resources

Selected Video List

A More Perfect Union: The Three Branches of the Federal Government
3 parts
Producer: Knowledge Unlimited, Incorporated

Explains the complex workings of our federal government. Introduces the basic civics concepts needed to understand how the three branches of government work & interact. The guide contains learning objectives, reproducibles & bibliography.

1812: THE FORGOTTEN WAR
84 minutes, produced 1995
Producer: Little Brick Schoolhouse

An exciting, action re-enactments of the war of 1812 including Musket and cannon battles, Hundreds of red-coated British and blue-jacketed Americans, Tall ships, Dragoons (Cavalry), and Native warriors. Also included are dramatic, informative interviews with over 50 expert re-enactors at 1812 battles and forts.

2004 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES AND CAMPAIGN TV COMMERCIALS
4 parts
Rights: broadcast rights & educational rights
Producer: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE

The first presidential debate occurred on September 30, 2004, at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida. The discussion was moderated by Jim Lehrer, anchor of the PBS news program the NewsHour, and focused on issues concerning Foreign Policy. This debate is available in 6 languages: English, Arabic, Russian, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

The second presidential debate occurred on October 8, 2004 at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. It was a town hall style debate with questions posed by audience members and moderated by Charles Gibson, co-anchor of ABC News' Good Morning America. The questions focused mostly on domestic policy with some discussion of foreign policy. This debate is available in two languages: English and Arabic.

The third presidential debate occurred on October 13, 2004 at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Bob Schieffer, CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent and Moderator of Face the Nation, moderated the discussion, with questions that focused on domestic policy. This debate is available in three languages: English, Arabic and Spanish.

The vice presidential debate occurred on October 5, 2004 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Gwen Ifill, Senior Correspondent of  The NewsHour, and Moderator of Washington Week on PBS, moderated the discussion with questions related to both foreign and domestic policy issues. This debate is available in two languages: English and Arabic.

The content of the commercials varies widely. There will be 20 in total, split evenly between the two candidates, plus at least one example, from each side, of ads produced by 527 groups.

BIOGRAPHY OF AMERICA
26 parts – 30 minutes each, produced 2000
Rights: Worldwide broadcast and educational
Producer: Annenberg/CPB

This is a university level course in American history taught by Donald L. Miller, professor of history at Lafayette College. Supporting Miller is an impressive team of historians who gather to discuss the particular material to be covered. The series is amply illustrated with paintings, still photographs, motion picture footage, maps, and editorial cartoons.

A Death in the Family
90 minutes
Producer: PBS

An adaptation of James Agee's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic about a man's death and its impact on his family. Set in 1915, the film recreates Agee's small, painstakingly-drawn world of domestic happiness and shows how quickly it can be destroyed. Cast includes Annabeth Gish, John Slattery, and James Cromwell. The director is Gil Cates.

Baseball
9 parts, produced 1994
Producer: PBS

Ken Burns' marvelous epic of American history, BASEBALL, unfolds in nine innings, narrated by John Chancellor with the voices of Paul Newman, Jason Robards, and Billy Crystal, spanning 150 years from baseball's beginnings, one degree above mayhem, to America's national pastime. Decades of glory, record-setting achievements, scandals, bigotry, and big money mirror America itself: the passions, prejudices, and ambitions that shaped a nation.

Bill of Rights / Bill of Responsibility
30 minutes, produced 1995
A Cambridge Educational Production

Bill Maher hosts this witty inquiry into the meaning of the Constitution of the United States in our lives today. Beginning with a brief history and overview of the Constitution, and then focusing on the Bill of Rights, this program demonstrates that history is a continuous process that happens every day all around us. Maher leads a fast-paced journey through the Constitution, considering current implications of the First Amendment (religion, speech, press, assembly), Second Amendment (right to bear arms), Fourth Amendment (search and seizure), Fifth Amendment (due process), and more. Maher’s perspective is unique and contemporary—he manages to make connections between the First Amendment and the Chicago Bulls, between Prohibition and Melrose Place, and between the right to bear arms and Sylvester Stallone. A variety of archival footage is used throughout to provide historical context and familiar contemporary references.

Chariots of Fire
produced 1981
Producer: Warner Home Video, Incorporated

The true story of two British runners, coming from very different backgrounds, competing against heavy odds in the 1924 Olympics. Ben Cross (Abrahams) is a Jew, Ian Charleson (Liddell) an Evangelical Christian - both find their motivation & will tested as they train for the Paris event.

