Vanden Houten lecture at Flagler College airs on CSPAN

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Vanden Houten speaks at the Community Lecture Series event in May of 2013.

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (09/11/2013)(readMedia)-- A May lecture by Flagler Associate Professor Art Vanden Houten on the impact of U.S. expansion in the state of Florida recently aired on "American History TV," a C-SPAN series that features historical lectures by college and university professors.

The lecture was part of a year-long series of events surrounding the 125th anniversary of the opening of Flagler's former Hotel Ponce de Leon, which is today Flagler College.

Vanden Houten's lecture focused on the rise of America's global ambition and how it fueled individuals like Flagler, who was an industrialist, railroad magnate and luxury resort builder.

"There was this enduring faith that captivated the people from the time they first to came to the shores, this notion that America had this special privileged role ordained by the Almighty, to hold a special role in the course of human events," he said. "But the other reason really was the potential for great profit."

Vanden Houten said this concept of "manifest destiny" - the belief that American settlers were destined to expand across the continent - would guide the continual push past new frontiers in the New World, including Florida.

"Florida was seen as a place where men could invest their time, energy and will and ultimately turn its forest into a civilization," Vanden Houten said. "Henry Flagler certainly typified that idea and his railroads made him one of the decisive figures in the development of the state."

The lecture was part of Flagler College's Community Lecture Series which this season features a lineup of historians and scholars discussing Henry Flagler's vision for St. Augustine, social classes and American politics during the late 19th century, and the influence of art, music and literature during the Gilded Age.

The fall lineup kicks off on Sept. 17 with Flagler College art professor Catherine McFarland discussing the Aesthetic Movement of the 19th century.

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Flagler College is an independent, four-year, comprehensive baccalaureate college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 29 majors, 34 minors and two pre-professional programs, the largest majors being business, education and communication. Small by intent, Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, as well as a satellite campus at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review regularly feature Flagler as a college that offers quality education at a relatively low cost. A Flagler education is less than half the cost of similar private colleges, and competitive with many state universities. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for its historic beauty. The centerpiece of the campus is the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a grand resort built in 1888 by Henry M. Flagler, industrialist, railroad pioneer and co-founder of Standard Oil. The Ponce has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. For more on Flagler College, visit www.flagler.edu.