American Experience:
The Duel
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/
The most famous duel in American history climaxed a longstanding conflict
between two of the most important men in the country. Alexander Hamilton,
an impoverished immigrant from the West Indies, rose to become a framer
of the U.S. Constitution and the architect of America's political economy.
Aaron Burr, grandson of the theologian Jonathan Edwards, served with distinction
in the Revolutionary War and was nearly elected the nation's third president.
In 1804 they met in a duel—an honor match that changed the course
of American history.
American Experience: The Presidents
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/indexjs.html
There is much to learn about the presidency by studying the men who occupied
the office. All have been immensely different from one another. Woodrow
Wilson, the peacemaker ; Kennedy, the Cold Warrior; Jimmy Carter the engineer;
"Silent Cal" Coolidge and the bellicose Theodore Roosevelt. We've had
Richard Nixon, the anti-communist and Ronald Reagan, the actor turned
politician. All of the characters are complex and all of their stories
surprising. Their lives and careers provide us a panoramic view of America.
American Experience: TR, the Story of Teddy Roosevelt
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tr/
TR looks deep into the life of the man who embodied the confidence, exuberance
of America at the turn of the century, revealing both the heroic and the
tragic sides of Roosevelt's character: the boundless energy that drove
him, the bleak emotions he worked so hard to suppress, and the inevitable
clash between the two.
The American President
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/amerpres/
Each of the Web site's installments presents the stories of several presidents,
linked by a common theme. FAMILY TIES and HAPPENSTANCE, for example, are
presented under the umbrella title A MATTER OF DESTINY. FAMILY TIES investigates
the fact that power and influence, even in a democracy, are handed down
from generation to generation in a few privileged families. Profiled are
John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Harrison, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John
F. Kennedy. HAPPENSTANCE explores the careers of five presidents—John
Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, and Harry
Truman—who moved from the vice presidency to the White House upon
the death of the president.
Frontline: Jefferson's Blood
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/
Moving back and forth between Jefferson's eighteenth-century world and
the present day, "Jefferson's Blood" draws a complicated and compelling
portrait of the contradictions in Thomas Jefferson's character, weighing
the decisions he made in his private life with his public pronouncements
on slavery and race-mixing. The documentary shows a Thomas Jefferson who
we rarely confront—sharing Monticello with his white daughter and
grandchildren while his unacknowledged mistress and his children by her
worked in the same house as slaves.
Thomas Jefferson
http://www.pbs.org/jefferson/
This companion Web site to the Ken Burns documentary includes primary
source documents, interviews with presidential historians, and a photo
essay on "the pursuit of happiness."
Character Above All
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/character/
This 1996 Web site explores the importance of personal character and moral
integrity in presidential leadership. The questions are many and varied.
Questions like: Does character matter above all else? If so, how do we
measure and and judge character? What does history tell us about presidential
character? And, by the way, please define what is meant by "character?"
Is there a difference, for instance, between personal character and political
character? Does personal character have only to do with sex and infidelity?
Nine presidential historians, writers and others share their research
and study or experience with one or more of the last ten presidents of
the United States.
Frontline: The Choice 2000
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice2000/
"The Choice 2000" is a two-hour dual biography of Al Gore and George W.
Bush. Filled with rich personal detail and candid observations from wives,
old friends, mentors, associates and advisors, this report explores the
personality and character of Bush and Gore, while artfully weaving together
their background and careers with touchstone events in the lives of their
babyboom generation.
Frontline: The Choice 1996
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice/
This Web site about Bill Clinton and Bob Dole includes biographical essays,
crossword puzzles, photo galleries, caption contests, and more.
Frontline: So You Want To Buy A President?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/president/
In recent elections, fewer than 0.33% of Americans made a political contribution
of $200 or more. But some of those people who did contribute gave a lot.
Who are they? Why do they give? And most importantly, what do they get
in return? Those are the questions correspondent Robert Krulwich set out
to answer in "So You Want To Buy A President?" Krulwich and company spent
months interviewing politicians, campaign insiders, big contributors,
campaign finance experts, and studying federal records. These pages contain
some of what they learned about the "rules of the game."
Great American Speeches
http://www.pbs.org/greatspeeches/
This site is an online archive of 80-plus years of political oratory.
The site includes text and multimedia files, as well as historical background
and ideas for teachers.
The Inaugural Classroom
http://www.pbs.org/inaugural97/index.html
Originally prepared for President Clinton's 1997 inauguration, this site
includes historical information about presidential inaugurations, an inaugural
quiz, texts of inaugural poems, and a photo diary of a student selected
to attend the inaugural festivities as PBS's Web correspondent.
National Geographic: Inside the White House
http://www.pbs.org/weta/whitehouse/
Travel inside the White House with virtual tours and interactive games
like "Decorate Your Own Oval Office." Site includes a special section
on White House kids, too.
PBS Democracy Project
http://www.pbs.org/democracy/
The site includes a "Build Your Own Campaign" section for high school
students, which encourages teams of students to create a virtual campaign
for the presidency, and a "President For A Day" game that allows students
in grades 3-6 to participate in a day in the life of a U.S. president.
PBS Mathline: Math and the President
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/mathline/concepts/president.shtm
Did you know that the President of the United States uses math everyday?
Did you know that one of our Presidents published a mathematical proof?
All this is true. Explore math and the presidency by looking at the cost
of the Louisiana Purchase, the geometry of the White House's Blue Room,
and President Garfield's proof of the Pythagorean Theorem.
IdahoPTV
& PBS Programs to See in January
Frontline:
The Clinton Years
Tuesday, January 16 at 9:00 p.m. MT/PT
Frontline collaborates with ABC's Nightline to create this in-depth documentary
about the Clinton legacy. Because of Nightline's amazing access to the
White House over the past eight years, this program is able to take a
hard retrospective look at President Bill Clinton on the eve of his last
day in office. From health care reform, to the Monica Lewinsky scandal,
to Clinton's legacy, it examines what he did and did not accomplish during
his two terms as president.
The Presidential Inauguration
Saturday, January 20 at 9:00/8:00 a.m. MT/PT
NEWSHOUR's Jim Lehrer moderates the inauguration of the newly-elected
President of the United States. Four hours of live coverage of the ceremony
shows the procession down Pennsylvania Avenue, the arrival of dignataries
at the Capitol's west front and the new President's inaugural address.
