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ODE
HS AMERICAN HISTORY
​(UNITED STATES)

1877 to the present

This course examines the history of the United States of America from 1877 to the present. The federal republic has withstood challenges to its national security and expanded the rights and roles of its citizens. The episodes of its past have shaped the nature of the country today and prepared it to attend to the challenges of tomorrow. Understanding how these events came to pass and their meaning for today’s citizens is the purpose of this course. The concepts of historical thinking introduced in earlier grades continue to build with students locating and analyzing primary and secondary sources from multiple perspectives to draw conclusions.

HISTORY: America the Story of Us

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​America The Story of Us is an epic 12-hour television event that tells the extraordinary story of how America was invented. With highly realistic CGI animation, dramatic recreations and thoughtful insights from some of America’s most respected artists, business leaders, academics and intellectuals, it is the first television event in nearly 40 years to present a comprehensive telling of America’s history. Elaborate, ambitious and cinematic, America The Story of Us will take you into the moments when Americans harnessed technology to advance human progress, from the rigors of linking the continent by transcontinental railroad–the internet of its day–to triumphing over vertical space through the construction of steel structured buildings to putting a man on the moon. It is an intensive look at the people, places and things that have shaped our nation, and the tough and thrilling adventure that is America’s 400-year history.

America the Story of Us | History
  • 44:10 - America: The Story of Us: Rebels | Full Episode (S1, E1) | History
  • 2:48 - America the Story of Us: Gold Rush | History
  • 3:19 - America the Story of Us: Harriet Tubman | History
  • 1:51 - America The Story of Us: Why do Immigrants Come to America? | History
  • 2:37 - America the Story of Us: Faces of America | History
  • 2:36 - America the Story of Us: Frederick Douglass | History
  • 4:00 - America the Story of Us: Declaration of Independence | History
  • 4:17 - America the Story of Us: FDR | History
  • 4:09 - America the Story of Us: JFK | History
  • 2:56 - America the Story of Us: Life in Jamestown | History
  • 3:31 - America the Story of Us: American Revolution | History
  • 3:49 - America the Story of Us: MacArthur & Me | History

America the Story of Us: Trailer | History

​The extraordinary story of how America was invented, looking at the moments where technology overcame the environment - from the rigors of linking the continent by transcontinental roads and railways - the internet of its day - to triumphing over vertical space from steel structured buildings to putting a man on the moon. Own America: The Story of Us on DVD or Blu-ray! http://www.shophistorystore.com/

Hillsdale College

The Great American Story: A Land of Hope

​This course explores the history of America as a land of hope founded on high principles. In presenting the great triumphs and achievements of our nation’s past, as well as the shortcomings and failures, it offers a broad and unbiased study of the kind essential to the cultivation of intelligent patriotism.
  1. ​Introduction
  2. Beginnings
  3. The Revolution of Self-Rule
  4. The New Nation
  5. The Experiment Begins, Part One
  6. The Experiment Begins, Part Two
  7. The Culture of Democracy and Its Shadow, Part One
  8. The Culture of Democracy and Its Shadow, Part Two
  9. The House Divides, Part One
  10. The House Divides, Part Two
  11. Reconstruction and Transformation, Part One
  12. Reconstruction and Transformation, Part Two
  13. Becoming a World Power
  14. The Progressive Era, Part One
  15. The Progressive Era, Part Two
  16. The Great War and Its Aftermath, Part One
  17. The Great War and Its Aftermath, Part Two
  18. The New Deal
  19. The Finest Hour
  20. A Time of Turbulence, Part One
  21. A Time of Turbulence, Part Two
  22. Rise and Fall, Part One
  23. Rise and Fall, Part Two
  24. The Path of Renewal, Part One. 
  25. The Path of Renewal, Part Two
https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/the-great-american-story

The Great American Story 

​Discover the great story of America's past with Hillsdale College's newest online course.

