Website Spotlight: Clinton Years

Website URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/

Introductory Note:

Welcome to one in a series of posts which spotlight quality websites that I use with my U.S. History survey course students at Azusa Pacific University to enrich the regular material in our learning modules.

In this post, I limit myself to those specific aspects of the website which I find fit particularly well within our face-to-face class sessions (each student is required to bring a laptop to class) or as the basis for the students' regularly-assigned written reactions.

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I ask the students to work through the following links:

I. 1992 Campaign
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/chapters/1.html

Read the entire screen (which includes these subtitles):

Love at First Sight
The Campaign Unravels
The Comeback Kid
The Mother of All Campaigners
Buy One, Get One Free
We Are Gonna Win

II. 1993-1994 Promise/Defeat
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/chapters/3.html

Read the portion entitled "A Pivotal Budget Decision"

III. 1995-1996 Defeat/Victory
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/chapters/4.html

Read the portion entitled "Standing His Ground - 1995 Government Shutdown"

IV. 1997-1998 Renewal/Impeachment
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/chapters/5.html

Read the entire screen (which includes these subtitles):

Repairing the Breach
The President and the Intern
Taking Care of Business
Speaking his Mind
Impeachment

V. Interviews
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/interviews/

Of the 20 interviews available, read these:

Paul Begala
James Carville
Rahm Emanuel
David Gergen
Dick Morris
Dee Dee Myers
Leon Panetta
George Stephanopoulos

VI. Anecdotes
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/anecdotes/

Concentrate on these 4:

"The Phone Call" (Dick Morris)
"The Handshake" (Anthony Lake)
"The Kids" (Robert Reich)
"Escape" (Robert Reich)

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Concluding Note:

I hope you will use this blog post in conjunction with both the modules on my Learning Professor wiki and the numerous other posts in my Website Spotlight series.

1. The website spotlighted in this post fits within the following U.S. History survey course module on the wiki:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/Clinton

2. The other blog posts in my Website Spotlight series--chronologically displayed by U.S. History survey course module-- can be found on this wiki page:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/WEBSITE+SPOTLIGHT