250 to 250: 67. John Quincy Adams, Narrated by Bob Crawford

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: John Quincy Adams, Narrated by Bob Crawford

Bob Crawford is best known for being the bassist for the Avett Brothers, historian, podcast host, childhood cancer advocate, and author of “America's Founding Son.” Crawford presents the inspiring life of President John Quincy Adams, who used his post-presidency to fight against slavery.

John Quincy Adams was the son of President John Adams.

• He became the sixth president of the United States.
• Before he was president, he was a diplomat, senator, and Secretary of State.
• He helped the United States gain Florida.
• After he was president, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
• He served in the House for 17 years.
• He spoke against slavery.
• He opposed the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War.
• He helped defend Africans from the ship Amistad.
• John Quincy Adams died in the House of Representatives in 1848.
• Today, he is remembered for working for freedom and justice.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 2:10. Was your mother or father (including adoptive mother or father) a U.S. citizen before your 18th birthday?
• 100:23. /128:29. Name your U.S. Representative.
• 100:60 / 128:75. What group of people was taken and sold as slaves?

Family Fun:

• C-SPAN: Life Portrait of John Quincy Adams
• JQS: JQA’s “Monsters to Destroy” Speech, Full Text
• MGM: Amistad clips: John Quincy Adams Speech Part 1 | Part 2 | stream "Amistad" or borrow the DVD from your library
• MHS: John Quincy Adams Digital Diary   
• NPS: Travel the Amistad Freedom-Seeking Story, Connecticut 
• National Archives: The Amistad Case
• Smithsonian: Debbie Allen Recounts the True Story of 'Amistad' and Sengbe Pieh's Fight for Freedom
• Teaching American History: Beyond the Amistad: The antislavery legislative career of John Quincy Adams
• UVA Miller Center: John Quincy Adams
• uscitizenpod:  John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams | Sengbe Pieh and La Amistad  coloring pages
• Zinn Project: July 2, 1839: The Amistad Mutiny

250 to 250: 66. Corps of Discovery Expedition, Narrated by Megan Kate Nelson

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Corps of Discovery Expedition, Narrated by Megan Kate Nelson

Megan Kate Nelson is an American historian and a Pulitzer Prize finalist. She is best known as the author of The Westerners: Mythmaking and Belonging on the American Frontier, a celebrated epic that relays a counter-history of the American West. Nelson follows the epic journey of Lewis and Clark, who mapped the American West and transformed the young nation's knowledge of its vast new territory.

In 1803, the United States bought the Louisiana Territory.

• This purchase doubled the size of the country.
• President Thomas Jefferson wanted to learn about the new land.
• He sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on an expedition.
• They followed the Missiouri River to the northwest.
• They started at the Mississippi River (near St Louis, Missouri) and ended at the Pacific Ocean (near Portland, Oregon).
• Jefferson asked them to make careful maps and observations.
• The expedition group included Sacagawea, a Shoshone woman.
• Sacagawea helped as a guide, interpreter, and diplomat.
• The group met many Native American tribes.
• They studied plants, animals, rivers, and mountains.
• The expedition lasted about two years.
• Lewis and Clark helped Americans learn more about the western United States.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 8:01. Have you taken a trip outside of the United States in the last 5 years?
• USCIS 100:88. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
• USCIS 100:71 / 128:90. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

Family Fun:

• LOC: Journeys West |  Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America | more resources
• NPS: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail | Junior Ranger Activity Book | Online Junior Ranger
• National Archives: Lewis & Clark Expedition
• PBS: Lewis and Clark by Ken Burns (stream or borrow the video form your library)
• Smithsonian Education: Lewis and Clark
• UNL: Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition
• uscitizenpod: 2004-2005 Westward Journey Nickels | 2014 Native American Hospitality Dollar coloring page

250 to 250: 65. Dean Acheson, Narrated by Antony Blinken

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Dean Acheson, Narrated by Antony Blinken

Antony Blinken served as the 71st U.S. Secretary of State. Blinken profiles Dean Acheson, the statesman who helped build the rules-based international order—from the Marshall Plan to NATO—that stabilized the postwar world.

Dean Acheson was an American government leader.

• He worked for the United States from 1933 to 1953.
• During World War II, he helped create the Lend-Lease program.
• The program sent supplies to Great Britain and other allies.
• After the war, he helped rebuild Europe through the Marshall Plan.
• He also helped create North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949.
• NATO is a group of countries that work together for peace and security.
• Acheson believed countries should help one another.
• He believed strong allies would make the United States safer.
• He believed trade and cooperation would help many countries grow.
• His work helped strengthen friendships between the United States and other nations.
• Today, Dean Acheson is remembered for helping build international cooperation after World War II.

