Department of History

Asia and the Challenge of the West.

This controversial and arresting film takes you behind the walls of government, as CIA, Pentagon and foreign service experts speak out, many for the first time, detailing the lies, misstatements, and exaggerations that served as the reasons to fight a "preemptive" war that wasn't necessary. The war with Iraq brought about unparalleled resistance, both in the streets and in the chambers of government. This documentary offers an in-depth look at the unsettling distortion of intelligence and the "spin and hype" presented to the American people, the Congress and the press. Fighting wars to bring about regime change is in breach of international law. Yet, throughout the fall of 2022, and into the weeks preceding the war in Iraq, the Bush administration systematically distorted intelligence evidence and misled the public in order to turn opinion in favor of "regime change" in Iraq. The film will present interviews with more than 20 experts, all of whom have informed opinions about the reasons we were given for war and the evidence presented to support those reasons. Some supported the war itself but are deeply concerned about the way information was misused. All believe it is their duty to speak up. Among those interviewed are former Ambassador Joe Wilson, weapons inspectors Scott Ritter and David Albright, anti-terrorism expert Rand Beers, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, former CIA operative Robert Baer and the Washington editor of the Nation, David Corn.

A film directed by Ken Burns. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson tells the story of the first African-American boxer to win the most coveted title in all of sports and his struggle, in and out of the ring, to live his life as a free man. This riveting two-part documentary follows Jack Johnson's remarkable journey from his humble beginnings in Galveston, Texas, as the son of former slaves, to his entry into the brutal world of professional boxing, where, in turn-of-the-century Jim Crow America, the heavyweight champion was an exclusively "white title." Despite the odds, Johnson was able to batter his way up through the professional ranks, and in 1908 he became the first African-American to earn the title of Heavyweight Champion of the World. Johnson's victory set in motion a worldwide search for a Great White Hope to restore the title to the white race. And when no one could be found to beat the champion in the ring, his own government tried to destroy him in the courts, using this relationships with white women as the excuse to prosecute him. Determined to live his life regardless of the confines imposed by his color, Jack Johnson emerges as a central figure in America's ongoing struggle to deal with the question of race.

Disc One-In the 1820s, Mexico is suffering in the artermath of a devsatating war for independence from Spain. To the north, the United States is expanding its territory at a pace that alarms the Mexican government. Tensions mount when TExas breaks free from Mexico in 1836 and is later annexed by the United States. In 1846, US and Mexican troops clash over a border dispute in Texas, and war explodes. President Polk orders the US Army and Navy to conquer the Mexican territories of New Mexico and California. When Mexico refuses to surrender, Polk turns his attention to Mexico City.Disc Two-Former Mexican President General Antonia Lopez de Santa Anna returns from exile to unite Mexico against the US invasion. President Polk decides to open a second front against Mexico and strike deep inot Mexico's hearland. Anata Anna is unable to turn back the invaders and a dramatic battle for Mexico City ends when the camptal finally surrenders on September 14, 1847. A few months later, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed, ceding all of the states of the present American Southwest to the United States.