250 to 250: 48. “All in the Family,” Narrated by Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: “All in the Family,” Narrated by Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is an award-winning actress, comedian, producer, and podcast host whose early work on shows like Family Ties, a spinoff of All in the Family, helped launch her storied career, including beloved roles in Seinfeld and Veep. Julia revisits All in the Family, the groundbreaking 1971 sitcom that used Archie Bunker and his family to tackle the era's most divisive issues.

All in the Family first aired in 1971.

• The show talked about important issues in American society.
• These topics included civil rights, the Vietnam War, abortion, and family disagreements.
• Carroll O'Connor played Archie Bunker.
• Archie Bunker often struggled with new ideas and social change.
• Rob Reiner played Mike Stivic, Archie's son-in-law.
• Mike and Archie often disagreed about politics and society.
• Jean Stapleton played Edith Bunker, Archie's kind and caring wife.
• Sally Struthers played Gloria, Archie and Edith's daughter.
• The show used humor to discuss serious problems.
• Norman Lear created the show.
• All in the Family changed American television by encouraging people to talk about difficult issues.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 6:02. What is your child's current legal name?
• USCIS 100:06. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?* 
• USCIS 128:69. What are two examples of civic participation in the United States?

Family Fun:

• CBS Sunday Morning: Norman Lear: A life of laughter and activism
• How Stuff Works: All in the Family trivia
• Monday Mandala: Family Coloring Pages
• National Postal Musem: 33c All In The Family single
• Norman Lear: Citizenship
• Norman Lear Effect: All in the Family playlist
• People for the American Way: Issues
• PBS: American Masters: Norman Lear: Just Another Version You clips | (borrow the dvd from your Library)
• Smithsonian Magazine: From His Tattered Chair, TV’s Archie Bunker Caricatured America’s Divides

250 to 250: 47. Madam C.J. Walker, Narrated by A'Lelia Bundles

 

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Madam C.J. Walker, Narrated by A'Lelia Bundles

A'Lelia Bundles is an award-winning journalist, Emmy-winning producer, and author of acclaimed biographies telling the stories of the civic-minded business women in her family, including her great-great-grandmother Madam C. J. Walker.

Madam C. J. Walker was born in Louisiana in 1867.

• Her parents had been enslaved before the Civil War.
• She became an orphan when she was seven years old.
• She married at age 14 and became a mother.
• By age 20, she was a widow.
• In the early 1900s, she created hair care products for Black women.
• In 1906, she started her own business.
• She trained many women to sell her products.
• She built a successful company across the United States.
• Madam C. J. Walker became America's first self-made female millionaire.
• She believed in hard work and creating opportunities.
• She also spoke out against racial discrimination and injustice.
• Today, Madam C. J. Walker is remembered as a successful business leader and civil rights advocate.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• Part 7:01. Are you self-employed?  Do you work for yourself and not a specific employer?
• USCIS 100:11. / 128.12. What is the economic system of the United States?
• USCIS 100: 41.   Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government.  What is one power of the federal government?
• USCIS 128:58. Name one power that is only for the federal government.

Family Fun:

• Madame C.J. Walker: Hair
• Madam Walker Legacy Center: Timeline
• Kulture Kidz: Madam C.J. Walker Coloring Page | word scramble |
• Netflix: Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker | trailer
• NMAAHC: Annie Malone and Madam C.J. Walker: Pioneers of the African American Beauty Industry
• NPS: (H)our History Lesson: Madam C. J. Walker, African American Millionaire, Philanthropist, Activist
• World: The True Story of Madam C.J. Walker | TWO DOLLARS AND A DREAM 

250 to 250: 46. NATO, Narrated by Adam Kinzinger

 

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: NATO, Narrated by Adam Kinzinger

Adam Kinzinger is a retired military officer, former U.S. Representative, and current political commentator known for his views on the evolving Republican Party and serving as one of two Republicans appointed to the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack. Kinzinger details the formation of NATO, the defensive security alliance that has helped to keep the world safe since 1949.

In 1949, 12 countries created North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

• NATO was formed after World War II.
• The countries wanted to protect each other.
• They also wanted to stop the spread of communism in Europe.
• NATO members promised to help if one member was attacked.
• This promise is called Article 5 of the NATO treaty.
• Article 5 has been used only once.
• It was used after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
• NATO countries worked together in Afghanistan.
• Finland joined NATO in 2023.
• Sweden joined NATO in 2024.
• Today, NATO has 32 member countries.
• NATO continues to work for the security and defense of its member nations.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 9:05a. Have you EVER been a member of, involved in, or in any way associated with any Communist or totalitarian party anywhere in the world?
• USCIS 100:83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
• USCIS 128:108. Who was the United States’ main rival during the Cold War?

