Martha S. Jones on Black Women & the Suffrage Movement
Historian Martha S. Jones will discuss her recent book: "Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All," which tells the history of Black women activists that is too-frequently left out of accounts of the struggles for racial and gender equality in the U.S. Jones writes about trailblazing activists like Maria Stewart, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and Fannie...
Contributor:
Haskell, John - Jones, Martha S.
Date:2021-02-23
Film, Video
A History of African American Political Thought
Melvin Rogers and Jack Turner, co-editors of the new book, "African American Political Thought: A Collected History," discuss their book, which brings together contemporary scholars to reflect on the contributions of important figures in the tradition of African American political thought, providing an unprecedented philosophical history of thinkers from the African American community and the African diaspora.
Contributor:
Turner, Jack - Rogers, Melvin
Date:2021-02-22
Film, Video
Giants of Racial Justice: Malcolm X & Martin Luther King Jr.
In an event celebrating African American History Month, Peniel E. Joseph ("The Sword and the Shield") and Tamara Payne ("The Dead Are Arising") will discuss their books on Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. with NPR television critic Eric Deggans.
Contributor:
Payne, Tamara - Deggans, Eric - Joseph, Peniel E.
Date:2021-02-18
Film, Video
History of American Isolationism with Charles Kupchan
A discussion of the evolution of U.S. statecraft with Charles Kupchan, author of a new book, "Isolationism: A History of America's Effort to Shield Itself from the World." In the book, Kupchan traces isolationism across the full arc of U.S. history, from the founding era through the present. He explores the ideological sources of America's aversion to foreign entanglement, how and why that aversion...
Presidential Pets: Rebecca the Raccoon
Mississippi supporters of Calvin Coolidge sent him a live raccoon for Thanksgiving dinner in 1926. Instead, first lady Grace Coolidge named it Rebecca and made it a family pet. Rebecca ran loose in the White House and escaped several times. She was a hit with the press and young children. Library historian Margaret McAleer tells the story.
Contributor:
McAleer, Margaret
Date:2021-01-21
Film, Video
Presidential Pets
Presidential pets have included horses, cats, cows, dogs, raccoons, birds and a goat. A short look at the (mostly) four-legged occupants of the White House.
Date:2021-01-21
Film, Video
Presidential Pets: Pauline the Cow
Pauline Wayne III was President William Howard Taft's celebrity cow. She grazed on the White House grounds. But en route to a guest appearance at a dairy show in Wisconsin, she went missing, setting off a comic turn of events. Library historian Margaret McAleer tells this charming tale.
Contributor:
McAleer, Margaret
Date:2021-01-21
Film, Video
Conversation with Reggie Harris
Reggie Harris is a singer, songwriter and storyteller on a mission to educate, entertain and inspire. For more than 40 years, he has captivated audiences to standing ovations in the U.S., Canada and across Europe as half of the duo Kim and Reggie Harris. Though Kim has curtailed her performance career, Reggie continues to criss-cross the country, carrying a message of joy, unity, tolerance...
Contributor:
Harris, Reggie - Winick, Stephen
Date:2021-01-21
Film, Video
Presidential Inauguration Date Change
For 144 years, the U.S. President was inaugurated in the spring. But after the election of 1933, Congress changed the date in the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, moving the date up to Jan. 20. Library of Congress historian Michelle Krowl explains why.
Contributor:
Krowl, Michelle
Date:2021-01-20
Film, Video
The Presidential Oath of Office
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden uses George Washington's autographed 1789 book that includes the Constitution to show the original wording of the incoming president's oath of office, and how Joe Biden will utter the same phrase 232 years later.
Contributor:
Hayden, Carla D.
Date:2021-01-20
Film, Video
Washington's First Inaugural Address, 1789
In 1789, the nation's first inauguration featured a surprise -- George Washington made a speech after taking the oath of office, although no one was expecting it. The inaugural address became an instant tradition. Julie Miller, the Library's early American historian, explains how Washington made history and precedent.