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

• CFR: Dean Acheson and the Birth of the Liberal International Order 
• Carnegie: How Dean Acheson Won the Cold War: Statesmanship, Morality, and Foreign Policy
• Gilder Lehrman Institute: Harry S. Truman to Dean Acheson, March 31, 1950 lesson plan
• NPS: Minuteman Missile National Historic Site |  Junior Ranger Program 7-11 | 12 & up | American Cold War Policy
• National Museum of American Diplomacy: The Road to NATO: Building the Transatlantic Alliance | Foundations of Diplomacy playlist
• Truman Library: 'Harry and Dean' A Play by Karl Inderfurth
• uscitizenpod: 250 to 250: 46. NATO, Narrated by Adam Kinzinger

250 to 250: 64. Nam June Paik, Narrated by Min Jin Lee

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Nam June Paik, Narrated by Min Jin Lee

Min Jin Lee is a Korean-American novelist and the author of Free Food for Millionaires and Pachinko, a finalist for the National Book Award and one of the New York Times' 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. Her fiction explores the Korean diaspora, identity, and belonging across generations. She is the 2024 recipient of the Fitzgerald Prize for Literary Excellence and currently serves as New York State Author Laureate.

Nam June Paik was born in Korea in 1932.

• He left Korea with his family during the Korean War.
• In 1964, he moved to the United States.
• Paik first studied music.
• Later, he became an artist.
• He used televisions and video in his artwork.
• Many people call him the "father of video art."
• His art showed how technology can change people's lives.
• He believed computers and television would become more important.
• He said that one day many people would have their own TV channels.
• Paik believed technology could bring people and cultures together.
• Today, Nam June Paik is remembered as an important modern artist.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 2:04: What is your country of birth?  Use the name of the country at the time of your birth, even if the name of the country has changed.
• USCIS 100:78. / 128:100.  Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
• USCIS 128:118. Name one example of an American innovation.

Family Fun:

• Guggenhwim: Teaching Nam June Paik
• Kiddle: Nam June Paik facts for Kids
• PBS American Masters: Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV 
• Smithsonian: Nam June Paik's "Electronic Superhighway" - American Art Moments
• Tate: Nam June Paik Educator Packet
• Whitney: Nam June Paik
• uscitizenpod: Nam June Paik: Electronic Highway" coloring page

250 to 250: 63. Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Narrated by Patterson Hood

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Trail of Tears, Narrated by Shana Bushyhead Condill

Patterson Hood is a writer and performer, best known as a co-founder and lead singer of the rock & roll band Drive-By Truckers. He is the son of musician David Hood, a founding member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Here, Patterson celebrates the Swampers, the Muscle Shoals session musicians who crossed racial lines to create some of America's most iconic soul and rock records.

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section was called the Swampers.

• The group worked near Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
• Leon Russell gave them the nickname "the Swampers."
• They began making music in the 1960s.
• They played on many famous songs.
• The Swampers played with Black and White musicians.
• They helped make R&B, soul, rock, and country music.
• They recorded songs with Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Willie Nelson, Rod Stewart, and many others.
• The Rolling Stones also recorded music at their studio.
• The song "Sweet Home Alabama" mentions the Swampers.
• In 2013, a documentary film told the story of the Muscle Shoals music studio and its famous musicians.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 4:02. Is your current physical address also your current mailing address?
• USCIS 100:96 / 128:121. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
• USCIS 100:97 / 128:122. Why does the flag have 50 stars?
• USCIS 100:98. / 128:123. What is the name of the national anthem?

Family Fun:

• Alabama Music Hall of Fame: Music From Muscle Shoals
• Country Music Hall of Fame: Muscle Shoals: Low Rhythm Rising: online exhibition |  playlist
• History Hunters: Muscle Shoals Sound Studio where Lynyrd Skynyrd & Others Recorded
• MSNHA: Roots of American Music Trail | Junior Ranger program: Music (bottom of the page) | Education (many resources)
• Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum: Swampers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

250 to 250: 62. Trail of Tears, Narrated by Shana Bushyhead Condill

 

 

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Trail of Tears, Narrated by Shana Bushyhead Condill

Shana Bushyhead Condill is a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), and Executive Director of the Museum of the Cherokee People in Cherokee, North Carolina. Shana Bushyhead Condill recounts the Trail of Tears, the brutal forced removal of Indigenous peoples whose survival remains a testament to Native resilience that endures today. ‪

In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act.

• The law forced many American Indian tribes to leave their homes.
• Many tribes lived in the southeastern United States.
• Soldiers forced families to travel to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.
• The trip was long and very difficult.
• Many people became sick or died on the journey.
• This journey is called the Trail of Tears.
• The Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole were among the tribes that were forced to move.
• Some Native Americans stayed on their ancestral lands.
• Native American people kept their cultures and traditions alive.
• Today, Native American communities continue to honor their history and their ancestors.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 4:01b. What was your previous home address?
• USCIS 100:59. / 128:74.   Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
• USCIS 100:87. / 128:117. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.

