British Struggle For Control, The
Historian and author Bernard Bailyn talks about the increasing difficulty the British government experienced in trying to exert control over North America in the years leading up to Revolutionary War.
Changing Perceptions of Race
Professor of American studies and history Matthew Frye Jacobson explains that perceptions of race vary over time. "What are now called the 'white ethnics,' we see as a just kind of minor distinctions of basic kind of whiteness," Professor Jacobson n...
Chinese Exclusion Act, The
Professor of American studies and history Matthew Frye Jacobson traces the evolution of negative attitudes towards Chinese immigrants in the United States, culminating with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
Choosing The National Capital
Historian Peter Onuf talks about Thomas Jefferson's decision to allow the national capital to be located in Washington D.C. Professor Onuf explains that Jefferson agreed on Washington D.C., because he thought that the power of the federal government...
Working Women in Colonial America
American history professor Alice Kessler-Harris says that, during the period of "proto industrialization," things changed in the North when women became more engaged in what she calls "entrepreneurial activities." In the South, those women who didn'...
Woodrow Wilson, Immigration and Minorities
Professor of history Gary Gerstle explains that Woodrow Wilson's views on immigrants and assimilation were very similar to those of Theodore Roosevelt. But while Roosevelt was very conflicted about minority rights, Wilson was much more set in his ra...
Woodrow Wilson and Women's Suffrage
Professor of history Gary Gerstle talks about Woodrow Wilson's reluctant initial support for women's suffrage. Professor Gerstle explains that it was only when Wilson realized he needed the backing of women during World War I that he, "...really put...
Women at Work
American history professor Alice Kessler-Harris explains that, in the early twentieth century, two-thirds of native-born White women worked exclusively in the home, while African-American women tended to work outside the home in greater numbers.
Women and the Industrial Revolution
American history professor Alice Kessler-Harris explains that the Industrial Revolution brought advantages and disadvantages for women. Professor Kessler-Harris says that with the advent of textile factories, "...industrialization occurs on the back...
Women and Property in Colonial America
American history professor Alice Kessler-Harris says that, as regards property ownership, women during colonial times were in a very vulnerable position when a husband died and, sometimes, even when a father died. "For the most part, in the early co...