Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening depending on when you are reading this.  This time I am pulling a documentary from the American Story – US History YouTube Channel.  This is a documentary about President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  The documentary is called The Wheelchair President.  It is part of a two-part series and it has a runtime of 46:12.

Historian David Reynolds explores the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.  He was the president who led the United States for 12 years and he was the supreme leader of the wartime alliance.  Towards the end of the war, his health suffered as a result of heart disease and two decades as a paraplegic.  Towards the end of the war, he was on the brink of having a heart attack.  So who was the man who became President?

The story begins with the inauguration of President Roosevelt.  The United States was in the grips of a Great Depression and he was the leader who was going to lead the nation out of this depression.  The story then transitions into his childhood where he was raised by his widowed mother.  He grew up along the Hudson, a child of privilege and wealth.  He married his cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt who was equally wealthy and had the connections.  She was a very shy woman but thrived in her marriage.  She was a very intelligent woman.

Franklin Roosevelt would try to model his life on his cousin Teddy Roosevelt by being active and adventurous.  He would throw himself into politics.  He would become Secretary of the Navy under Woodrow Wilson.  He was flying high in the political world.  Reynolds seems to hint that although he flew high he would be knocked down.  He was a man who loved women.  He enjoyed the company of his wife’s secretary, who was shocked when she discovered them.  For a time, there was talk about divorce.  His mother threatened to disinherit him if he and Eleanor divorced.  He agreed never to see the lady again and he and Eleanor remained married.

However, there would have been bigger challenges along the way.  Franklin was struck with polio which left his legs unusable.  He would be confined to his wheelchair.  He had wheels put on chairs and he had a car that he was modified for him.  There were ramps installed at his house so he could make his way around the house.  He would have been called a cripple in the language of the time.  His mother wanted him to retire from public view, however, he refused to do so.  He would press on with his career in politics.  He was a man who was determined to conquer polio.

He would focus on recovering and he was a man who kept his card close to his chest.  He would be a man who was everything to everyone.  It was said that he never let his right hand know what his left hand was doing.  He would focus on learning to walk again and would have been fitted with various instruments to help him walk and stand.  The tools were painful but they worked.  He would work on strengthening his torso and would eventually try to walk.  His daily exercise would be to walk down the driveway for that day.  Oftentimes, he would be drenched with sweat as a result of his exercise.  Sadly it was realized that he would never walk again, so he would have to trick the public into thinking he was able to walk.  The first test of this resolve would come at the Democratic convention of 1924 where he would perform a speech to nominate Alfred Smith.  He would become a public speaker and with the help of braces he was able to walk to the stage to give the speech.  The public would see that he could walk again, and was not a cripple.  So would it be enough for him to have a presidential run?  What would it take for him to be president?  Tune into the rest of the episode to find out more.

Overall, this was a very good documentary and would be an excellent start to learning about Franklin Roosevelt.  David Reynolds is a very good narrator as well.  I would recommend showing this first episode to a history class.  I would also use this for research purposes for an American History class as well.

Hello, April continues to press on.  For some schools, we are in the final days of school and for others, we are in the final weeks of schools.  Just an early reminder for June, July, and August I do three blogs a week instead of blogging every day, just a little bit of a break from blogging.  Typically during these months, I try to keep things fun for summer.  Anyway, I am going to continue avoiding the documentaries at the top of my review list.  I am doing a Drain the Oceans documentary, this time the secrets of the American Civil War are being explored.  It is called Secrets of the Civil War and it has a run time of 47:22.

It was one of the first wars where technology had an impact.  The sea was where the majority of the Civil War was shaped.  The war was fought on both the sea and the rivers.  There are 2000 Civil War wrecks on the sea floor.  The USS Cumberland was the first naval casualty of the Civil War and took part in one of the first naval battles of the Civil War.  The second ship participated in the battle and was revolutionary in its design.  Another ship reveals a new type of weapon that could sink ships.  What does draining the ocean reveal about the American Civil War.

For four years, a nation tore itself apart.  The Civil War was fought on both land and sea.  The first wreck was a leap forward in naval technology and it would have made wooden ships obsolete.  Its wreck lies off the coast of Virginia.  It took part in a battle that sent shockwaves around the world and was where the first great naval encounter took place.  In March 1862, the Hampton Roads area was one of the most dangerous areas in America and was fought over. 