American Heritage: From Colonial Settlement to the Current Day

​On July 4, 1776, America—acting under the authority of “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”—declared its independence from Great Britain. The new nation, founded on the principle that “all Men are created equal,” eventually grew to become the most prosperous and powerful nation in the world. This course will consider the history of America from the colonial era to the present, including major challenges to the founders’ principles.
  1. ​The Study of American History
  2. Colonial Settlement
  3. Enlightenment and Great Awakening
  4. The American Founding
  5. Jacksonian Democracy
  6. The Crisis of the Union
  7. Western Expansion
  8. Progressivism
  9. America as World Power
  10. Post-1960s America
https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/american-heritage

Historical Thinking and Skills

Alternative Courses of Action

1. Historical events provide opportunities to examine alternative courses of action.

By examining alternative courses of action, students can consider the possible consequences and outcomes of moments in history. It also allows them to appreciate the decisions of some individuals and the actions of some groups without putting 21st century values and interpretations on historic events. 

How might the history of the United States be different if the participants in historical events had taken different courses of action? What if Democratic Party officeholders had not been restored to power in the South after Reconstruction, the U.S. had not engaged in the Spanish-American War or the U.S. had joined the League of Nations? What if the federal government had not used deficit spending policies during the Great Depression, Truman had not ordered atomic bombs dropped on Japan or African Americans had not protested for civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s? 

AlternateHistoryHub 

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An entire channel dedicated to the 'What If?". Using knowledge of geography, population and other historical facts I predict what could have happened had things gone differently in history. Learn about how the world would be different if, the Axis won World War II, if America lost the Revolution, or if Reagan was never president. I do pop culture videos which explored the worlds of Fallout and the Purge. Learn controversial topics such as if Christianity never existed and many other subjects. Follow me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/AltHistoryHub

Welcome to the Alternate History Hub

Welcome! This is brief intro on what Alternate History Hub is all about! Like and subscribe!

Primary and Secondary Sources

2. The use of primary and secondary sources of information includes an examination of the credibility of each source.

The use of primary and secondary sources in the study of history includes an analysis of their credibility – that is, whether or not they are believable. This is accomplished by checking sources for:
  • The qualifications and reputation of the author; 
  • Agreement with other credible sources;
  • Perspective or bias of the author (including use of stereotypes);
  • Accuracy and internal consistency; and
  • The circumstances in which the author prepared the source.

Resource: History Matters
Resource: Primary Sources at Yale
Resource: The National Archives 

National History Day

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​National History Day (NHD) is a non-profit education organization in College Park, MD. Established in 1974, NHD offers year-long academic programs that engage over half a million middle- and high-school students around the world annually in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. These research-based projects are entered into contests at the local and affiliate levels, where the top student projects have the opportunity to advance to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD also seeks to improve the quality of history education by providing professional development opportunities and curriculum materials for educators. NHD is sponsored in part by Kenneth E. Behring, Patricia Behring, HISTORY®, Jostens, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, Southwest Airlines, Weider History Group, Inc., and the WEM 2000 Foundation of the Dorsey & Whitney Foundation. For more information visit: www.nhd.org.

What is NHD

Learn what to expect when you research at the National Archives. This video addresses how to enter the National Archives building in Washington, DC, what security measures the National Archives uses, what you're allowed to bring into the research room with you, and how to use the research room and records.

National History Day in Ohio, What is Ohio History Day?

National History Day in Ohio is a year-long educational program where students in grades 4-12 do explore topics that interest them related to a specific theme. 
https://www.ohiohistory.org/learn/education-and-outreach/in-your-classroom/ohio-history-day

Ohio History Day 2016

US National Archives

www.archives.gov

Research at the National Archives

Preserving the Past to Protect the Future

Theses 

3. Historians develop theses and use evidence to support or refute positions.
  • Historians are similar to detectives. They develop theses and use evidence to create explanations of past events. Rather than a simple list of events, a thesis provides a meaningful interpretation of the past by telling the reader the manner in which historical evidence is significant in some larger context. 
  • The evidence used by historians may be generated from artifacts, documents, eyewitness accounts, historical sites, photographs and other sources. Comparing and analyzing evidence from various sources enables historians to refine their explanations of past events. 
  • Historians cite their sources and use the results of their research to support or refute contentions made by others.
Resource: Formal Writing in a Facing History Classroom
Resource: Incorporating Evidence Into Your Essay 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Eyewitness to History

​Standard Essays - Overview

​This is part 1 of an 8 part series on how to write standard essays in history. Each video covers a different step in the writing process. You can watch them all consecutively or come back to review individual steps as needed. Every document I reference is available for download below.

