250 to 250:130. Native American Code Talkers, Narrated by Latham Nez

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Native American Code Talkers, Narrated by Latham Nez

Latham Nez is a contemporary Navajo artist, jewelry creator and cultural advocate from New Mexico best known as the grandson of the late Chester Nez, the last surviving member of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers. Nez remembers the Native American Code Talkers, whose Indigenous languages became unbreakable codes that helped win both World Wars.

Native American code talkers served in both World Wars.

• They used their Native languages to send secret messages.
• The enemy could not understand their messages.
• Code talkers came from many Native American tribes.
• Choctaw code talkers served in World War I.

Navajo and Comanche code talkers served in World War II.

• During World War II, Navajo code talkers served in the Pacific. 
• Chester Nez was one of the first 29 Navajo code talkers.
• Comanche code talkers served in the D-Day invasion (Normandy, France).
• Their work helped win the wars.
• Their languages are important parts of Native American life and culture today.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 9:25. Have you ever served in the U.S. military?
• USCIS 100:53. / 128:67.  What is one promise (two promises) you make when you become a United States citizen?
• USCIS 100:78 / 128:100. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
• USCIS 100:87. / 128:117. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
• Read: Who lived here first? 
• Write: American Indians lived here first.  

Family Fun:

• American Legion National Headquarters: Chester Nez: The Last of the Original Navajo Codetalkers
• LOC: Navajo Code Talkers: A Guide to First-Person Narratives in the Veterans History Project | Chester Nez
• Lowell Milken Center: Meet the Hero: Chester Nez
• NMAI: Why We Serve: Native American in the US Armed Forces: Code Talkers | Code Talking: Intelligence and Bravery | Native American Code Talkers: A Lasting Legacy | NK360: CodeTalkers
• National WWII Museum: American Indian Code Talkers
• National Veterans Memorial and Museum: National Navajo Code Talkers Day
• Partnership with Native Americans: Navajo Code Talkers Day: The Life and Legacy of Chester Nez
• Smithsonian: The Unbreakable Navajo Code | Breaking Barriers: Navajo Code Talkers
• Stamp Our Story: Navajo Code Talkers
• US Mint: Code Talker Medals (Wikipedia collection)
• uscitizenpod: Comanche | Choctaw | Navajo Code Talker coloring pages

250 to 250:129. Hockessin Colored School 107, Narrated by Senator Chris Coons

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Hockessin Colored School 107, Narrated by Senator Chris Coons

Senator Chris Coons of Delaware is an American lawyer and former Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, who is recognized for his work in legislature and oversight. Coons tells how Shirley Bulah's walk to a segregated school led to a Delaware ruling that helped pave the way for Brown v. Board of Education. 

Shirley Bulah was a Black student in Delaware.

• She walked to a Black school every day.
• School buses took white children to a white school.
• Shirley’s family wanted her to have equal treatment.
• Lawyer Louis Redding helped the family.
• He fought against separate schools for Black and white children.
• In 1952, a Delaware court ruled in favor of Shirley and other Black students.
• The Delaware case later became part of Brown v. Board of Education.
• In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.
• The decision helped open public schools to students of all races.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz: 

• N-400 Part 9:7. Have you EVER ordered, incited, called for, committed, assisted, helped with, or otherwise participated in intentional harm or suffering to any person becaue of their race, religion, national origin, membership in a particular group, or political opinion?
• 100:84 / 128:112.   What did the civil rights movement do?
• Read: Why do people want to be citizens?  
• Write: Washington was the first U.S. president. 

Family Fun:

• 107c: The One-Room School That Helped Change America
• Avalon: Interview with Louis L. Redding
• Delaware Dept of Ed: From RunaRound to Remedy (or Bulah to Brown) (lesson plan)
• Delaware Hisorical Society: Journey to Freedom: The African American Experience in Delaware | Belton and Bulah VS. Gebhart: The Fight to End School Segregation in DE
• NAAHC: Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education: Shirley Bulah
• NPS: Belton (Bulah) v. Gebhart | Oral History Interview with Shirley Bulah Stamps
• National Trust for the Preservation of Historic Place: How Black Women Changed the Face of Education in America
• VOA Learning English: Brown v. Board of Education Helps Launch Civil Rights Movement
• Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice: The Journey: From Shirley Bulah to Ruby Bridges

250 to 250:128. Fort Mose, Narrated by Chip Storey

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Fort Mose, Narrated by Chip Storey

Charles "Chip" Storey is a board member and historian for the Fort Mose Historical Society. The society advocates for public education and historical accuracy on the nation's first legally sanctioned free Black settlement. Storey tells the story of Fort Mose, the first legally sanctioned free Black community in America, founded by fugitives from slavery in Spanish Florida.

In 1693, Spain offered freedom to enslaved Africans who escaped to Spanish Florida.

• Many escaped from the British colonies and traveled to St. Augustine.
• They agreed to serve Spain and become Catholic.
• In 1738, they built a community called Fort Mose.
• Fort Mose was the first legal community of free Black people in what became the United States.
• The people built homes, farmed, and formed a militia.
• In 1740, they helped fight British soldiers at the Battle of Bloody Mose.
• Fort Mose continued until 1763, when Spain gave Florida to Great Britain.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz: 

• USCIS Part 4:02: Where else have you lived in the past 5 years?
• USCIS 100:60. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
• USCIS 128:75. What group of people was taken and sold as slaves?
• Read: What do people want?
• Write: People want freedom and independence.

Family Fun:

• ARC GIS: Couriers of Change: People who made a difference in St. Johns County, Florida story map (scroll for Katherine and Henry Twine of Fort Mose)
• Black Catholic Messenger: Reconstructed Fort Mose, first free Black settlement in America
• Bitter Southerner: First Foridians: Fort Mose
• Fort Mose Historical Society: website | Flight to Freedom Learning Resource KWL Chart | YouTube channel
• Florida State Parks: History of Fort Mose
• NPS: Fort Mosé | Story Time: Fort Mose and the Story of the Man who Built the First Free Black Settlement in Colonial America | Castillo de San Marcos National Monument and Fort Mose
• PBS: Fort Mose: America's First Free Black Community
• PBS Learning Media: Francisco Menendez and Fort Mose | Secrets of Spanish Florida: A Secrets of the Dead Special
• The Why of History: Why did Spain give up Florida?
• uscitizenpod: Fort Mose Walkway to Freedom coloring page

250 to 250:127. Washington’s Letter to Newport’s Hebrew Congregation, Narrated by Laura Freedman Pedrick

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Washington’s Letter to Newport’s Hebrew Congregation, Narrated by Laura Freedman Pedrick

Laura Freedman Pedrick formerly served as a trustee of St. George’s School, and on the Board of Governors at Newport Hospital. She is a current board member of the Newport String Project. Pedrick recounts George Washington's 1790 letter to Newport's Hebrew congregation, a founding promise of religious liberty that "gives to bigotry no sanction."

In 1790, President George Washington visited Newport, Rhode Island.

• Moses Seixas was a leader of the local Jewish community.
• Seixas wrote a letter to Washington about religious freedom.
• Washington wrote a letter back to the Jewish community.
• He said the U.S. government should not support religious hate or persecution.
• He wanted Jewish Americans to live in peace and safety.
• Washington’s letter supported religious freedom for all Americans.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz: 

• N-400 Part 9:7. Have you ever stopped someone from practicing their religion?
• USCIS 100:10. What is freedom of religion?
• USCIS 128:65. What are three rights of everyone living in the United States? 
• Read: Who was the first president? 
• Write: Washington was the first U.S. president. 

Family Fun:

• 92Y: Premiere: Premiere: George Washington and the Pursuit of Religious Freedom
• Braid Stories: George Washington's Letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport RI
• JA: Moses Seixas (1744–1809)—The Promise of Liberty
• Founders Online: George Washington to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, 18 August 1790
• Loeb Jewish Portraits: Moses Benjamin Seixas
• NPS: Touro Synagogue National Historic Site
• National Postal Museum: 20c Touro Synagogue single
• LOC: “To Bigotry No Sanction, To Persecution No Assistance”
• OLL: Revisiting Washington’s Letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport
• Reclaim Hosting: Washington's National Tours (interactive map)
• Religion in America: The Seixas Family and Civic Life in the New American Republic
• Timeless Reader 1: George Washington's Letter to the Jews of Newport - 1790 - Moses Seixas, Warden
• TSF: George Washington's Letter
• uscitizenpod: The Touro Synagogue coloring page

250 to 250:126. Morrill Act, Narrated by Josh Cowen

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Morrill Act, Narrated by Josh Cowen

Josh Cowen is a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, where he founded the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative. Cowen focuses on bringing research and evidence to public policy decision-making. Cowen describes the impact of the 1862 Morrill Act, which gave us our state colleges and universities.

Suring the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed several important laws.

• In 1862, he signed the Morrill Act.
• Senator Justin Morrill of Vermont supported the law.
• He wanted more people to have access to education.
• The federal government gave land to states to help pay for new colleges.
• Much of this land had been taken from Native American tribes.
• The colleges taught agriculture, engineering, and other subjects.
• Before this time, college was mostly for wealthy people.
• The Morrill Act helped make higher education available to more Americans.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 7:01. Where have you attended school full time or part time for the past 5 years?
• USCIS 100:16.  Who makes federal laws?
• USCIS 128:18.   What part of the federal government writes laws?
• Read: What does Congress do? 
• Write: Congress makes laws. 

