Thomas Jefferson, founding father of the United States and primary author of the Declaration of Independence, was part of America's fight for freedom and equality. But in his personal life, he held over 600 people in slavery. Are his...

Ray Suarez speaks with three historians, Richard Brookhiser, Ron Chernow and Jan Lewis, about what the founding fathers might have thought of America today.

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...

Uprisings of enslaved people in the United States were not uncommon, and they had a big influence on how the institution of slavery evolved. One uprising that gets less attention, historically, is the German Coast Uprising that took...

Born in 1731 to freed slaves on a farm in Baltimore, Benjamin Banneker was obsessed with math and science. And his appetite for knowledge only grew as he taught himself astronomy, mathematics, engineering, and the study of the natural...

Sloths spend most of their time eating, resting, or sleeping; in fact, they descend from their treetops canopies just once a week, for a bathroom break. How are these creatures so low energy? Kenny Coogan describes the physical and...

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....

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...

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...

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...

Today, Craig Benzine is going to tell you about the Supreme Court's most important case, Marbury v. Madison, and how the court granted itself the power of judicial review. Judicial review is the power to examine and invalidate actions...

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...

The American and French Revolutions change the power dynamics of the world. Part 2 of our educational timeline of History's Greatest Revolutions.

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...

Ron Rice reflects on the profound impact of a college professor, Russell F. Weigley, during his sophomore year at Temple University. As an English Literature and History major, Ron encountered Weigley, a distinguished historian known for...

Ron Rice reflects on the profound impact of a college professor, Russell F. Weigley, during his sophomore year at Temple University. As an English Literature and History major, Ron encountered Weigley, a distinguished historian known for...

Throughout American history people of the African Diaspora have been called so many things...all the things...but what does it truly mean, and how does it impact or affect the way we see ourselves.

MOUNT RUSHMORE MOUNT RUSHMORE IN SOUTH DAKOTA IS ONE OF THE UNITED STATES' MOST FAMOUS MOUNTAINS, AND TO MANY IT S THE COUNTRY S MOST PRECIOUS. CARVED INTO THE ROCK ARE THE FACES OF FOUR U.S. PRESIDENTS: GEORGE WASHINGTON, THOMAS...

Learn about Jefferson Davis, the politician who became the controversial President of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.

Learn about the ambitious and creative sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, and his son Lincoln, who managed the creation of the Mount Rushmore statues.

This video outlines the negotiations behind the Louisiana Purchase, focusing on James Monroe and Robert Livingston's efforts in Paris. It explains their surprise at Napoleon Bonaparte's offer to sell the entire Louisiana Territory for...

This video explores the events leading up to the Louisiana Purchase and President Thomas Jefferson's concerns about New Orleans in the early 1800s. It covers Jefferson's efforts to secure access to the Mississippi River for American...

If you grew up in the United States, you probably learned the United States Customary System (USCS) for weights and measures. USCS terms like inches, feet, pounds, and miles are derived from the British Imperial System, steeped in a...

Delve into the history and mechanics of the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, focusing on its pivotal role in shaping the presidential election process through the establishment of the Electoral College. Explore how the...