The first wreck revealed is the USS Cumberland and it shockingly went down in minutes.  A strange vessel overcame her and sent her to the bottom.  The reports of the Cumberland’s sinking would have sent shockwaves through the Union Navy.  Even more shocking was learning about the ship that sunk the Cumberland.  The ship was covered in iron and was equipped with the latest weapons.  The ship was called the CSS Virginia.  The Cumberland sailors recalled hearing the laughter of the Confederate soldiers.

However, the laughter would have been short-lived when another ship arrived on the scene.  It was an iron ship as well but its design was revolutionary.  It was practically underwater with a turret that sat on its deck.  This ship was called the Monitor and it was the second American ironclad ship.  Together the Virginia and the Monitor would end the era of wooden warships.  Both ships would not survive the war and the Monitor lies off of Cape Hatteras.  Conservation efforts are trying to bring pieces of the Monitor up to learn more about the Monitor.  The grandfather of modern turrets was brought up.  To learn more about the turret continue to watch the rest of the episode.  I believe there was a Secrets of the Dead episode about the Monitor and the recovery effort of the propeller.  I will have to search for that documentary.

Another technology development would attempt to have an impact on the war.  This was a secret weapon that could hide underneath the waves.  This weapon had terrifying implications.  To learn more about this weapon continue to watch the rest of the documentary.

I have another complaint about the National Geographic Channel.  I wish they would put longer summaries in their descriptions.  Since the series focuses on 4-5 topics or wrecks, I would think mentioning those wrecks would be nice to add to the description.  I cannot tell you how many times I have had to rewind the documentary to come up with a decent summary.  Now that I have that bit of information out of the way, this series continues to provide good information and the episode is very well done.  This is a good introduction to how the Civil War took place on the sea, something that is barely touched on in American History classes.  l.  So I would show this to a history and a science class.

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening depending on when you are reading this.  I am going to shift gears again and I am very nervous about doing this documentary.  This is my reminder that I am doing these documentaries so your teachers do not have to spend time watching them do your prep work.  This is a documentary on the Civil War and it is an older documentary.  The run time for this documentary is 55:40 and it looks like it is called The American Civil War.

There is a quick discussion on the lead-up to the Civil War.  Over the years there were many brutal incidents over the issue of slavery.  There were more and more conflicts and these conflicts lead up to the 1860 Presidential Election.  Which way would this election go?  The Democratic party was divided reflecting the mood of the country.  There were three candidates It would go in the direction of a new political party, the Republican Party and Abraham Lincoln.  He was careful about mentions of slavery and believed that the Union should be preserved.  In the South, his name did not appear on the ballot.  Despite this, he would win the election.   This election would finally set off the Civil War.

Then there is a discussion on what the South had and how ill-prepared the South was for war.  There was very little industry.  There was no navy.  Cotton was king and they even refused to send Cotton to Europe to force European leaders to come to their side.  However, this would prevent them from raising funds in the future to support the war effort.  When the blockade was set, the South was unable to ship cotton overseas to raise money for the war.  The South did have a strong military tradition and many men went to these military academies.  The north in contrast had a great deal of industry and a large population.

At the start of the war, many men enthusiastically signed up to fight, believing that the war would end quickly.  Fort Sumter had been attacked and eventually, the North would surrender the fort.  There were no casualties, which would be a stark comparison to how many soldiers would be lost in the Civil War.  Both Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln would issue calls for arms.  The soldiers were farmers, professionals, and actors, and had come from a variety of backgrounds.  They expected the war to get over quickly, however, they could not foresee the bloodbath that was to happen.

War had changed in the years since the Mexican-American War a mere twelve years before the Civil War.  Weapons had changed.  Rifles could fire a greater distance.  Technology had changed.  Tactics would have to change because of technology.  Even with all the changes, the men were thrilled to get to experience the battle for the first time.  They were afraid that the war would end before they arrived on the battlefield.