Documents
Standard Essay Outline: http://tinyurl.com/k9h98x9
Standard Essay Processor: http://tinyurl.com/mheor3t
Sample Standard Essay Processor: http://tinyurl.com/kpd5a7o
Sample Standard Essay Response: http://tinyurl.com/kve3d5z

Standard Essays - Step 1: Understand the Question

Standard Essays - Step 2: Brainstorm and Research

​Standard Essays - Step 3: Find Patterns in the Evidence

Standard Essays - Step 4: Write Your Claim Sentences

Standard Essays - Step 5: Write Your Thesis

Standard Essays - Step 6: Fill Out Your Evidence and Logic

Standard Essays - Step 7: Write Your Essay

Cause, Effect, Sequence & Correlation 

4. Historians analyze cause, effect, sequence and correlation in historical events, including multiple causation and long- and short-term causal relations.
  • When studying a historical event or person in history, historians analyze cause-and-effect relationships. For example, to understand the impact of the Great Depression, an analysis would include its causes and effects. 
  • An analysis also would include an examination of the sequence and correlation of events. How did one event lead to another? How do they relate to one another? 
  • An examination of the Great Depression would include the Federal Reserve Board’s monetary policies in the late 1920s as a short-term cause and the decline in demand for American farm goods after World War I as a long-term factor contributing to the economic downturn. 

Face It - Facing History and Ourselves

Facing History and Ourselves empowers teachers and students to think critically about history and to understand the impact of their choices.
History is about choices. Big choices. Little choices. Tragic choices. What if people were capable of making better choices? Facing History and Ourselves combats racism, antisemitism, and prejudice and nurtures democracy through education programs worldwide. 
​www.facinghistory.org

Cause and Effect in History Explained

​Quickly gain an understanding of what 'causes' and 'consequences' are in history. For more information: https://www.historyskills.com/histori..
  • Historical Research Process
  • Historical Knowledge
  • Historical Source Analysis
  • Historical Source Criticism
  • Historical Source Evaluation
  • Historical Skills: Chronology
  • Historical Skills: The Basics
  • Microsoft Education Technologies

Historic Documents 

American Historic Documents

5. The Declaration of Independence reflects an application of Enlightenment ideas to the grievances of British subjects in the American colonies.
  • The Declaration of Independence opens with a statement that the action the American colonies were undertaking required an explanation. That explanation begins with a brief exposition of Enlightenment thinking, particularly natural rights and the social contract, as the context for examining the recent history of the colonies. 
  • The document includes a list of grievances the colonists have with the King of Great Britain and Parliament as a justification for independence. The grievances refer to a series of events since the French and Indian War which the colonists deemed were tyrannical acts and destructive of their rights. 
  • The Declaration of Independence ends with a clear statement that the political bonds between the colonies and Great Britain are ended. Independence is declared as an exercise of social contract thought. 
Resource: Primary Documents in American History – Declaration of Independence

Read Articles About the Declaration:

  • The article "The Declaration of Independence: A History," provides a detailed account of the Declaration, from its drafting through its preservation today at the National Archives.
  • "The Stylistic Artistry of the Declaration of Independence" by Stephen Lucas. By closely examining its language, this perceptive article sheds light on the Declaration as a work of literature and of persuasion. From Prologue, Spring 1990.
  • The Virginia Declaration of Rights strongly influenced Thomas Jefferson in writing the first part of the Declaration of Independence. It later provided the foundation for the Bill of Rights.

TedEd: ​What you might not know about the Declaration of Independence - Kenneth C. Davis

In June 1776, a little over a year after the start of the American Revolutionary War, the US Continental Congress huddled together in a hot room in Philadelphia to talk independence. Kenneth C. Davis dives into some of the lesser known facts about the process of writing the Declaration of Independence and questions one very controversial omission. ​
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-you-mi...

Understand the Declaration of Independence in 5 Minutes (Freedomists Show Episode 5)

In this video you'll gain a basic understanding of what the Declaration of Independence is, why it was written, and what it says. ​
www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration

Freedom According to the Declaration Of Independence | The Story of Us

Historian Patrick Spero and Morgan Freeman discuss the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, and how one small change altered its meaning.

