Watergate

President Nixon's resignation letter is not so famous for what it says but rather for what it doesn't say.

Use the document analysis to draw conclusions about what the President was hiding.

What does Nixon's signature tell us a lot about the kind of man he was?  Use Graphology to find out.

Want to analyze your own signature?

How did Watergate change America's view of the Presidency?

Did Nixon ever admit guilt and apologize?

Alice's Restaurant

Arlo Guthrie, like his father before him, had a wonderful gift for spinning a fable that was just close enough to the human experience that it would be familiar. Our anti-hero moves from jail to the Army selection board to a gentle liberation by being cast out because he was the sane person in an insane world.

 What is this song really about?

 How did the music of the 1960's change from the 50's and come to represent the Counter Culture movement?

  What did Arlo Guthrie think about the 1960's?

I Have a Dream

On a hot day in August, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. mesmerized the crowd of over 200,000 who had Marched on Washington demanding civil rights. They were young and old and came from various classes and religious backgrounds. More than a quarter of them were white.

Why did Dr. King choose the Lincoln Memorial to give this address?

What promises has the United States made and broken?

What is the 'Dream' to which Dr. King keeps referring?

Why had it taken over 60 years to end segregation?

Freedom Rides

In the spring of 1961, despite the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and two Supreme Court decisions specifically outlawing segregation in interstate travel, black Americans, traveling by bus across state lines in the South, were still forced to sit in separate sections and made to use separate facilities in bus terminals. 

Learn more.

Who were the Freedom Riders? 

Why did people join the Freedom Rides? 

When prejudice and racism are supported by both custom and law, what can be done to 

create a more inclusive society? How do you explain why there is often so much resistance 

to change? 

How does nonviolent direct action expose injustice? Why was it such an effective strategy for 

bringing about change during the civil rights movement? 

What role did the media play in the Freedom Rides? How do media shape our understanding 

of the issues of our time? 

What does the story of the Freedom Riders suggest about the role of citizens in shaping democracy? 

In the Army Now

Elvis Aron Presley entered the United States Army at Memphis, Tennessee, on March 24, 1958, and then spent three days at the Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, Reception Station. He left active duty at Fort Dix, New Jersey, on March 5, 1960, and received his discharge from the Army Reserve on March 23, 1964.

Mr. Presley's overseas service took place in Germany from October 1, 1958, until March 2, 1960, as a member of the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32d Armor. For the first five days of that period he belonged to Company D of the battalion, and thereafter to the battalion's Headquarters Company at Friedberg.

But not everyone was happy with 'The King's' induction.

Should Elvis have been given an exception because of his celebrity? Should celebrities be treated differently? Why/ not?

Not all celebrities served so honorably. In this clip Mohammed Ali speaks for a white college, explaining why he doesnt want to go to Vietnam. What reasons does he give?

School of Rock

Rock and Roll music burst onto the scene in the 1950s thrilling teenagers and horrifying their parents. Rock Music was a combination of diverse musical styles symbolic of the American Melting Pot, but it also reflected the racial divisions of 1950's America.

Why did Elvis Presley achieve greater success than African American musicians of the 1950's?

Who was the real 'King' of Rock and Roll?

Good Night and Good Luck

Perhaps more than any reporter before or since, Edward R. Murrow captured the trust and belief of a nation and returned that trust with honesty and courage. His belief in journalism as an active part of the political process and a necessary tool within democracy has forever altered the politics and everyday life of the American people.

Analyze Murrow's famous speech at the RTNDA Convention.

What predictions did Mr. Murrow make about the future of Media in America?

Have they come true?

For Love of Country

Happy Valentines Day!

Which of our American Freedom's do you love the most?

Do you love your freedom so much that you would be willing to give your life for it?

Would you be willing to give up your freedom in order to protect it?

Golden Age of Hollywood

Whats your favorite movie of all time?

The 1930s were a Golden Age for Hollywood and for moviegoers. Depression-era audiences watched the latest spectacles in beautiful theaters that were a far cry from today's multiplexes.

How were movies an escape from the day to day struggles of the Great Depression?