Then there was an interesting section on how confusion reigned over the first battles of the Civil War.  Southern Soldiers could be found in blue uniforms instead of grey.  The flags of both sides looked very similar to each other in the smoke of battle.  After the Battle of Bull Run, these things would have to change and be standardized.  It was at this battle that both sides realized that the war was going to be longer than people would think.  So what would happen in the Civil War?   To learn more about the Civil War watch the rest of this documentary.

Yeah, this documentary really shows its age and I can picture popping in a VCR tape with this documentary on it.  It even says at the start that this was disk one.  I had low expectations for this documentary because of the look of it.  It actually was not a bad documentary, it kept moving along, the narration was good, and it followed a definite outline.  I went into this documentary thinking I would not recommend it.  However, I have changed my mind and would recommend this documentary for a history class because it was an excellent primer on the Civil War.  It would also be good for research purposes.

Today we are looking at the War of 1812.  This is a longer documentary with a run time of 1:53:16 and was produced by Buffalo Toronto Public Media.

In June 1812, the young United States declared war on Great Britain.  This war lasted for two years and the United States fought against the British, the Canadians, and the indigenous populations.  This is a war that is largely forgotten in both the United States and Britain.  However, there is one place where the war is remembered: Canada.  Legends grew up after the war.  1812 was a tiny war by the world’s standards and yet it has a big impact on a continent.  

There was a long prelude to the start of the War of 1812.  The British were in a struggle against Napoleon.  The only way Britain could defeat Napoleon was by cutting off supplies to his shoulders.  The United States was neutral during this war, making money off of both sides.  The British had enough, announcing to the world that any neutral ships would have to stop in Britain and pay a duty before being allowed to move on.  Eventually, impressment became the policy meaning that the British started taking British-sounding people and forcing them to serve in the Royal Navy.  Eventually, they started seizing sailors off the shores of the United States.  However, war was not declared at this time, feeding American resentment.  A new generation of Americans was not going to stand by and let this happen. 

In the meantime, William Harry Harrison was purchasing land from the indigenous people.  He would come to loggerheads with Tecumseh, an indigenous leader who wanted to form a confederation of First Nations.  Harrison would eventually lead an attack on Tecumseh’s home base in Prophet’s town.  However, the Indigenous people fought back, surprising Harrison’s army.  Harrison reported back to Washington a great victory.  His troops discovered that the Tecumseh’s men had British-made weapons.  This angered the American people and caused a headache for President James Madison.  President Madison was a man at home with his books, while his wife Dolly Madison was a sociable and politically astute woman. 

President Madison put forth his arguments for war and Congress voted for it.  For Britain the news of war was unwelcomed.  They were busy with Napoleon.  King George III was insane.  A British Prime Minister was assassinated.  Canadians did not want a war.  In the United States, the west was thrilled with the war.  While people in New England were less than enthused.  They were busy making money off of British trade.  

The American Army was not prepared for the war.  Yet they were ordered to invade Canada from three positions.  There were no real roads into Canada, transportation was done best by water, and there was a lack of communication between the three American armies.  There was additional discussion on the generals who were in charge of both armies.  The war would commence and the documentary does reenactments of the war.

The war was starting off to be a debacle.  There were many losses along the way and the British were blockading American shores.  Trade and the economic system were closing up.  In 1813, the Canadians were marching into Ohio.  However, the Americans were prepared for this invasion.  Fort Meigs was established and it was ready to undergo a fight.  Harrison established the fort and was not going to surrender.  

As the war progressed the Americans continued to suffer defeats.  There were naval battles on the Great Lakes.  The British wanted to keep control of Lake Erie.  If they could keep control of Lake Erie, they could control the flow of supplies.  The Americans and the British went on a furious ship-building spree on Lake Erie.  It was on Lake Erie that the British would suffer defeat and every single British Ship would be surrendered to the Americans.  The Americans seized control of Lake Erie and the Canadians would retreat.  To learn more about the War of 1812, continue to watch this documentary.

This is a surprisingly well-produced documentary about the War of 1812.  It had a really good flow to it and the tidbits about the British being more worried about Napoleon were good.  I got a kick out of the “incompetent officers” lines from time to time.  Overall, this would be a good documentary to show in an American history classroom.