Reading of the Declaration of Independence

A host of celebrities including Mel Gibson, Whoopie Goldberg, and Michael Douglas perform a live reading of the Declaration of Independence in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA. For more information and teaching materials, check out: http://doiroadtrip.wordpress.com/

The Northwest Ordinance

 6. The Northwest Ordinance addressed a need for government in the Northwest Territory and established precedents for the future governing of the United States.

As Ohio country settlement progressed in the Connecticut Western Reserve and the Virginia Military District, and with the enactment of the Land Ordinance of 1785, the Congress of the United States recognized a need for governing land acquired in the Treaty of Paris. The Northwest Ordinance provided the basis for temporary governance as a territory and eventual entry into the United States as states. 

The Northwest Ordinance also set some precedents that influenced how the United States would be governed in later years. New states were to be admitted “into the Congress of the United States, on an equal footing with the original States.” This provision was continued in later years and it meant that there would be no colonization of the lands as there had been under Great Britain. “Schools and the means of education” were to be encouraged. This wording reinforced the provision in the Land Ordinance of 1785 allocating one section of each township for the support of schools and established a basis for national aid for education. Basic rights of citizenship (e.g., religious liberty, right to trial by jury, writ of habeas corpus) were assured. These assurances were precursors to the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. Slavery was prohibited in the Northwest Territory. This provision was later included in the Constitution as Amendment 13. State governments were to be republican in structure. This provision was repeated in the U.S. Constitution. 

Key components of a republic: 
  • Supreme power is held by the citizens;
  • Citizens are entitled to vote;
  • Elections are held for government officers and representatives of the citizens;
  • Elected officers and representatives are responsible to the citizens;
  • Elected officers and representatives govern according to law.

Resource: Our Documents-Transcript of Northwest Ordinance (1787) 
Resource: History.com - Congress enacts the Northwest Ordinance
Resource: LOC, Primary Documents in American History - Northwest Ordinance
Resource: Ohio History Central - Northwest Ordinace
​Jefferson Papers
  • Editorial Note: The Northwest Territory
  • ​https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-18-02-0110-0001
  • “Editorial Note: The Northwest Territory,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-18-02-0110-0001. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 18, 4 November 1790 – 24 January 1791, ed. Julian P. Boyd. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1971, pp. 159–178.]
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The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and its Effects

The Northwest Ordinance

In 1787, Congress adopts a plan called The Northwest Ordinance which calls for new states to be developed in the Ohio region.

​The Articles of Confederation and the Northwest Ordinance

The Articles of Confederation

7. Problems facing the national government under the Articles of Confederation led to the drafting of the Constitution of the United States. The framers of the Constitution applied ideas of Enlightenment in conceiving the new government.

The national government, under the Articles of Confederation, faced several critical problems. Some dealt with the structure of the government itself. These problems included weak provisions for ongoing management of national affairs (a lack of a separate executive branch), a limited ability to resolve disputes arising under the Articles (a lack of a separate judicial branch) and stiff requirements for passing legislation and amending the Articles. National issues facing the government included paying the debt from the Revolutionary War, the British refusal to evacuate forts on U.S. soil, the Spanish closure of the Mississippi River to American navigation and state disputes over land and trade. Economic problems in the states led to Shays’ Rebellion.

The Constitution of the United States strengthened the structure of the national government. Separate executive and judicial branches were established. More practical means of passing legislation and amending the Constitution were instituted. The new government would have the ability to address the issues facing the nation. Powers to levy taxes, raise armies and regulate commerce were given to Congress. The principle of federalism delineated the distribution of powers between the national government and the states. 

The Constitution of the United States was drafted using Enlightenment ideas to create a workable form of government. The Preamble and the creation of a representative government reflect the idea of the social contract. Articles I – III provide for a separation of powers in government. Article I also provides some limited protection of rights.

Resource: History.com - The Enlightenment 
Resource: National Constitution Center
Resource: LOC, Primary Documents in American History - The Articles of Confederation
Resource: Ourdocuments.gov - Articles of Confederation
Resource: History.com - Articles of Confederation
Resource: DoS - Milestones: 1776-1783

What Were the Articles of Confederation? | History

​Before the U.S. Constitution was the law of the land, there were the Articles of Confederation. Find out why they didn't last long.

The Articles of Confederation

Nathan Dorn discusses the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the first Constitution of the United States. A 1777 printing of these articles is part of the Law Library of Congress' rare book collection. ​

What Were the Articles of Confederation? | America: Facts vs. Fiction

The Articles of Confederation proved to be more trouble than help with individual states all pushing their interests and agendas, to the point of threatening the country as a whole. | For more, visit http://military.discovery.com/tv-show...