Family Fun:

• ARCGIS: Trail of Tears story maps
• Chickasaw Kids: Interactive games
• Choctaw Cultural Legacy: Activity Books
• Florida Museum: Seminole Patchwork
• Muscogee/Creek: Mvskoke Language Resources
• NMAI: Native Knowledge 360: American Indian Removal: What Does It Mean to Remove a People?
• NPS: Trail of Tears | maps | documentary | Junior Ranger Activity Book
• PBS Learning Media: Trail of Tears (lesson plans and resources)
• ReadWorks: The Louisiana Purchase and the Trail of Tears (login required)
• The Cherokee Holiday: Activity Books
• Urban Iskwew: Coloring Pages many pages in different tribal languages by Hawlii Pichette (Mushkego Cree)

250 to 250: 61. Miss America Pageant, Narrated by Katie Boyd

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Miss America Pageant, Narrated by Katie Boyd

Katie Boyd is a world-renowned media personality, fitness and spiritual lifestyle coach, and founder of Katie Boyd’s Miss Fit Club. Boyd examines the Miss America pageant, whose century-long history reflects America's slow reckoning with women's rights and racial equality.

The Miss America Pageant began in 1921.

• It started in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
• The pageant helped bring visitors to the city.
• Women competed for prizes and scholarships.
• Many people liked the pageant.
• Other people said it was unfair to women.
• In 1968, women's rights activists protested the pageant.
• They wanted equal rights and respect for women.
• For many years, women of color could not compete fairly.
• In 1984, Vanessa Williams became the first Black Miss America.
• The pageant changed over time as American society changed.
• Today, the history of the Miss America Pageant shows the long fight for women's rights and equality.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 2:05. What is your sex?
• USCIS 100:77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
• USCIS 128:99.   Name one leader of the women’s rights movement in the 1800s.
• USCIS 128:102. When did all women get the right to vote? 

Family Fun:

• JWA: Protest Social Media's Beauty Standards in the Name of the Freedom Trash Can
• Miss America: History
• Smithsonian Magagzine: Fifty Years Ago, Protesters Took on the Miss America Pageant and Electrified the Feminist Movement
• Valery Evangelin: 50 Years Apart: The Reconstruction of Freedom Trash Can in the 1968 Miss America Protest
• Note: Toss things into a freedom trash can that oppress you.
• Zyppy: Up Against the Wall Miss America (1968) - FULL SHORT DOCUMENTARY

250 to 250: 60. The Banjo, Narrated by Alison Brown

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: The Banjo, Narrated by Alison Brown

Alison Brown is a Grammy-award winning banjoist, co-founder of Compass Records and recovering investment banker. Brown traces the history of the banjo, from its roots in enslaved Africans' musical traditions to its lasting influence on American music.

Enslaved Africans brought music to the United States.

• They made instruments from gourds and wood.
• One of these instruments became the banjo.
• Many enslaved people played the banjo in the South.
• Music helped people remember their culture.
• In the 1800s, more Americans learned about the banjo.
• Soon, the banjo became a popular instrument.
• The banjo became important in jazz, folk, and bluegrass music.
• Many musicians still play the banjo today.
• Singer Pete Seager famously said about the banjo, "This instrument surrounds hate and forces it to surrender."
• The banjo is an important part of American music and history.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 3:02. What is your race?
• USCIS 100:60. / 128:75. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
• USCIS 100:84.  What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
• USCIS 128:112. What did the civil rights movement do?

Family Fun:

• African American Folklorist: Reclaiming the Banjo: Joe Zavaan Johnson and the Work of Black Musical Recovery
• BBRP: Black Banjo Reclamation Project
• Ballad of America: The Banjo: A History of America’s African Instrument - Folk+ 2025
• Black Music Project: The Roots of the Banjo
• NPS: The Banjo
• PBS In the Making: Hannah Mayree: Songs of Reclamation: Reclaiming the Banjo's Hidden Black History
• PBS and Reel South: Boil that Cabbage Down
• Rhiannon Giddens: What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow | releases | Great Courses presentation
• Smithsonian Folkways: Black Banjo Songsters of North Carolina and Virginia playlist | buy
• Teach Rock: The Banjo, Slavery, and the Abolition Debate
• Vox: Why this instrument explains Black American folk music
• Woody Guthrie Center: Inside the WGC: Pete Seeger's Banjo | education
• Woody Guthrie famously scrawled "This Machine Kills Fascists" on some of his guitars and instrument, a message that the communal act of making music can stop those who seek to tear us apart. Woody's friend Pete Seeger had a similar message for what his banjo "machine" did: "This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces it to Surrender."
1. Give students cardboard cutouts (or coloring pages) of guitars or banjos (or any instrument or machine).
2. Write your own: 'This machine phrase:' 
3. What's your machine/instrument and what it's going what's it going to fight for or against?