National Network for Equitable Library Service

Six months after the Declaration of Independence, America was nearly defeated. Then on Christmas night, George Washington led his men across the Delaware River to destroy the Hessians at Trenton. A week later Americans held off a counterattack, and in a brilliant tactical move, Washington crept behind the British army to win another victory. The momentum had reversed.

Saint Louis University professor Thomas Madden delivers a series of lectures exploring all facets of the Inquisition, including the religious and political climate of its time and the Inquisition's relationship to heresy and reformation. He imparts an understanding of the Spanish and Roman Inquisitions while dispelling popular myths associated with the subject.

Utah State University professor, Kermit L. Hall delivers a course that explores the Supreme Court as a living, breathing institution. Listeners will come to know the court through a thorough study of its most significant decisions.

In this course, Saint Louis University professor Thomas F. Madden discusses the history of the Crusades as well as their legacy.

In this course, Thomas F. Madden offers a fascinating series of lectures on the history of the remarkable culture and state that developed out of the ancient Roman Empire, particularly its eastern portion, throughout the Middle Ages. The story here therefore begins at an ending, that of the Roman Empire, in the third century AD, and continues over the next one thousand years.

History professor Thomas F. Madden serves as the ultimate guide through the fall of ancient Rome.

In this course, Wheaton College professor John Kricher provides a history of the discovery of dinosaurs, and he discusses the timeline and variations of dinosaurs, including their ultimate demise.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission compiled secret files on more than 87,000 private citizens in the most extensive state spying program in U.S. history. Its mission: to save segregation.

A staggeringly popular work of fiction, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has stood atop The New York Times Bestseller List for well over a year, with millions of copies in print. But this fast-paced mystery is unusual in that the author states up front that the historical information in the book is all factually accurate. But is this claim true? As historian Bart D. Ehrman shows in this informative and witty book, The Da Vinci Code is filled with numerous historical mistakes.

In this course, University of Notre Dame professor, Joshua Kaplan provides and understanding of how American politics works and can help make sense of election results and political trends.