Family Fun:

• Arkansas Division of Agriculture: Celebrating the Morrill Act
• History Facts Made Easy: Land Grant University What Is It Morrill Acts
• IU Center on Representative Government: Congressional Moments Morrill Land-Grant Act
• Michigan State University: The Nation's Pioneer Land-Grant University
• NDSU: Land Grant Animation
• National Archive: Morrill Act of 1862
• Nikki Bell: The Morrill Act of 1862 and its Impact on Native Americans
• Penn State Outreach: The Legacy and the Promise: 150 Years of Land-Grant Universities
• Timeless Reader 1: Morrill Act, 1862 - Hear and Read the Land Grant College Act - Abraham Lincoln
• Traveling for History: Justin Morrill Homestead State Historic Marker
• Trivia on Tap: How Well Do You Know the Morrill Act? Take This Quiz & Find Out! 
• uscitizenpod: 4c Higher Education stamp coloring page (commemorates the centennial of the Morrill Act of 1862 that created land-grant colleges and universities)

250 to 250:125. Bill Mauldin, Narrated by Garry Trudeau

 

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Bill Mauldin, Narrated by Garry Trudeau

Garry Trudeau is an American cartoonist and satirist best known for bringing sharp, countercultural political and social commentary to the funny pages with his Pulitzer Prize-winning political comic strip Doonesbury. Trudeau profiles World War II cartoonist Bill Mauldin, whose infantrymen Willie and Joe gave weary American soldiers a champion and a laugh when they needed it most.

Bill Mauldin was a cartoonist during World War II.

• He drew cartoons about two soldiers, Willie and Joe.
• His cartoons showed the daily life of soldiers.
• Willie and Joe were brave, tired, and frustrated.
• Many American soldiers enjoyed his cartoons.
• His cartoons made soldiers laugh during difficult times.
• Mauldin won a Pulitzer Prize in 1945.
• Many soldiers remembered him as their champion.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz: 

• N-400 Part 9:25. Have you ever served in the U.S. military?
• N-400 Part 9:26. Are you currently serving in the U.S. armed services?
• USCIS 100:57. / 128:72. When must all men register for the Selective Service?
• USCIS 128:106. Why did the United States enter World War II?
• Read: When is Memorial Day?
• Write: Memorial Day is in May.

Family Fun:

• Bill Mauldin Art: Original Artwork
• Facing History & Ourselves: Inch by Inch Cartoon, Bill Mauldin
• NPS: World War II Memorial
• National Postal Museum: 44c Bill Mauldin single
• National World War II: Drawn to Combat: Bill Mauldin and the Art of War 
• PBS: Wartime Cartoons
• Pritzker Military Museum & Library: 2022 Emmy Award Recipient - Drawn to Combat: Bill Mauldin & the Art of War – Virtual tour
• Stars and Stripes: Bill Mauldin: two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and WWII legend
• Super Coloring: WWII coloring pages
• USCIS: N-400 Topic--Armed Forces; A More Perfect Union series: The Civics Test Guide to the WWII Memorial

250 to 250:124. Aaron Copland, Narrated by Na’Zir McFadden

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Aaron Copland, Narrated by Na’Zir McFadden

Na’Zir McFadden is an acclaimed American orchestral conductor known for winning the 2026 Sphinx Medal of Excellence and is the Associate Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony and Conducting Fellow of the San Diego Symphony. McFadden profiles composer Aaron Copland, whose Pulitzer-winning works captured the American landscape and forged a distinctive national sound.

Aaron Copland was born into a Jewish immigrant family.

• He grew up in Brooklyn, New York.
• Copland became a famous American composer.
• He wanted his music to have an American sound.
• He used ideas from jazz and popular music.
• He was also inspired by the American West.
• Appalachian Spring showed the spirit of rural America.
• Rodeo celebrated the American West.
• Fanfare for the Common Man honored everyday Americans during World War II.
• Copland helped create a new and special sound in American music.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz: 

• USCIS PM-602-0188. How do you participate in the life of your local community?
• USCIS 100:98. / 128:123. What is the name of the national anthem?
• USCIS 128:124. The Nation s first motto was E Pluribus Unum. What does that mean?
• Read: Why do people want to live in America?
• Write: People want to live in a free country. 