Family Fun

• C-SPAN Classroom: Lesson Plan: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
• CFR: Conflict: NATO
• Civics Learning Project: The United States and NATO: World Relationships and Why they Matter
• Coloring Book Fun: 44 Flags Of The World Coloring Pages
• Layers of Learning: Cold War | map coloring page
• OTAN: Can you identify all 26 letters of the NATO phonetic alphabet?
• World Flags: Coloring Pages

250 to 250: 45. Jimi Hendrix’s “The Star-Spangled Banner” Live at Woodstock, Narrated by Justice Brown

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Jimi Hendrix’s “The Star-Spangled Banner” Live at Woodstock, Narrated by Justice Brown

Justice Brown is a Youth250 Bureau member at Made By Us, the national network connecting young adults to history and civic life through more than 750 museums, historic sites, libraries, and archives. Brown discusses the powerful rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that Jimi Hendrix performed at his closing Woodstock set.

In August 1969, the Woodstock music festival took place in New York.

• About 500,000 people attended the festival.

Jimi Hendrix performed on the last day.

• He played "The Star-Spangled Banner," the U.S. national anthem.
• His performance included sounds that reminded people of the Vietnam War.
• Hendrix wanted people to think about both war and peace.
• He had served in the U.S. Army before becoming a musician.
• Hendrix said he played the anthem because he was an American.
• His performance became one of the most famous moments in music history.
• Today, many people remember it as a symbol of both patriotism and peaceful protest.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 9:25. Have you EVER served in the U.S. armed forces?
• USCIS 100:78 / 128:100.  Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
• USCIS 100:98. / 128.123. What is the name of the national anthem?

Family Fun

• Jimi Hendrix: STAR SPANGLED BANNER – Jimi Hendrix At Woodstock: The Anthem of a Generation
• National Archives: Jimi Hendrix's Official Military Personnel File
• National Postal Museum: In Memoriam: Jimi Hendrix
• NMAH: The Star Spangled Banner
• NY Learns: Text Painting: The National Anthem, Patriotism and Jimi Hendrix. by De Imperatoribus Romanis by ECSDM
• New Yorker: Rewinding Jimi Hendrix’s National Anthem
• PRI: The World: American Icons: Jimi Hendrix’s Star-Spangled Banner
• Star Spangled Music: Banner Moment #9: August 18, 1969—Hendrix Plays the Anthem at Woodstock (Psychedlic Citizenship)
• Seattle: Jimi Hendrix Park
• The Colouring Sessions: The Jimi Hendrix Experience coloring page

250 to 250: 44. Frances Perkins, Narrated by Cameron Katz

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Frances Perkins, Narrated by Cameron Katz

Cameron Katz is the Head of Content + Partnerships at Made By Us, the national network connecting young adults to history and civic life through more than 750 museums, historic sites, libraries, and archives. Katz honors Frances Perkins, the labor secretary whose response to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire led to Social Security, the minimum wage, and the forty-hour work week.

In 1911, Frances Perkins saw the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

• Many workers died in the fire.
• Perkins wanted to make workplaces safer.
• She worked for shorter work hours and better pay.
• She also worked to improve factory safety.

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed her as Secretary of Labor.

• She became the first woman to serve in a U.S. president's Cabinet.
• Perkins helped create the Social Security Act of 1935.
• She also helped pass the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938.
• The law created a minimum wage, a 40-hour workweek, and banned most child labor.
• Frances Perkins believed everyone should work to improve life for others.
• Today, she is remembered as a leader who helped protect American workers.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 7:01. When and where have you worked, been self-employed, been unemployed, or studied?
• USCIS 100:33. / 128:43. Who signs bills to become laws?
• USCIS 100:35. / 128:47. What does the President’s Cabinet do?
• USCIS 100:36. / 128:48. What are two Cabinet-level positions?

Family Fun:

• Americans Who Tell The Truth: Frances Perkins
• Delaware: Careers Coloring and Activity Book
• Frances Perkins Center: Resources | Frances and Faith
• NPS: Frances Perkins National Monument
• Rochester Labor: Our Community of Workers coloring book | workbook and more resources
• Women's History Museum: Frances Perkins: The Woman Behind the Weekend, Minimum Wage, and Safer Working Conditions | New Deal lesson plan
• Zinn Education Project: March 4, 1933: Frances Perkins First Woman to Serve in U.S. Cabinet

250 to 250: 43. Jacob Riis, Narrated by Alex Edgar

 

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Jacob Riis, Narrated by Alex Edgar

Alex Edgar is the Youth Engagement Manager at Made By Us, where he leads Youth250, the national effort to include youth voices in America’s past, present and future story. Edgar profiles Jacob Riis, the immigrant journalist and photographer whose unflinching images of New York's tenements pioneered the use of photography for social reform.

Jacob Riis was born in Denmark in 1849.

• He came to the United States in 1870.
• Riis became a journalist, photographer, and social reformer.
• He wrote about poor neighborhoods in New York City.
• Many people living there were immigrants.
• Riis used photographs to show difficult living conditions.
• His famous book is How the Other Half Lives.
• The book helped Americans understand the lives of poor immigrant families.
• Riis wanted better housing and safer living conditions.
• His work inspired many people to support reforms.
• Theodore Roosevelt admired Jacob Riis and his work.
• Today, Jacob Riis is remembered for helping improve the lives of many immigrants and poor families.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 10:01. Is your income less than or equal to 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines?
• USCIS 100:11. / 128.12. What is the economic system of the United States?
• USCIS 100:58. / 128.73. What is one reason colonists came to America?

