American History   

This course will trace the evolution of Rock N Roll from early Blues Styles to Elvis Presley. The instructor will be using audio and video clips to illustrate the changes in the US that led to the development of this new style in the early 1950s.

The French flag once flew over 2/3 of North America territories. Discover the history, culture, food and music of New Orleans, the only U.S. city that retains its French culture. Included is the history of an ancient pagan party known as Mardi Gras.

As part of the Drain the Ocean series, National Geographic uncovers shipwrecks right in downtown New York City. Using the latest sonar technology, this documentary covers secrets of the past right beneath Manhattan's skyline, including a shipwreck at Ground Zero found when excavating the site.

Come learn about this, the feat of engineering, and a record-breaking icon and casualty of World War I stealth warfare by viewing this dynamic documentary.

The CIA Museum, inside the CIA Headquarters building in Langley, is not open to the public. Dr. Don Wyman, a CIA retiree, recently was given both a special 2-hour private tour by the museum director and also, exclusive permission and clearance for creating this special PowerPoint "Private Tour" of the museum. This unique tour includes many espionage artifacts never before made public, reveals some declassified, previously top-secret intelligence operations, and identifies some of the brave people who carried them out.

Hear the 'back-story' concerning movie studios, the stars they created, and the murders, mysteries and mayhem of Hollywood's Golden Age.

Join Master the Possibilities in the viewing of ABC7/WABC-TV New York's 20th anniversary documentary of September 11. See rare footage, testimonies from ABC7 reporters, anchors and staff who were live on-air or reporting the day of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York. This hourlong special features journalists who were there during the tragic event; some on air, others in the newsroom. Unforgettable video was captured. Journalists risked their lives to inform the world live what was happening.

This video documents the unfolding events of the day and us a unique first-person narrative of the Eyewitness News team. “And as for us, we were covering it–these families that never were the same again, have a much, much bigger burden than we do,” reflects ABC7 reporter Nina Pineda in the documentary. 

The 1790 Naturalization act allowed any free white person to become a citizen of the new republic; all others need not apply. Since then, there was a protracted effort to keep America white.  This session examines the many efforts to maintain a white America despite the diversity of its immigrants. How does one interpret "e pluribus unum?"

The rise of a militant white supremacy today is not new. It was present throughout our history. As it undermined domestic tranquility in the past, so it does today.

"Constitution Day" is held every September 17th. For this year's celebration, attorney Jerry Colen will be here to discuss the most amazing document in all American history, our Constitution, as well as some of its Amendments. Jerry understands that some may disagree with his points of view. As he says: "That's good. Freedom of Speech is right there, in the First Amendment." 

A completely different tour with totally different artifacts whose background stories are revealed and colorfully illustrated by a CIA Retiree who was in the Agency when most of these events were happening. This is Part 2 of an ongoing series that will contain, as they are declassified, new clandestine items and missions previously highly classified in full color and with unique illustrations created to show how they were carried out. It reveals two of the most expensive operations in CIA history!
 

This six session, 12 hour course covers the evolution of Rock N Roll during the late 1950s into the early 1960s.  This is the period when Rock n Roll took over the Pop charts and morphed from the raw sound of Elvis, Little Richard, Fats Domino, and Jerry Lee Lewis into a more polished and commercial music that may better be called "Pop Rock."  Combining video, audiio, and lecture, the course will review six major trends that showed up in the top 20 of the Billboard Charts duing that era. While it would be useful to have completed the first course (The Evolution of Rock n Roll), it is not necessary.

What is the price for becoming famous? Was it murder or suicide? Join this class to hear about the nasty secrets of Hollywood's most famous 'gossip mongers.'

A completely unique tour with totally different artifacts and background stories revealed and colorfully illustrated by Dr. Don Wyman, CIA Retiree who was in the Agency when most of these events were happening. This is Part 3 of an ongoing series that contains as they are declassified, new clandestine items and missions previously highly classified in full color and with unique illustrations created to show how they were carried out to combat smothering enemy surveillance.

 

The Founding Fathers' fatal flaw was allowing slavery, while not condoning it.  This subject is not for children. Adult Americans need to understand it. Yet most had extremely poor exposure to this dominant issue of American identity. It has been the stumbling block to the lack of domestic tranquility in our society today.  Understanding the past is the prelude to the future. "A nation cannot choose its past; it can only choose its future."

Imagine having such strong patriotic feelings that you enroll as a soldier, passing yourself off as a man for 18 months! Despite being wounded in battle, she still hid her identity, even treating gun-shot wounds herself. Deborah has the distinction of being the first woman to receive a military pension and is the Official Heroine of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Continue the virtual road trip across the Sunshine State as Cathy takes participants to more Florida counties. This course will include photos of Florida places then and now. Cathy will share the environmental, cultural, and historic significance of these places.

