Image is in the public domain.
Fort Stevens in Washington DC is the site of an attempted assassination on President Abraham Lincoln. It was Lincoln's height that saved his life. This site was also a place that could have changed the outcome of the Civil War if not for timely reinforcements. Listen to this public radio story and learn more about the "What Ifs" of the first attempt on Lincoln's life.
Story Length: 4:27
Socrative users can import these questions using the following code: SOC-1234
November 8, 2016
2:53
When the founding fathers of the United States were writing the Constitution in the 1780s, they were deadlocked about what to call the leader of the executive branch. At the time, “president” was used in other contexts. University heads were called presidents and heads of colonies sometimes used that title as well. But until President George Washington, this word had never been used to describe a leader of a country. Listen to hear how the decision was finally reached.
Read MoreApril 10, 2014
7:52
Marian Anderson was denied a performance at Constitution Hall, but 75 years ago, she was able to perform to a desegregated crowd at the Lincoln Memorial. Listen to this story to learn more about how she used art and lyrics to fight racism.
Read MoreNovember 29, 2013
7:20
On November 19, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln gave a short speech to honor those who had died at the Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought in July of that year. After a two hour speech by politician Edward Everett, Lincoln spoke for just over two minutes. In just 272 words Lincoln explicitly linked human equality and democracy to the Union war effort. This statement of purpose has lived on and remains one of the most famous speeches of the Civil War. Listen to hear the Gettysburg Address and learn more about the historical context in which it was delivered.
Read MoreNovember 25, 2013
7:47
Decades of Americans are able to remember where they were at the moment they heard President John F. Kennedy had been shot and killed in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. Fifty years later in this radio story we relive the events of that fateful day through the memories of two reporters who were there. Hugh Aynesworth was a local reporter for The Dallas Morning News and Sid Davis was a White House correspondent traveling with the president's press corps. Put yourselves in their shoes as they take you through how they learned about and covered the assassination.
Read More