The Battle of Midway with Craig Symonds | Pivotal Battles in American History #3

20+ minute interviews with modern authors and scholars on topics of U.S. History and Civics.

How did the Battle of Gettysburg shape the outcome of the Civil War and why was it pivotal in American history? In this episode of our Scholar Talks series, "Pivotal Battles in American History," BRI Senior Teaching Fellow Tony Williams is joined by Allen Guelzo, Director of the James Madison Program’s Initiative in Politics and Statesmanship and three-time winner of the prestigious Lincoln Prize, to discuss Dr. Guelzo’s highly acclaimed books "Robert E. Lee: A Life" and "Gettysburg: The Last Invasion." Why did Lee decide to join the Confederacy despite professional and personal conflicts, and how did his tactical decisions at Gettysburg influence the outcome of the Civil War?

How did the Battle of Saratoga shape the outcome of the Revolutionary War and of American history? In the first episode of our new Scholar Talks series, "Pivotal Battles in American History," BRI Senior Teaching Fellow Tony Williams is joined by Dr. Kevin Weddle, Professor of Military Theory and Strategy at the US Army War College and author of "The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution," to discuss the dramatic role the Battle of Saratoga played in the Revolutionary War. What factors led to the quick unraveling of British strategy in 1777? What was significant about the leadership of American field commanders and generals in the battlefield?

BRI Senior Teaching Fellow, Tony Williams, and guest scholar Ed Lengel will be discussing Lengel's compelling essays in BRI's new Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness Digital Textbook on the dramatic Pacific theater of World War II. Lengel will narrate the captivating story of Japan’s aggressive expansionism during the 1930s in the lead-up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the brutal fighting in the Pacific, and the consequential dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945.