of Education (with mention of Plessy for context)
19 November 2016 - Gideon v. Wainwright
10 December 2016 - Miranda v. Arizona
7 January 2017 - Tinker v. Des Moines
4 February 2017 - Roe v. Wade
11 March 2017 - Regents of the University of CA v. Bakke
8 April 2017 - New Jersey v. T.L.O.
13 May 2017
American Presidents, 2015-16
- George Washington: Father of the Country
August 29th, 2015 - James Madison: Statesman for Union and Constitutional Government
September 19th, 2015 - Andrew Jackson: Democracy and a Country Expanded
October 10th, 2015 - James K. Polk: “Young Hickory” and Manifest Destiny
November 7, 2015 - Richard Nixon: Challenges Abroad; Controversy and Scandal at Home
December 1, 2015 - Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator – recording not available
December 12th, 2015 - Theodore Roosevelt: At the Dawn of a New Era
January 9th, 2016 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Through Depression and War
February 13th, 2016 - Dwight Eisenhower: Change at Home and Challenge Abroad
March 5th, 2016 - Lyndon Johnson: The Great Society and Vietnam
April 9th, 2016 - Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator
May 7th, 2016
American Controversies, 2014-15
- Is the Modern Presidency Constitutional?
May 9, 2015 - Are Congress and the Courts Too Strong or Too Weak?
April 11, 2015 - Do American Principles Require American Interventionism?
March 14, 2015 - Has the “Day of Enlightened Administration” Come?
February 21, 2015 - Has America Progressed Beyond its Founding Principles?
January 24, 2015 - Did Lincoln Violate the Constitution?
December 13, 2014 - Is there a Constitutional Right to Nullification and Secession?
November 15, 2014 - Was the Constitution Pro-Slavery or Anti-Slavery?
October 25, 2014 - Did the Founders Misunderstand Democracy?
September 27, 2014 - Did the Founders Misunderstand Equality?
August 30, 2014