Civil War
9 parts, produced 1989
Producer: PBS

Hailed as a film masterpiece and landmark in historical storytelling, Ken Burn’s epic documentary brings to life America's most destructive and defining conflict: the American Civil War. This 9-part series presents a comprehensive account of the war—from battlefields to the home fronts, from the politicians and generals to the enlisted men and their families, from the causes of the war and the opening guns at Fort Sumter to the stillness at Appomattox and Lincoln's assassination and beyond.

The Civil War Episode 1 - The Cause 1861
The Civil War Episode 2 - A Very Bloody Affair 1862
The Civil War Episode 3 - Forever Free 1862
The Civil War Episode 4- Simply Murder 1863
The Civil War Episode 5 - The Universe of Battle 1863
The Civil War Episode 6 - Valley of The Shadow of Death 1864
The Civil War Episode 7 - Most Hallowed Ground 1864
The Civil War Episode 8 - War is All Hell 1865
The Civil War Episode 9 - The Better Angels of Our Nature 1865

DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA
15 parts – 30 minutes each, produced 2003
Rights: Worldwide broadcast and educational
Producer: Annenberg/CPB

The series shows democracy in action. It provides audience with current, tangible examples of American democracy as it is debated, contested, and lived in America.

1. Citizenship: Making Government Work
2. The Constitution: Fixed or Flexible?
3. Federalism: U.S. v. the States
4. Civil Liberties: Safeguarding the Individual
5. Civil Rights: Demanding Equality
6. Legislatures: Laying Down the Law
7. The Modern Presidency: Tools of Power
8. Bureaucracy: A Controversial Necessity
9. The Courts: Our Rule of Law
10. The Media: Inside Story
11. Public Opinion: Voice of the People
12. Political Parties: Mobilizing Agents
13. Elections: The Maintenance of Democracy
14. Interest Groups: Organizing To Influence
15. Global Politics: U.S.A. and the World

EYES ON THE PRIZE
6 parts, produced 1987
Producer: Blackside Inc

EYES ON THE PRIZE is an award-winning series produced by Blackside Inc. and narrated by Julian Bond. Through contemporary interviews and historical footage, the series covers all of the major events of the civil rights movement from 1954-1985.

Series topics range from the Montgomery bus boycott in 1954 to the Voting Rights Act in 1965; from community power in schools to "Black Power" in the streets; from early acts of individual courage through to the flowering of a mass movement and its eventual split into factions.

When Eyes on the Prize premiered in 1987, The New York Times called it "the most ambitious documentary undertaken by black filmmakers, and one of the largest television series ever undertaken by a black-owned company." The series went on to win six Emmys and numerous other awards, including an Academy Award nomination, the George Foster Peabody Award, and the top duPont-Columbia award for excellence in broadcast journalism.

FRONTLINE: INSIDE THE TERRORIST NETWORK
55 minutes, produced 2002
Rights: Educational
Producer: WGBH Frontline

This documentary explores the factors that motivated those men who carried out the attacks on America on September 11. It traces their movements across four continents, follows clues they left behind, and links their direct connection to bin Laden’s terror network. How could these conspirators have plotted for years and gone basically undetected? Former New York Times Washington Bureau Chief, Hedrick Smith, connects the dots through interviews with their friends, teachers, classmates, and acquaintances. In a documentary/dramatic fashion we experience their final hours, and their final minutes. Hedrick Smith’s closing words capture the underlying tone of this documentary: “The enduring shock of September 11 is that we did not understand the world we live in ... understand that young men with bright futures would burn with such hatred, that they would die to destroy us. They succeeded by commitment and cunning, we failed of complacency and poor imagination. They caught us by surprise because we did not dream that this could happen here. Part of what lies buried beneath the ashes at Ground Zero are America’s delusions.”

FRONTLINE: TRAIL OF A TERRORIST
55 minutes, produced 2002
Rights: Educational, broadcast Pakistan
Producer: WGBH Frontline

On Dec. 14, 1999, a 32-year-old Algerian named Ahmed Ressam was detained at the U.S./Canadian border when an alert customs agent became suspicious of Ressam's hesitant answers to her questions. When the trunk of his car was opened, agents discovered a powerful bomb and a plot for a millennium attack on America. Ressam said nothing at his trial but, facing 130 years in prison, decided to testify against an accomplice. His chilling testimony reveals his motives, his methods, and his connection to an Algerian terrorist group that had already carried out bombings in Europe. Ressam described his training at the Osama bin Laden camps in Afghanistan, where he became skilled in urban warfare, sabotage, and covert operations.

