Lectures in History

When Kentucky in 1792 became a state, it had a choice; keep slavery or abolish it. University of Kentucky professor Melanie Goan teaches a class on the state's relationship with the institution of slavery until the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

William & Mary Bray School Lab director Maureen Elgersman Lee discusses the history of the 18th-century Williamsburg Bray School for Black children and the legacies of the 300 to 400 scholars it enrolled. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the rhetoric of the 1992 Republican National Convention, focusing on speeches by Ronald Reagan and Pat Buchanan. Discover how Buchanan's divisive language framed cultural wars and morality. Contrast this with Reagan's hopeful and inclusive vision for unity. The discussion highlights ethical tests for political speech and the importance of civic debate in an era of polarization. Insights into political communication emphasize the role of informed citizenship in shaping democracy.

Sir Richard J. Evans has been writing about Germany and Adolf Hitler for his entire professional life. He was knighted in Britain in 2012 for his service to scholarship. From 2003-2008, Professor Evans published a trilogy of the Third Reich with a total of over 2,500 pages. His latest book is titled "Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich." In his preface, Sir Richard, a former professor at Cambridge University writes: "The individuals who stand at the center of this book range from the top to the bottom, from Hitler all the way down to the lowest of the Nazi party." There are 22 chapters. Learn more about your ad choices.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor James Broussard taught a class on the lead-up to the American Revolution. He described actions by the British government, such as the Stamp Act and stationing British troops in Boston, that American colonists began to view as an overreach of power Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Utah Professor Eric Hinderaker taught a class about western settlement before, during and after the American Revolution. Using the Kentucky territory as an example, he described the conflicts and relationships between the new federal government, settlers and Native Americans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Law professor and author Joyce Lee Malcolm discussed Benedict Arnold's triumphs as an American army general in the Revolutionary War and questioned whether his legacy as a notorious American traitor is entirely accurate. Professor Malcolm is the author of, The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold: An American Life. This one hour talk was hosted by the University of Mary Washington as part of their Great Lives Lecture Series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian Garrett Graff discusses his oral history of the development, testing and deployment of the atomic bomb in August 1945. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gene Allen Smith, a Texas Christian University history professor, taught a class about George Washington's character. He examined how the first president interacted with his contemporaries, how he viewed himself, and how he is remembered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ithaca College professor Michael Trotti discussed the escalating tensions between colonists and the British government before the American Revolution. Ithaca College is located in New York. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices