Back

Essentials: Biography (Middle and High School)

A series of films about important and influential people in the history of the United States, appropriate for grades 6-12.

Or Add Series to Wish List

Season 1

Military Leaders of the Civil War

Grant, Lee, and Jackson are names synonymous with the American Civil war, but how did their strategies and decisions influence the outcome of America's bloodiest conflict?

Add to Wish List

239. Military Leaders of the Civil War

Grant, Lee, and Jackson are names synonymous with the American Civil war, but how did their strategies and decisions influence the outcome of America's bloodiest conflict?

Add to Wish List

Progressive Leaders

During the Gilded Age, an era of both wealth and want, progressive leaders like Ida B. Wells and Theodore Roosevelt led crucial reforms that changed the lives of working people and minorities.

Add to Wish List

238. Progressive Leaders

During the Gilded Age, an era of both wealth and want, progressive leaders like Ida B. Wells and Theodore Roosevelt led crucial reforms that changed the lives of working people and minorities.

Add to Wish List

Harriet Beecher Stowe

At a time when more than 3 million African Americans were enslaved in the United States, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a groundbreaking book that galvanized the public to call for their freedom.

Add to Wish List

237. Harriet Beecher Stowe

At a time when more than 3 million African Americans were enslaved in the United States, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a groundbreaking book that galvanized the public to call for their freedom.

Add to Wish List

Lewis and Clark

In the early 1800s, Meriweather Lewis and William Clark charted the vast Louisiana Territory, providing the first maps and detailed documentation of its geography, plants, animals, and Indigenous populations.

Add to Wish List

199. Lewis and Clark

In the early 1800s, Meriweather Lewis and William Clark charted the vast Louisiana Territory, providing the first maps and detailed documentation of its geography, plants, animals, and Indigenous populations.

Add to Wish List

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Born in Georgia in 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. helped transform lives not just in the United States, but around the world.

Add to Wish List

198. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Born in Georgia in 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. helped transform lives not just in the United States, but around the world.

Add to Wish List

Frederick Douglass

Born into slavery around 1818, Frederick Douglass was a writer and activist who compelled the nation to confront the stark contradictions between its founding principles and the realities of the time.

Add to Wish List

196. Frederick Douglass

Born into slavery around 1818, Frederick Douglass was a writer and activist who compelled the nation to confront the stark contradictions between its founding principles and the realities of the time.

Add to Wish List

William Jennings Bryan

Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan shaped early 20th-century U.S. politics with his advocacy for the common man and progressive policies.

Add to Wish List

153. William Jennings Bryan

Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan shaped early 20th-century U.S. politics with his advocacy for the common man and progressive policies.

Add to Wish List

The Rise of America's Industrial Titans

During the 19th century, leading industrialists like Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, and John D. Rockefeller helped transform the U.S. from an agricultural to an industrial powerhouse, but at significant cost to competition and workers’ rights.

Add to Wish List

152. The Rise of America's Industrial Titans

During the 19th century, leading industrialists like Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, and John D. Rockefeller helped transform the U.S. from an agricultural to an industrial powerhouse, but at significant cost to competition and workers’ rights.

Add to Wish List

Leaders of the Civil War

The U.S. Civil War pitted friend against friend, neighbor against neighbor, in a bitter fight for the future of the nation. It also drove the country’s leaders apart. Their struggles are embodied by six men whose fates reflected the nation's continuing struggle for unity and progress.

Add to Wish List

148. Leaders of the Civil War

The U.S. Civil War pitted friend against friend, neighbor against neighbor, in a bitter fight for the future of the nation. It also drove the country’s leaders apart. Their struggles are embodied by six men whose fates reflected the nation's continuing struggle for unity and progress.

Add to Wish List

George Washington: Leader of a New Nation

George Washington wasn’t just a military general – he was one of his era’s most astute political leaders. From learning his trade in the Virginia House of Burgesses, to establishing the role of President, he embodied the spirit of American democracy.

Add to Wish List

139. George Washington: Leader of a New Nation

George Washington wasn’t just a military general – he was one of his era’s most astute political leaders. From learning his trade in the Virginia House of Burgesses, to establishing the role of President, he embodied the spirit of American democracy.

Add to Wish List

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, a Founding Father, and the third President of the United States. But he was also an enslaver whose life was marked by contradictions.

Add to Wish List

67. Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, a Founding Father, and the third President of the United States. But he was also an enslaver whose life was marked by contradictions.

Add to Wish List

Thomas Paine's visionary writings, advocating freedom and democracy, were instrumental in shaping the United States' fight for independence. Explore his remarkable journey, from campaigning for higher pay as a tax collector in England, to inspiring the US and French revolutions.

Add to Wish List

53. Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine's visionary writings, advocating freedom and democracy, were instrumental in shaping the United States' fight for independence. Explore his remarkable journey, from campaigning for higher pay as a tax collector in England, to inspiring the US and French revolutions.

Add to Wish List

General Washington

What made George Washington such an inspirational military leader? Explore his remarkable journey, from a childhood on his family's Virginia plantation to his role as the Commander of the Continental Army,

Add to Wish List

38. General Washington

What made George Washington such an inspirational military leader? Explore his remarkable journey, from a childhood on his family's Virginia plantation to his role as the Commander of the Continental Army,

Add to Wish List

Leaders of the Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War pitted determined colonists against an experienced British Army. Meet the military leaders who played pivotal roles on both sides.

Add to Wish List

22. Leaders of the Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War pitted determined colonists against an experienced British Army. Meet the military leaders who played pivotal roles on both sides.

Add to Wish List

Explore the life and legacy of John Adams, second President of the United States, and learn how he journeyed from the courtrooms of Boston to the highest office in the land.

Add to Wish List

Explore the life and legacy of John Adams, second President of the United States, and learn how he journeyed from the courtrooms of Boston to the highest office in the land.

Add to Wish List

James Madison is known as the “Father of the Constitution” – but he was so much more than that. As author of the Virginia Plan and the Bill of Rights, his political genius proved vital in the founding of our nation.

Add to Wish List

4. James Madison

James Madison is known as the “Father of the Constitution” – but he was so much more than that. As author of the Virginia Plan and the Bill of Rights, his political genius proved vital in the founding of our nation.

Add to Wish List

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin may be the most famous American politician who never ran for president. In this film, learn about his life and legacy.

Add to Wish List

3. Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin may be the most famous American politician who never ran for president. In this film, learn about his life and legacy.

Add to Wish List

Close