The Articles of Confederation | BRI's Homework Help Series

​Have you ever looked at your teacher with a puzzled face when they explain history? I know we have. In our new Homework Help Series we break down history into easy to understand 5 minute videos to support a better understanding of American History. In our eighth episode, we tackle the Articles of Confederation and the need for a Constitution.

The Articles of Confederation

​The Articles of Confederation suited the goals of the Americans when they were fighting for freedom from the monarchy. Yet, these documents, which favored state's rights over federal power, are inadequate after the Revolution when a strong central government became necessary.

The Need to Amend the Articles of Confederation

​The American Revolution exposes the weakness of the Articles of Confederation and the need for a new national constitution.
​Franklin Papers
  • Proposed Articles of Confederation, [on or before 21 July 1775
  • Franklin, Benjamin
  • 21 July 1775
  • https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-22-02-0069

The Federalists and Anti-Federalists

8. The Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers structured the national debate over the ratification of the Constitution of the United States.

The Constitution of the United States represented a significant departure from the Articles of Confederation. The document required ratification by nine states for the national government to be established among the ratifying states. 

Proponents and opponents of the Constitution attempted to sway the deliberations of the ratifying conventions in the states. The proponents became known as Federalists and the opponents as Anti-Federalists. 

 New York was a pivotal state in the ratification process and Federalists prepared a series of essays published in that state’s newspapers to convince New York to support the Constitution. These essays have become known as the Federalist Papers and they addressed issues such as the need for national taxation, the benefits of a strong national defense, the safeguards in the distribution of powers and the protection of citizen rights. What has become known as the Anti-Federalist Papers is a collection of essays from a variety of contributors. While not an organized effort as the Federalist Papers were, the Anti-Federalist Papers raised issues relating to the threats posed by national taxation, the use of a standing army, the amount of national power versus state power and the inadequate protection of the people’s rights

Resource: The Library of Congress - The Federalist Papers
Resource: National Endowment for the Humanities – EDSITEment!
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John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison

​HISTORY TALKS: Federalist Papers - New Ideas for a New Nation

​In a series of newspaper articles Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison explained the value of the new constitution that replaced the Articles of Confederation.

​James Madison, the Federalist Papers

​Before serving as the fourth President of the United States, James Madison made a major contribution to American political thought through his role in writing the Federalist Papers.

The Federalists versus the Anti-Federalists

​This lesson presents the opposing viewpoints of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists during the race to ratify the Constitution.

Why did Federalists and Anti-Federalists disagree about representation?

​Gordon Wood, Brown University More videos with Wood: https://www.choices.edu/scholar/gordo..

The Bill of Rights

9. The Bill of Rights is derived from English law, ideas of the Enlightenment, the experiences of the American colonists, early experiences of self-government and the national debate over the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. 

The Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the United States is derived from several sources. These range from the English heritage of the United States to the debates over the ratification of the Constitution. 

English sources for the Bill of Rights include the Magna Carta (1215) and the Bill of Rights of 1689. The Magna Carta marked a step toward constitutional protection of rights and recognized trial by jury. The English Bill of Rights affirmed many rights including the right to habeas corpus and it protected against cruel punishments. 

Enlightenment ideas about natural rights of life, liberty and property were becoming widespread as American colonists were experiencing what they saw as infringements upon their rights. The Quartering Act of 1765 was seen as an infringement on property rights. The Massachusetts Government Act placed severe limitations on the colonists’ ability to assemble in their town meetings. The Enlightenment ideas and British policies became focal points of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. 

As the American people began to govern themselves, they incorporated individual rights in governing documents. The Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) included protections for the press, religious exercise and the accused. Other colonies also included individual rights as part of their constitutions. The national government, under the Articles of Confederation, enacted the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which provided for religious liberty, due process, protections for the accused and property rights.

Resource: The Magna Carta
Resource: The British Library
Resource: National Archives: The full text of the United States Bill of Rights
Resource: LOC - Primary Documents in American History, The Bill of Rights
Resource: Teaching American History - The Bill of Rights
Resource: The Federalist Papers, Opposition to the Bill of Rights - Alexander Hamilton

The Bill of Rights Institute

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​Established in September 1999, the Bill of Rights Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization that works to engage, educate, and empower individuals with a passion for the freedom and opportunity that exist in a free society. The Institute develops educational resources and programs for a network of more than 50,000 educators and 70,000 students nationwide.

