American Presidents: Life Portraits

Now it is easier to find a short video clip for your classroom! Use the clip list below to search for short, relevant segments from the featured American Presidents: Life Portraits program.

Directions: Click on the streamed video links to the left and view the program online; use the start and end times in the list below to cue up and watch the segments of your choice. The clips shaded in gray are those recommended by C-SPAN's Teacher Fellows.

Abraham Lincoln Program Video Clip List - Part 1 of 4
Clip #	Start Time	End Time	Description
1	0:00	5:06	Biographical vignette Watch Clip 1
2	7:14	8:49	Issues during the presidency of James Buchanan that increased the chances for a Republican/Lincoln victory in 1860 Watch Clip 2
3	8:57	10:06	How many Americans were aware of Lincoln in 1860? The population of the U.S. (slave and free), a breakdown of slave states and free states
4	11:20	12:18	The presidential nominees in 1860; sectional divisions that existed within the Democratic Party
5	13:34	14:05	Lincoln's cabinet and the Emancipation Proclamation
6	18:00	19:34	Lincoln's suspension of the writ of habeas corpus Watch Clip 6
7	21:36	22:47	The Union policy for commanders who dealt with runaway slaves
8	28:25	29:26	Immigration into the United States and Confederate states during the Civil War
9	29:30	30:48	What impact did the Lincoln-Douglas debates have upon Lincoln's position within the Republican Party? Watch Clip 9
10	30:49	31:32	What impact did the telegraph and railroads have during the Civil War?
11	31:44	33:04	The selection of Hannibal Hamlin as Lincoln's running mate in the election of 1860
12	33:30	34:59	What would have happened if the Confederacy had not fired upon Fort Sumter?
13	35:24	36:11	Lincoln's relationship with his childhood family
14	36:12	37:32	Film clip of the historic sites that deal with Lincoln's youth
15	39:02	39:52	The relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln
16	41:08	42:45	The Lincoln children, their relationship with their father and their health issues
17	46:00	46:57	Great Britain's relationship with the Confederate states
18	48:37	51:10	Electoral and popular vote of 1860, Congress during the Lincoln presidency, the Republican / Union Party, African-American voters, and women voters; Kansas-Nebraska Act Watch Clip 18
19	53:04	53:49	Lincoln's cabinet during his presidency
20	54:00	56:15	What were the roles of African-American troops in the Civil War? How did Frederick Douglass influence Lincoln's use of African-American troops? Watch Clip 20
21	56:17	57:37	The selection of Andrew Johnson as Lincoln's running mate in 1864 Watch Clip 21
22	58:58	59:21	Lincoln's spirituality
23	1:02:37	1:03:28	The influence of women upon the election of Lincoln
24	1:03:30	1:04:21	Lincoln's political career prior to his election to the presidency
25	1:04:25	1:06:51	The significance of the "Might Makes Right" speech in New York City in terms of Lincoln's rise in the Republican Party
26	1:08:00	1:11:37	Interview with historian Tim Townsend about the Lincoln house in Springfield, Illinois
27	1:11:38	1:15:24	Interview with Cullom Davis on the Lincoln legal papers
28	1:16:13	1:16:30	What were the differences between the two political parties in the 1860s?
29	1:16:32	1:18:43	What was Lincoln's reputation as a lawyer in the 1850s?
Abraham Lincoln Program Video Clip List - Part 2 of 4
Clip #	Start Time	End Time	Description
30	0:02	0:59	Lincoln as a writer
31	2:04	2:40	Did Secretary of War Stanton conspire to assassinate Lincoln?
32	5:25	8:41	Interview with a high school student from Lincoln Community High School in Lincoln, Indiana
33	8:53	10:48	Significant places in the Springfield, Illinois area that feature Abraham Lincoln
34	10:50	11:59	Lincoln's lack of "formal" education prior to becoming a lawyer
35	13:33	14:45	Relationship between Lincoln and Herndon as law partners
36	14:47	15:26	Lincoln's relationship with Ann Rutledge, allegedly his first love
37	15:29	17:49	Are historians objective and fair in accessing the careers of presidents?
Abraham Lincoln Program Video Clip List - Part 3 of 4
Clip #	Start Time	End Time	Description
38	0:00	1:21	A series of stills that list the highlights of Lincoln's political career, his Supreme Court appointments, and historical events during his time as president Watch Clip 38
39	2:40	3:20	How many Americans were under arms in the early days of the Civil War?
40	3:21	4:04	A breakdown of northern states, states that seceded from the Union, and border states. This clip includes a map. Watch Clip 40
41	4:39	7:30	A comparison of the Democratic and Republican parties of the 1860s to the modern Democratic and Republican parties; Population of the U.S. in the 1860s Watch Clip 41
42	10:24	11:44	The difficult relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln
43	11:44	12:11	Why Lincoln did not run for reelection after his term in Congress; Deals with Lincoln's honesty
44	13:30	15:30	Lincoln's handling of his officers during the Civil War; Included is Lincoln's infamous visit to General McClelland Watch Clip 44
45	15:47	16:50	Lincoln and organized religion
46	16:50	18:31	Recommended books on Abraham Lincoln
47	18:37	20:00	The emancipation of slaves in DC and attempts to get border states to emancipate slaves on their own
48	20:00	21:00	Lincoln's impact upon the Supreme Court; Includes a visual of his appointments
49	22:25	23:46	Historian David Long's perspective of Lincoln and Reconstruction Watch Clip 49
50	23:48	25:45	Film clip of the Lincoln family grave site; Includes dialogue on the career of Robert Todd Lincoln
51	25:45	26:54	Historian Edna Greene Medford's perspective on Lincoln and Reconstruction Watch Clip 51
52	28:47	29:46	Union sympathizers in the South and Confederate sympathizers in the North
54	31:56	39:25	A tour of the second floor of the Lincoln home in Springfield, Illinois; There is discussion of some personal matters concerning the Linclon family.
55	41:09	42:52	Lincoln's net estate
56	43:47	45:07	Lincoln's mother
57	46:05	47:25	Lincoln's military career prior to his presidency
58	48:17	51:00	Lincoln and homosexuality Watch Clip 58
59	51:09	53:15	Lincoln's ancestors and their move to the West
Abraham Lincoln Program Video Clip List - Part 4 of 4
Clip #	Start Time	End Time	Description
60	1:10	2:09	Lincoln learning how to read
61	3:01	5:15	Question about two Lincoln "myths"; Lincoln's response to being elected and a stick in his hand for a casting
62	5:26	6:37	Lincoln's funeral procession and the African-American response to "The Great Emancipator"
63	8:07	9:56	The impact of "Bleeding Kansas" as a preview to the Civil War
64	10:53	12:11	Mary Todd Lincoln's mental state in the years following the assassination
65	13:10	15:16	All three guests are asked to talk about one thing that they did not like about Abraham Lincoln. Watch Clip 65


A Site to Complement C-SPAN's 20th Anniversary Television Series, American Presidents: Life Portraits March-December 1999