In this course, professor Karbiener explores how Walt Whitman broke with the tyranny of European literary forms to establish a broad, new voice for American poetry. By examining the life of Whitman in the context of broad social and...

The harrowing account of a black man, born free in New York State, who was drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in 1841. Having no way to contact his family, and fearing for his life if he told the truth, Solomon Northup was sold...

James M. McPherson explores how Abraham Lincoln--struggling with feckless generals, fickle masses, and his own fearful demons--expanded the role of Commander in Chief amidst a war that defined him.

"A decade after the end of the Cold War, both policy makers and academics foresee a new era of peace and prosperity, an era when democracy, open trade, and mutual trust will join hands to banish war from the globe. With insight...

Ranald Macdonald’s roots are in the forest of Ontario’s easternmost county and his character was forged in the small Presbyterian church near his home. When he leaves to test his idealism and faith in the rough world of the lumber...

Through this inspiring history, McCullough offers an account of ambitious Americans who traveled to Paris between 1830 and 1900 to make their greatest accomplishments.

At the pinnacle of the Gilded Age, a boycott of Pullman sleeping cars by hundreds of thousands of railroad employees brought commerce to a standstill across much of the country. With the country now in a New Gilded Age, this look back...