JAZZ
10 parts, produced 2000
Producer: PBS

A documentary history of jazz from its origins in the city of New Orleans during the 1890s within the African-American community through the 1990's.

Episode 1 - GUMBO
Episode 2 - THE GIFT
Episode 3 - OUR LANGUAGE
Episode 4 - THE TRUE WELCOME
Episode 5 - SWING: PURE PLEASURE
Episode 6 - SWING: THE VELOCITY OF CELEBRATION
Episode 7 - DEDICATED TO CHAOS
Episode 8 - RISK
Episode 9 - THE ADVENTURE
Episode 10- A MASTERPIECE BY MIDNIGHT

Jubilee Singers
60 minutes, produced 2000
Producer: PBS

In the chaotic decade following the Civil War, a group of young ex-slaves in Nashville, Tennessee, set out on a mission to save their financially troubled school by giving concerts. Traveling first through cities in the North, then on to venues across Europe, the Jubilee Singers introduced audiences to the power of spirituals, the religious anthems of slavery. Driven to physical collapse and even death, the singers proved more successful -- and more inspirational -- than anyone could have imagined. A portrait of faith, music, and sacrifice. Produced by Llewellyn Smith. Dion Graham narrates.

MASTERS OF TECHNOLOGY
Five 30-minute programs, produced 2004
Rights: Educational
Producer: WGBH

Each program in this five part series is a one-on-one conversation with an exceptional man or woman who has made a significant impact on technology. The series provides viewers with a richer understanding of the cutting edge technologies that are propelling the world economy. One leading innovator and technologist has been chosen from each of five categories: Space Technology, Internet Technology, Bio-Medical Technology, Environmental Technology and Aeronautical Technology.

National Geographic - Inside the White House
60 minutes, produced 1996
Producer: National Geographic

Step inside the imposing gates of the White House for a revealing visit to the most famous, yet mysterious building in America. Discover the human side of this legendary house in candid interviews with Presidents and First Ladies, and peek inside the families' rarely-seen private living quarters. Follow along as a small army of employees whirls behind the scenes in a frenzy of activity surrounding a major state dinner.

One Arctic summer
26 minutes, produced 1993
Producer: Trailwood Films

A close up look at wildlife along the north coast of Alaska during one summer.

Riding the rails
72 minutes, produced 1997
Producer: WGBH Boston Video

Tells the story of the 250,000 teenagers who left their homes and hopped freight trains during the Great Depression.

Speaking up: Ending Domestic Violence in Our Communities
27 minutes, produced 1998
Producer: Family Violence Prevention Fund

Gives help in understanding domestic violence and provides simple steps you can take to stop it. Uses dramatizations and discussion from experts and survivors of abuse.

THE CASE AGAINST SADDAM
60 minutes, produced 2005
Rights: Educational
Producer: Towers Production, Inc.

THE CASE AGAINST SADDAM begins with an exclusive trip to the Iraqi desert town of Al- Hatra, where the bodies of women and children are being unearthed and sent to a nearby makeshift morgue to be analyzed and ultimately used as forensic evidence in the trial.From the disturbing mass grave in Al-Hatra to the remote villages of Kurdistan, THE CASE AGAINST SADDAM showcases the massive amounts of forensic evidence and the powerful personal interviews Kehoe and his team conduct with eyewitnesses they found who survived gas bombings and armed attacks.

The Era of Segregation: A personal Perspective
32 minutes, produced 1993
Producer: Knowledge Unlimited

A history of the pre-integration southern United States during the 1940s and 50s. Includes interviews with Clifton L. Taulbert, the author of "Once upon a time when we were colored." Provides historical photographs and footage. Shows a community that faced adversity and held together with dignity and grace.

The Golden Door
13 minutes, produced 1972
Producer: Hearst Metrotone News

Rare still photographs and historic motion pictures are blended with contemporary scenes of the Immigration Station of Ellis Island, N.Y., to describe immigration in America, and to show the influence it had on the development of the nation.

The Heidi Chronicles
94 minutes, produced 1995
Producer: Turner Home Entertainment

Tale of four characters told against the background of the United States in the '60's, '70's, and '80's.

The Korean War
4 parts, produced 1999
Producer: History Channel

Explores the origins, conduct, military strategies and political implications of this pivotal Cold War struggle. Presents rare archival film footage, combined with interviews of American veterans of the Korean War.

v.1 Making of a bloodbath
v.2 Triumph to tragedy
v.3 Retreat from hell
v.4 Bitter standoff

The Mayflower Pilgrims
43 minutes, produced 1995
Producer: Janson Associates

An animated history of the Pilgrims.