This newest Tour of this unique museum has even more artifacts and narrated, illustrated missions that were classified at the highest levels when they were employed and spies whose service has never been duplicated - both American and foreign.  Unique surveillance devices assassination weapons; deception equipment; weapon concealment; advanced Soviet bugging technique; unique money replacement method used by Al Qaeda to prevent money trails; Top Secret methods for securing messages between Case Officers and Assets, and much more.

 

The history of famous and infamous Madams continues in Part II, but the location shifts from the old west to the wild side of San Francisco's crib rows, cow yards, and Chinese sex slaves during the Alaskan gold rush and the madams who established their houses of joy in the last, great wild frontier of America.

The recent raucous nature of America's Presidential elections is not a new phenomenon. Throughout our American journey these elections have ranged from tumultuous to downright nasty! We will explore Adams v. Jefferson, Adams V. Jackson, the Election of 1860, the "Stolen" election of 1876, Nixon v. Kennedy, and Bush v. Gore, in a non-partisan manner.

In the final of this four-part series, learn more about Florida places that have significance in our state's culture, history, and environment. Follow along on a map as Cathy shows photos of Florida then, and now, and learn about why these places matter.

This PowerPoint presentation reveals the depth and types of skills needed by CIA personnel to use clandestine operations to collect intelligence in difficult - to near-impossible - situations in foreign countries.  All this while under 24-hour surveillance by anti-espionage professionals.  It also reveals a variety of those secret (now unclassified) successes that were accomplished against all odds by the clever use of tradecraft, imagination and creativity.

One would be hard pressed to name an unimportant presidential election. Having said that this session will review 13 elections which, for a variety of reasons, stand out as particularly noteworthy: 1800, 1824, 1860, 1876, 1912, 1920, 1932, 1948, 1964, 1968, 1980, 1992, and 2000. We'll cover the winner and the loser(s), the issues of each election, and the impact of the result.

The devastation of the Civil War necessitated a reconstruction of our nation. It was a contentious effort, but it moved the ball of the Founders' vision "toward a more perfect union" closer to reality.

 Reconstruction was historically undermined by the dunning school who supported the South's "lost cause."  Today, historical scholars deem it as "the second American Revolution," primarily because it enshrined the 13, 14, and 15th amendments into our constitution.  

The raid on March 10, 1865 was the only Civil War military action in Marion County. Misrepresented and inaccurately portrayed, this risky raid came only weeks before the war's end. A unit of mostly Black combatants traveled 100 miles behind enemy lines to conduct the raid, and then had to walk 80 miles to safety while knowing that a crack Confederate cavalry unit would be hot on their trail. A gripping adventure awaits.

William Bartram called it the Great Alachua Savanna. We know it as Paynes Prairie. On this chapter of our "Bartram's Florida" series, we'll take a 3 mile stroll onto the wetland savanna made famous by the young explorer in 1774. The talk will include a brief overview of the prairie's rich history from Lars Andersen, author of "Paynes Prairie: A History and Guide."

Note: Meeting time at park is 9 AM; There is a $5 Park Fee payable at the entrance day of trip. The trip duration is 1.5 - 2 hours long. Difficulty: Easy, two mile stroll on easy (mostly flat) terrain. Since this is an out-and-back hike, participants who can't do the entire hike are welcome to turn back at any time.
Skill level: Good for beginners.

This class will provide overviews of the reasons Japan and the U.S. went to war, Japan's decision to attack Pearl Harbor and the mistakes by the U.S. that exacerbated the disaster. This is an updated, abbreviated, less detailed version of an earlier MTP class.

Join Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park Ranger Walter Young in learning about South Carolina delegate Charles Pinckney. Pinckney was a South Carolina delegate to the Constitutional Convention. One of the plantations he owned is now a National Park Service site in Mount Pleasant. Come hear Park Ranger Young speak about Pinckney's contributions to the Constitution, and his role in shaping American history through it. Ranger Young will be presenting remote from South Carolina.

Why did Spanish ships refuse to land on this tropical paradise for almost 200 years? How did a resident of Key West become Florida's first millionaire? Even if you have visited Key West, this presentation offers many surprises and amusing anecdotes.

This PowerPoint program tells the story of perhaps the greatest code breaker in World History! From a farm in Indiana to the Nation's Capital as Cryptographer-in-Charge, she led the way in solving one code after another. WW I German codes, prohibition codes; prohibition kingpins, mobsters and gangsters, drug lords, all fell before her uncanny ability to crack even the cleverest codes and ciphers. She broke three German Enigma codes, not with a computerized machine, but with a paper and pencil.