Family Fun:

• American YAWP: How the Other Half Lived: Photographs of Jacob Riis
• Chromopia: Vintage Camera Mandala Lens World Photography Day Coloring Page
• History for Humans: How the Other Half Lived: Jacob Riis, Immigration & Urbanization in the Gilded Age 
• ICP: Jacob Riis photo gallery
• LOC: Jacob Riis: Revealing “How the Other Half Lives”
• MCNY: Jacob Riis album
• NPS: Jacob Riis Park | Lower East Side Tenement Museum
• Tenement Musuem: Today’s Other Half  | Lesson Plans | Digital Exhibits
• USCIS: Form N-400, Application for Naturalization Filing Fees Factsheet

250 to 250: 42. Emily Roebling’s Brooklyn Bridge, Narrated by Tracey Enerson Wood

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Emily Roebling’s Brooklyn Bridge, Narrated by Tracey Enerson Wood

Tracey Enerson Wood is a celebrated bestselling author known for bringing the forgotten history of women to light. In her novel The Engineer's Wife, she tells the true story of Emily Warren Roebling, who completed the Brooklyn Bridge despite tremendous obstacles.

Emily Warren Roebling helped build the Brooklyn Bridge.

• In 1870, her husband, Washington Roebling, became very ill.
• Emily took over many of his responsibilities.
• She worked with engineers, workers, and government leaders.
• She helped solve problems and manage the project.
• The bridge took more than 10 years to complete.
• It became the world's first steel-wire suspension bridge.
• Emily played an important part in building the bridge.
• When the bridge opened in 1883, she was the first person to cross it.
• She carried a rooster as a symbol of good luck.
• Today, Emily Warren Roebling is remembered for her leadership and determination.

POP Reading and Writing practice:

Note: We have received several reports that USCIS are using compound/complex sentences.  

• What city and state have the most people?
• New York City and California state have the most people in the United States.
• Where do many citizens live?
• Many citizens live in California and New York City.
• What was the first U.S. capital and what is it now*?
• New York City was the first U.S. capital and now it is Washington D.C.
• * "now" is not on the Reading or Writing Vocabulary list but appears 7 times on the 100 Civics Questions and 6 times on the 128 Civic Questions

Family Fun:

• A Mighty Girl: Emily Warren Roebling: The Woman Who Saved The Brooklyn Bridge
• Brooklyn Bridge Park: Emily Warren Roebling Plaza | Brooklyn Bridge coloring page
• ASCE: Emily Warren Roebling
• Instructables: Toothpick Bridge Project
• Monday Mandala: Brooklyn Bridge coloring page
• Mrs Jenny Cox: Emily Warren Roebling and Toothpick Bridges
• NY Historical Society: Emily Warren Roebling
• The Glinda Factor: Emily Warren Roebling (and timeline)

250 to 250: 41. Obergefell v. Hodges, Narrated by Jim Obergefell

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Obergefell v. Hodges, Narrated by Jim Obergefell

Jim Obergefell is a leading LBGTQ+ activist, speaker, producer, author, and wine entrepreneur. Here he stories the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case, which guaranteed the marriage rights of same-sex couples across the United States.

In 2015, the Obergefell v. Hodges case changed U.S. law.

• The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry.
• All states must recognize same-sex marriages.
• The Court based its decision on the 14th Amendment (due process / equal protection).

Jim Obergefell married his partner, John Arthur.  

• They got married in Maryland, but they lived in Ohio.
• Ohio did not recognize their marriage.
• John Arthur was very sick and wanted to be recognized as a married man.
• Jim Obergefell filed a lawsuit.
• The court ruled in their favor.
• John Arthur's Ohio death certificate listed him as married.

The Supreme Court later upheld the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Since 2015, hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples have married in the United States.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 5:01 What is your current marital status?
• USCIS 100:02. What does the Constitution do?
• USCIS 100:37. / 128:51. What does the judicial branch do?
• USCIS 128:50. What is one part of the judicial branch?

Family Fun

• ACLU: Activity Book
• GLAAD: When Was Gay Marriage Legalized in the US?
• ILRC: Family-Based Petitions for LGBTQ Couples: Considerations When Documenting a Bona Fide Marriage (2020) | 2013 factsheet
• NCC: Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) case | lesson plan
• PBS: Timeline of Same-Sex Marriage Laws | Wiki timeline
• Retro Report: How the Supreme Court Ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges Legalized Same-Sex Marriage
• Teaching American History: Obergefell v. Hodges
• USCIS Policy Manual: Spouses: Same-Sex Marriages footnote 14 | footnote 15
• VOA Learning English: US Supreme Court Rules Same-Sex Marriage Is Legal in 2015 | video
• VOX: The march of marriage equality