The Negro soldier
49 minutes, produced 1985
Producer:Spotlite Video

Traces the role of the Negro soldier in American history from 1776 to 1944, and shows the accomplishments of Negro troops.

The Speeches Collection
21 parts, produced 1997
Producer: MPI Home Video

*[v. 1] Franklin D. Roosevelt (45 min.)
[v. 2] Winston Churchill (30 min.)
*[v. 3] Dwight D. Eisenhower (60 min.)
*[v. 4] John F. Kennedy (60 min.)
[v. 5] Adolf Hitler (50 min.)
*[v. 6] Harry S. Truman (55 min.)
*[v. 7] General Douglas MacArthur (55 min.)
*[v. 8] Richard M. Nixon (55 min.)
*[v. 9] Robert F. Kennedy (55 min.)
[v. 10] Martin Luther King, Jr (60 min.)
*[v. 11] Abraham Lincoln (45 min.)
[v. 12] Nelson Mandela (70 min.)
*[v. 13] Ronald Reagan (69 min.)
*[v. 14] Jimmy Carter (55 min.)
*[v. 15] Lyndon B. Johnson (57 min.)
*[v. 16] Gerald Ford (55 min.)
*[v. 17] Famous Women (56 min.)
[v. 18] Founding Fathers & the American Revolution (40 min.)
[v. 19] The Civil War (37 min.)
[v. 20] Malcom X (41 min.)
[v. 21] Sitting Bull (35 min.)

*---IRC Beijing have these titles

This collection includes the most powerful, inspirational words of some of the most famous orators in history. Each volume contains historical footage, photographs, and the best-known speeches of the past century. Perfect for the classroom or for the history buff. Includes the following: John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan. 4 hours.

The torch has been passed : a history of the early '60s
21 minutes, produced 1994
Producer: Knowledge Unlimited

Describes how after a decade of prosperity and power in the United States Anericans seemed to have a tremendous sense of confidence in their ability to use that power wisely. "The Torch Has Been Passed"- attempts to capture that buoyant mood and explain how it began to disappear after 1963.

The Winds of time: the story of the Anasazi culture
58 minutes, produced 1995
Producer: University of Utah Press

The canyons of southern Utah and the Four Corners region echo with the history of the ancient Anasazi people. Walk through the legendary Anasazi's scattered and magical ruins at Hovenweep, Mesa Verde, and Chaco Canyon with a combination of live action sequences and historic photographs.

Toni Morrison
52 minutes, produced 1987
Producer: Home Vision

Toni Morrison discusses slavery and its legacy and the difficulties of writing about the painful subjects that occur in her novel Beloved.

U.S. immigrants: a multicultural journey
21 minutes, produced 1998
Producer: TMW Media Group

This video takes an historical look at immigration into the United States over the millennia, noting that everyone in America immigrated from another part of the world at some point in time — even the native peoples. It looks at the emotinal and economical forces that brought people to the U.S. and speculates on the future immigration.

THE UNITED STATES HISTORY VIDEO COLLECTION
26 parts, produced 2003
Producer: Schlessinger Media

Thoroughly researched and meticulously crafted, this series presents important events, historical figures, dates, documents and facts from the earliest Native Americans to the Cold War years following World War II. An extensive collection of archival photographs, artifacts, historical re-enactments and interviews with historians provides students with vivid images, while dramatic readings bring to life the voices of the nation's leaders and citizens. This compelling and entertaining series not only covers standard historical information but also presents the perspectives and contributions of women and children, African Americans, Native Americans and others, so that the viewer truly understands what these times were like for all Americans. Each program is created to supplement textbooks for the entire American history curriculum. These programs directly correlate with the highly respected, best-selling history textbook from Prentice Hall, The American Nation. Copyright 1996-2001.

Volume 1 - THREE WORLDS MEET (Origins - 1620)
Volume 2 - THE ERA OF COLONIZATION (1585-1763)
Volume 3 - SLAVERY AND FREEDOM
Volume 4 - THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Volume 5 - A NEW NATION (1776-1815)
Volume 6 - EXPANSIONISM
Volume 7 - DEMOCRACY & REFORM
Volume 8 - CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR
Volume 9 - THE CIVIL WAR
Volume 10 - RECONSTRUCTION & SEGREGATION (1865-1910)
Volume 11 - INDUSTRIALIZATION & URBANIZATION (1870-1910)
Volume 12 - IMMIGRATION & CULTURAL CHANGE
Volume 13 - A NATION IN TURMOIL
Volume 14 - THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT
Volume 15 - U.S. & THE WORLD (1865-1917)
Volume 16 - THE GREAT WAR
Volume 17 - THE ROARING TWENTIES
Volume 18 - THE GREAT DEPRESSION & THE NEW DEAL
Volume 19 - WORLD WAR II
Volume 20 - POST-WAR U.S.A.

