Lessons PREMIUM

Creation of the Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States. It is responsible for the effective operation of the U.S. economy and conducts the nation’s monetary policy, stabilizes prices and moderates interest rates, and promotes the safety of individual financial institutions. In 1907, J. P. Morgan organized other leading financiers to backstop a run on banks and bring an end to a nationwide financial crisis. Later, with the encouragement of a powerful senator, a group of New York bankers went on to develop a plan for a central bank that was eventually adopted and that is still in effect today. Listen to the story to learn more about the formation of the Federal Reserve and America’s central banks by Congress.

The Creative Art of Coping in Japanese Internment

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, fear and shock led to the United States' entry into World War II. The U.S. government declared all people of Japanese ancestry enemies, sending more than 120,000 Japanese-Americans to internment camps for almost three years. They were forced to abandon their homes, lives and belongings and move to bare barracks. Listen to this audio story and learn how art was a fundamental way for these internees to cope with fear and bring strength, comfort and beauty to camp life.

Cuban Missile Crisis

For 12 days in October 1962, the world seemed poised on the brink of nuclear war. This public radio story describes President John F. Kennedy’s handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It focuses on his role in finding a way to avoid his military advisors’ recommendation that the U.S. launch a military attack on recently discovered Soviet nuclear missiles being built in Cuba. It includes archival sound of his military advisors and the voice of Kennedy as he tells the American people about the crisis. It examines how Kennedy's actions avoided war.

D-Day Memory

The largest sea invasion in history happened June 6, 1944 during World War II. It was named D-Day, and the Allied forces landed on 5 beaches of Normandy, France to liberate the German-occupied territory. Every year, on June 6th, many countries commemorate this important battle that marked a turning point during World War II. In this audio story, an American soldier discusses his combat experiences on D-Day, the challenges as a soldier in WWII, and the encounters with the terrors of war. Listen to learn more about D-Day as well as how this soldier feels now as he reflects on this historic battle.

Damage to Ancient Religious and Cultural Sites during War in Syria

This Public Radio Story describes the great importance of Syria’s ancient cultural heritage sites, for Christians, Jews, Muslims, and people of many other national and ethnic identities. Unfortunately, these sites are under attack as Syria’s civil war rages on.

Decision Making and the Stock Market

Millions of people invest billions of dollars in the stock market to make their money grow. Some pool their money with other investors in high risk investment vehicles known as hedge funds. Hedge fund managers employ a variety of strategies with the goal of doing better than the stock market as a whole. The third richest person in the world, Warren Buffett, made a $1 million bet that he could beat the earnings of any hedge fund with his own investments in low-risk index funds. A hedge fund manager took him up on the challenge. Listen to the story to learn who is on his way to winning the bet and why.

Note: At the end of the 10 year time period, Warren Buffett won the bet as the index funds outperformed actively managed hedge funds.

A Democracy Advocate in China and Author of "Wolf Totem"

In 1949, the Communist Revolution under Mao Zedong transformed China from the monarchy it had been for centuries, to a Communist nation. The “People’s Revolution” relied heavily on the passion and vigor of China’s young people, and the Chinese government looked poorly on anyone who was critical of China or the Communist Party. This audio story introduces a man who was only three when Chairman Mao came to power. In his 20’s he worked for the Communists in rural Mongolia. His experiences there formed the basis for his hugely successful 2004 novel “Wolf Totem”, which earned him both praise and criticism in Communist China. Listen to learn more about his experiences in Mongolia, the impact of “Wolf Totem”, and his criticisms, and hopes, for his country.

Depression Era Photography

During the Great Depression and early years of World War II, government-sponsored photographers fanned out across the country to document the struggles of everyday Americans. Originally intended to generate support for New Deal policies, the photographs that were taken, including some by famous names like Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, have become precious artifacts of the time period. Listen to hear about an effort to organize these unique photos documenting Depression-era life into an easily searchable collection.

Direct Democracy in Athens

Modern campaigning can get pretty dirty, but politicians today are only taking their cues from politicians in ancient Athens. This public radio story describes how direct democracy was carried out in ancient Athens, a Greek city-state. Listen to learn who was allowed to participate in Athenian politics and how the people of Athens voted for and controled their elected officials.

