Hillis Better America Lecture Service Lantern Slides
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Keystone View Company
label: Collection Creator
content: Maertz, J.F., Department Store (Milwaukee, Wis.).
label: Collection Photographer
content: Rau, William H., 1855-1920
label: Collection Creator
content: Stanley-Brown, Joseph, 1858-1941
setName: label: See more items in
content: Division of Cultural History Lantern Slides and Stereographs
unitdate: label: Date
content: undated
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0945, Series 2
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Series 2: Hillis Better America Lecture Service lantern slides, undated, is divided into 12 subseries: Subseries 1: Ability Lecture Slides, undated; Subseries 2: Bolshevism Lecture Slides, undated; Subseries 3: Builders Lecture Slides, undated; Subseries 4: Equality Lecture Slides, undated; Subseries 5: Fathers Lecture Slides, undated; Subseries 6: Future Lecture Slides;  Subseries 7:General Lecture Slides, undated; Subseries 8: Poverty Lecture Slides, undated; Subseries 9: Property Lecture Slides, undated; Subseries 10: Republic Lecture Slides, undated; Subseries 11:, Socialism Lecture Slides, undated; and Subseries 12: Miscellaneous Lecture Slides, undated.

This series consists of lantern slides produced by Newell Dwight Hillis' Better America Lecture Service Incorporated. Newell Dwight Hillis (1858-1929), was a noted clergyman, lecturer and author. The Better American Lecture Service sought to make better Americans and to inspire greater loyalty to American institutions.  Better America Lecture Service rented the lecture manuscript and slides to churches, societies, schools, and patriotic organizations. Slides were sent in a tin box and contained suggestions for publicity arrangements. (Nevada Educational Bulletin, December 1920).

Hillis published more than twenty volumes including collections of his sermons, inspirational works, and a novel. In addition, many of Hillis addresses were published and distributed as pamphlets. The slides were intended to be used for lectures on subjects such as socialism and equality. The slides generally consist of text, drawings, images of persons, paintings, and landscapes. A few slides in each set are missing, and there is no text accompanying any of the slides. The series is arranged into twelve subseries alphabetically by topic.