Guests talked about the history of the antebellum era, the transcendental movement, and national politics prior to the Civil War through the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter, befriended President Pierce, and became involved with the utopian movement at Brook Farm.
The program was telecast from his birthplace near the House of Seven Gables in Salem, Massachusetts and included several artifacts relating to Hawthorne’s life.