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| Subject/Title | Frank Capra | | Synopsis/Intro text | The holidays are approaching and many Americans will tune in to enjoy the Christmas classic It’s A Wonderful Life. This month we spotlight legendary director and Sicilian immigrant Frank Capra, who directed that film and so many others which have lifted the American spirit through the years. | | Last Edited on | 7/14/2005 5:56:00 PM | | | Details |
| Subject/Title | Cesar Chavez | | Synopsis/Intro text | It is National Hispanic Heritage Month, and our spotlight is on Cesar Chavez. Born in Yuma, Arizona, Chavez brought national attention to the dreadful conditions faced by migrant farm workers through non-violent means of protest. He founded the first successful farm workers union. | | Last Edited on | 6/30/2005 4:25:00 PM | | | Details |
| Subject/Title | Dorthea Dix | | Synopsis/Intro text | The American hero we spotlight this Women's History Month is Dorothea Dix. In a time when women could be jailed for voting in the U.S., this indefatigable writer, speaker, and petitioner forever changed the way Americans care for the mentally ill. | | Last Edited on | 6/30/2005 4:18:00 PM | | | Details |
| Subject/Title | Dwight D. Eisenhower | | Synopsis/Intro text | When the moment came to make the decision, he knew exactly what they would do. The commanders had conferred, but the decision was his. The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower stood up and said, “O.K. Let’s go.” | | Last Edited on | 6/30/2005 3:36:00 PM | | | Details |
| Subject/Title | Anne Hutchinson | | Synopsis/Intro text | This month we spotlight Anne Hutchinson, the courageous Boston woman whose struggle against a society and justice system intolerant of religious dissenters helped pave the way for future champions of religious liberty. Due in part to Hutchinson's stand, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion were ultimately enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. | | Last Edited on | 6/30/2005 3:33:00 PM | | | Details |
| Subject/Title | Robert E. Lee | | Synopsis/Intro text | In 1861, on the eve of civil war, President Abraham Lincoln tapped Robert E. Lee to take command of the United States Army. The fifty-five year old silver-haired veteran had graduated second in his class at West Point, served valiantly during the Mexican War under General Winfield Scott, and had, with his forces, put down the insurrection at Harper’s Ferry, capturing abolitionist John Brown. By all accounts, he was the man to lead the Army, as renowned for his gentlemanly character as for his military skill and sense of duty. | | Last Edited on | 6/30/2005 3:31:00 PM | | | Details |
| Subject/Title | James Madison | | Synopsis/Intro text | Celebrate Constitution Day (September 17) by examining the immense contributions made by James Madison to our system of government. In this activity, students will learn why Madison is known as the “Father of the Constitution,” explore the way personal responsibility goes hand in hand with personal liberty, and evaluate whether the majority should always rule. | | Last Edited on | 6/30/2005 3:16:00 PM | | | Details |
| Subject/Title | Edward R. Murrow | | Synopsis/Intro text | This month our spotlight is on Edward R. Murrow, the American journalist who pioneered the field of television news with his series See It Now in the 1950s. Murrow, who believed free expression was the best way to counter communist threats at home, won a courageous victory for freedom of the press and freedom of expression. | | Last Edited on | 6/30/2005 3:10:00 PM | | | Details |
| Subject/Title | Franklin Delano Roosevelt | | Synopsis/Intro text | When Franklin Delano Roosevelt became President of the United States in 1933, the country was in despair. For three years people had suffered increasing financial loss, displacement, and difficulty during the Great Depression. More than thirteen million people were unemployed. Two to three million of those were traveling the country in search of work. Bread lines stretched around many a city block. | | Last Edited on | 6/30/2005 2:58:00 PM | | | Details |
| Subject/Title | John Peter Zenger | | Synopsis/Intro text | May 2, 1735, newspaper printer John Peter Zenger had been in the sheriff’s custody for almost six
months. Unable to post bail (set at ten times his net worth), he was confined to the colonial jail, a space
above the Assembly room in City Hall on Wall Street. Rain dripped in from a leaky roof, and the wind blew
through cracks in shattered windows. Miserable, he and one of his fellow prisoners even petitioned the
Common Council of New York for repairs. He suffered through the sweltering summer months, waiting for
his trial to begin – the most anticipated legal event of the year. | | Last Edited on | 6/30/2005 2:57:00 PM | | | Details |
| Subject/Title | Sacagawea | | Synopsis/Intro text | In honor of National American Indian Heritage Month, we are spotlighting Sacagawea. Though many know her only as the face on the dollar coin, Sacagawea’s great contributions to the Lewis and Clark “Corps of Discovery” expedition reveal her as a model of strength and perseverance. | | Last Edited on | 6/30/2005 2:53:00 PM | | | Details |
| Subject/Title | George Washington | | Synopsis/Intro text | In his lesson we spotlight our first president, George Washington. The Virginian put aside personal interests to answer numerous calls of duty throughout his life, and historians agree that his legacy of service justly earned him the title “Father of His Country.” | | Last Edited on | 6/30/2005 2:44:00 PM | | | Details |
| Subject/Title | Ida B. Wells | | Synopsis/Intro text | Celebrate Black History Month by spotlighting one of the earliest advocates of African Americans' rights, Ida B. Wells. Through her courageous writing and speaking, Wells brought international attention to the gruesome crime of lynching simply by, as she put it "telling the story." A founder of the first civic organization for African American women, an advocate of women's suffrage and co-founder of the NAACP, Ida B. Wells is truly an America hero. | | Last Edited on | 6/30/2005 2:27:00 PM | | | Details |
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