Discrimination and the Great Molasses Flood

A tank holding 2 million gallons of molasses burst open and flooded the streets of Boston in 1919. This strange disaster killed 21 people and led to a scapegoating a group of people. An author has written a children’s story about the incident and what happened after the tank exploded. Listen to hear the author talk about this event and what happened in the years afterward.

Diversity in High School

Many cities have seen growth in their population, and the high schools in these cities have become a fusion of races and ethnicities. Frisco, Texas has changed dramatically in the last twenty-five years. Not only has it changed from a sleepy railroad town into a bustling suburb of a major city, it has also changed a great deal demographically. A town that was once 75% white is now a mix of people from all over the world. Listen to hear how those demographic changes have affected the lives of students at one of its newest high schools.

Divided Elgin Marbles

For students of Classical Athens, no structure better represents the success of Athenian Democracy than the Parthenon, the great temple built in honor of the goddess Athena. Several centuries ago, Lord Elgin, a British nobleman, removed half the sculptures from the Parthenon and brought them to Britain where they were eventually housed in the British Museum. Now, after years of demanding their return, the Greeks have built a huge, ultramodern museum in the hopes of someday bringing the precious artifacts back. Listen to learn more about this dispute over national treasures and why each side feels it has a rightful claim.

Documenting the Lives of Enslaved People

Much is known about the awful legacy of the transatlantic slave trade and, more broadly, about how European and, later, American perpetrators maintained the slave system. Much less is known, however, about enslaved people and their life experiences. Aside from slave narratives, what is known is scattered among a variety of different sources spanning the history of slavery and the slave trade. A new project has been undertaken to fill this critical knowledge gap. Listen to learn about Enslaved.org, a project that aims to document the lives and stories of enslaved people.

The Driving Force Behind the Spanish-American War

After years of witnessing Cubans unsuccessfully strike up revolts against their Spanish rulers, in 1898 America went to war against Spain to liberate Cuba. However, one historian argues that the main reason behind the war had little to do with freeing a nation. He says humans have a natural thirst for war and to satisfy the urge, sometimes enter into unnecessary conflicts. Theodore Roosevelt embodied that spirit when, as Assistant Secretary of the Navy at the time, he fully embraced war against Spain out of deeply personal reasons. Listen to learn more about the reasons America launched the Spanish-American War and how the concept of “wars of choice” is relevant today.

The Dust Bowl During the Great Depression

The Dust Bowl was one of the worst man-made environmental disasters. It turned the southern Great Plains of the U.S. into a desert. When the native prairie grass was pulled out and replaced with wheat fields, the loose soil had nothing to hold it. The dirt blew away in the wind, and as it traveled it gathered into enormous dust storms that choked people and animals with dirt. In this public radio story you will hear archival interviews with people who lived through the Dust Bowl. You also hear an early recording of the poem "Hard Luck Okie" which examines the reasons why people moved West.

Early Humans in North America

Most scientists agree that human beings originated in Africa. The first humans to come to North and South America have long been believed to be the Clovis people. But a 2002 discovery in the Paisley Caves in Oregon has challenged this view. Archaeologists discovered animal bones and fossilized excrement, known as coprolites. Some of these coprolites included human molecules, providing the earliest human DNA ever found in the Americas. This discovery has given archaeologists new clues to better understand the earliest humans found in North America.

Early Immigration and Ellis Island

Ellis Island is the symbol of immigrants in our nation. This small island is where the ancestors of millions of Americans entered the United States, and many of their descendants often remember their immigrant past with pride. But many Americans do not know what their ancestors experienced upon arriving in the United States and starting their next big journey in a new land. Listen to this story to learn about the first immigrant to enter the United States through Ellis Island and how a case of mistaken identity kept her story buried.

Eating Like an Early American

For early European Americans, daily life was about making sure you had enough food to survive. At various points, this was almost a day-to-day process. In places like Dutch New Amsterdam, settlers’ diets consisted of whatever they could hunt and forage for. This audio story is about a New York City restaurant who designed a menu to mirror the daily diet of 17th century Dutch settlers. The story highlights both the differences from and similarities to our diets today, and sheds new light on the lasting impact of the Dutch settlers in American history.