Family Fun:

• Aaron Copland: Website | YouTube playlists
• All-Star Orchestra: Aaron Copland Music for the Theatre: Analysis by Gerard Schwarz
• Classics Explained: A vision for American harmony EP 26: Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland
• Classics for Kids: Let's Meet Aaron Copland activity sheet
• Copland House: Timeline of a Musical Life
• HCR: Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” Led by Na'Zir McFadden and Narrated by Heather Cox Richardson
• LOC: Aaron Copland collection | A Brief Introduction to the Music of Aaron Copland
• Making Music Fun: Aaron Copland coloring page
• PBS Great Performances: The Jewish Tune That Inspired Composer Aaron Copland | Aaron Copland's Ideas on Film Scores
• San Francisco Symphony: Keeping Score | Aaron Copland and the American Sound

250 to 250:123. Cripple Creek Miners' Strike, Narrated by Sherrod Brown

 

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Cripple Creek Miners' Strike, Narrated by Sherrod Brown

Born and raised in Mansfield, Ohio, ‪SherrodBrown‬  is a champion for working families. He is running for U.S. Senate in Ohio to take on the rigged system to help people who work hard. Brown recounts the 1894 Cripple Creek miners' strike, the only time a state militia was deployed in support of striking workers—and a rare early labor victory.

In 1891, miners found gold near Cripple Creek, Colorado.

• Many gold mines opened in the area.
• After the Panic of 1893, many miners lost their jobs and moved to Cripple Creek. 
• Mine owners wanted miners to work longer hours.
• In 1894, miners went on strike.
• The Western Federation of Miners helped lead the strike. 
• Colorado Governor Davis Waite supported the miners during the conflict. 
• The miners won an eight-hour workday and $3 a day. 
• The victory helped the miners’ union grow.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz: 

• USCIS PM-602-0188. Are you a member of a labor union?  Do you volunteer with your labor union?
• USCIS 100:55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?
• USCIS 128:69. What are two examples of civic participation in the United States?
• Read: When is Labor Day?
• Write: Labor Day is in September.

Family Fun:

• AFL-CIO: Key Events in Labor History | Battle of Cripple Creek
• Colorado History: United Mine Workers
• IBEW Local 428: Cripple Creek Miner's Strike of 1894
• Mineral Education Colaition: Educational Resources | Coloring Pages
• NPS: 200 Years of Labor History
• The Progressive: Cripple Creek 1894: The Time a State Militia Came to Help Strikers, not Hurt Them
• Untethered 4 Life - Colorado: Witness Gold Mining History - Tour a Mine in Colorful Colorado!
• uscitizenpod: Cripple Creek Miners Strike of 1894 coloring page

250 to 250:122. Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Narrated by Eric Arnesen

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Narrated by Eric Arnesen

Eric Arnesen is an esteemed American historian and professor at George Washington University best known for his award-winning book Brotherhoods of Color: Black Railroad Workers and the Struggle for Equality. Arnesen recounts the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, whose violent suppression led Congress to bar the use of the U.S. military against civilians.

In 1877, the United States had a bad economy.

• Railroad companies cut workers’ pay.
• Railroad workers went on strike.
• Some strikes became violent.
• President Rutherford B. Hayes sent U.S. troops to stop the violence.
• Many Americans worried about the military being used against workers.
• In 1878, Congress passed the Posse Comitatus Act.
• The Posse Comitatus Act limited the use of the U.S. military for law enforcement.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz: 

• N-400 Part 7:01: List where and when you have worked or attended school full- time or part- time during the last 5 years.  If you were unemployed, on what dates were you unemployed?
• USCIS 100:06. One is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?
• USCIS 128:65. What are three rights of everyone living in the United States? 
• Read: Name on right in the Bill of Rights.
• Write: Freedom of speech is in the Bill of Rights

Family Fun:

• Appalchian Forest NHA: A Second American Revolution? The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
• ArcGIS Story Maps: The Great Strikes of 1877 in America's Cities
• Brennan Center for Justice: The Posse Comitatus Act, Explained
• Congress: The Posse Comitatus Act and Related Matters: The Use of the Military to Execute Civilian Law
• Curriculum Bytes: The Great Upheaval: Railroad Strike of 1877
• Eno Center of Transportation: Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881): The Great Railroad Strike
• Heinz History Center: Picturing Protest: The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
• History: The 1877 Strike That Brought US Railroads to a Standstill
• Jessica Green: History of American Protest-Great Railroad strike of 1877
• Lionel Collectors of America: Train coloring pages
• MS Public Broadcasting: What is The Posse Comitatus Act and The Insurrection Act?
• NPS: 200 Years of Labor History
• One Human History: Rutherford B. Hayes & the Great Railroad Strike (featuring Alki)
• Steel and Sweat: The Night Pittsburgh Burned Railroad Strike That Destroyed 104 Locomotives in 1877