Voices & visions
13 parts, produced 1988
Producer: New York Center for Visual History

The lives and works of 13 renowned American poets are interpreted through dramatic readings, archival photographs, dance, performances, and interviews in this inspiring series. Illustrative poems in each program are accompanied by insights into their historical and cultural connections. The series covers the terminology of poetry and the larger role of poets in American and world literature studies. Poets include Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Elizabeth Bishop.

1. Elizabeth Bishop
From childhood in Nova Scotia to travels in Brazil, this program illustrates the geographic spirit of Bishop's life and works with scenes from her poems.

2. Hart Crane
Diverse locations and dramatizations of his life illustrate Crane's poetry and his greatest work, "The Bridge."

3. Emily Dickinson
Dramatic scenarios and New England landscapes illuminate the passionate genius of Dickinson, whose poems represent a broad range of imaginative experience.

4. T. S. Eliot
Eliot's life, influence, and poetry from the bold originality of "Prufrock" to the probing, meditative style of "Four Quartets" are explored with photos, archival footage, and discussion with friends, critics, and scholars.

5. Robert Frost
Frost's image as elder statesman is vividly contrasted with his vigorous, poetic exploration of the darker forces of nature and the human condition. Readings and interviews with the poet reveal compelling insights into his work.

6. Langston Hughes
Hughes wrote of the beauty, dignity, and heritage of blacks in America. Interviews, music, and dance performances convey his work and influence, discussed by James Baldwin and biographer Arnold Rampersad.

7. Robert Lowell
Lowell's political passion encompasses much of his greatest poetry. Lowell himself reads from his work. Elizabeth Hardwick, Robert Hass, and others discuss his development and style as illustrated by "Lord Weary's Castle" and "Life Studies."

8. Marianne Moore
Funny, formidable, and paradoxical, the poet and her work are analyzed by critics and friends, including Monroe Wheeler, Grace Shulman, and Patricia Willis. Her most memorable poems display her power of observation and moral force.

9. Sylvia Plath
The creative intensity with which Plath confronted her experiences as daughter, wife, mother, and writer is explored in documentary and archival footage intercut with visualizations of her work.

10. Ezra Pound
The most controversial of American poets — artistic catalyst, legendary confidant, and author of brilliant cantos — Ezra Pound and his poetry and role in the modernist movement are explored by friends and critics.

11. Wallace Stevens
Stevens's flamboyant verbal technique and philosophical vision of American life are beautifully illustrated by archival footage.

12. Walt Whitman
Brilliant readings of Whitman's poems demonstrate his American vision and style and vividly convey their poignance and sheer power. Whitman's sources, including Emerson, the King James Bible, opera, and political oratory, are revealed.

13. William Carlos Williams
"No ideas but in things," Williams's aesthetic dictum sought to capture, not analyze. A collage of documentary footage, interviews, animation, and dramatization capture the poet's often visual work and intense life.

"We shall overcome" a history of the civil rights movement
20 minutes, produced 1989
producer: Knowledge Unlimited

A brief history of the civil rights movement, geared toward young viewers, from slavery and reconstruction to "Jim Crow" laws and the marches of the '50s and '60s.

Women first & foremost
3 parts, produced 1996
producer: Monterey Home Video

From the first published American author, to the pilots who flew during WWII, there lies an underlying pride that has allowed generations of women to achieve their deserved place at the forefront of history.

Includes:
Vol. 1 – “Remember the Ladies”
Imagine trying to become the first woman doctor, or being a slave woman who helped lead over three hundred others to freedom, or daring simply to write of an equality and a freedom that seemed so natural and yet was left out of the Declaration of Independence.

Vol. 2 – “Touching the Clouds with Pen and Plane”
Robert Shurtleff fought with the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment during the American Revolution, suffering at least two wounds in battle. While this is hardly worth noting in our history books, what is worth noting is that Robert Shurtleff was a woman…a courageous young woman named Deborah Gannett who fought bravely disguised as a man.

Vol. 3 – “A Lady in the Spotlight”
Whether it is the first female film director, a leading Broadway lyricist, the first woman network co-anchor, or so many shining stars, we find example after example of women who fought the odds toward achievement and in doing so left a forever mark on the cultural development of society.