​https://billofrightsinstitute.org/

​Constitution Hall Pass: The Bill of Rights (Constitution Day 2014)

​“Constitution Day 2014: The Bill of Rights” provides a behind-the-scenes look at how these 10 amendments were created and interpreted: - DISCOVER the roots of the Bill of Rights in the Revolutionary War and the state constitutions; - VISIT the Constitutional Convention to listen in on the debates about a bill of rights; - HEAR the voices of the ratifying conventions as they influenced James Madison’s work in writing the Bill of Rights; - LEARN what the Bill of Rights actually says—and how long it’s taken to make those rights a reality; - EXPLORE the process of judicial review and the ways citizens use the courts to bring the Bill of Rights to life.
SHOW LESS
  • ​The Bill of Rights: A Transcription | National Archives
    • The following text is a transcription of the enrolled original of the Joint...
  • Founders Online: IV. The Bill of Rights; a List of Grievances, 14 October 1774
    • The Bill of Rights; a List of Grievances, 14 October 1774...
  • The First Amendments to the U.S. Constitution – Pieces of History
    • ...passed the very first proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Ten of these...
  • Where did America’s Bill of Rights come from?: A New Teaching Activity – Education Updates
    • Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, and the Bill of Rights from the U.S. Constitution...Where did America’s Bill of Rights come from?
  • The Bill of Rights | National Archives
    • The Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting...

What is Magna Carta?

Why is this old piece of parchment considered to be such a powerful symbol of our rights and freedoms? Narrated by Monty Python’s Terry Jones, this animation takes you back to medieval times, when England under the reign of Bad King John. It asks why Magna Carta was originally created and what it meant to those living in the 13th century.

How the founders differed from the English Bill of Rights

​Michael Barone is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of "Our First Revolution: The Remarkable British Upheaval That Inspired America's Founding Fathers".

TED-Ed: A 3-minute guide to the Bill of Rights - Belinda Stutzman

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-3-minute-...
​Daily, Americans exercise their rights secured by the Constitution. The most widely discussed and debated part of the Constitution is known as the Bill of Rights. Belinda Stutzman provides a refresher course on exactly what the first ten amendments grant each and every American citizen.
Lesson by Belinda Stutzman, animation by Jacques Khouri.

The Bill of Rights at the Schoolhouse Gate

​Do the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights apply to public schools? Throughout their schooling, students are taught about the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Curiously, they are often taught these rights through case studies that seem distant from their own lived experiences and without reference to limitations on these rights in the schoolhouse setting. Join the National Archives and iCivics for a timely and engaging discussion about the application of the Bill of Rights in schools.

Reconstruction 

Reconstruction and 1876: Crash Course US History #22

In which John Green teaches you about Reconstruction. After the divisive, destructive Civil War, Abraham Lincoln had a plan to reconcile the country and make it whole again. Then he got shot, Andrew Johnson took over, and the disagreements between Johnson and Congress ensured that Reconstruction would fail. The election of 1876 made the whole thing even more of a mess, and the country called it off, leaving the nation still very divided. John will talk about the gains made by African-Americans in the years after the Civil War, and how they lost those gains almost immediately when Reconstruction stopped. You'll learn about the Freedman's Bureau, the 14th and 15th amendments, and the disastrous election of 1876. John will explore the goals of Reconstruction, the successes and ultimate failure, and why his alma mater Kenyon College is better than Raoul's alma mater NYU. Support CrashCourse on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crashcourse
Resource: Jensen's Guide to Reconstruction History, 1861-1877
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Resource: ​Proclamation Declaring the Insurrection at an End
Resource: Mr. Lincoln and Freedom - Reconstruction
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Resource: Reconstruction Historiography: A Source of Teaching Ideas
​
Resource: Children in History - The American Civil War - Reconstruction
Resource: Open Yale Courses - HIST 119: The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877
​
Resource: The History Channel - Reconstruction
  • The Thirteenth Amendment: Slavery and the Constitution​
  • ​The Equal Rights Amendment: What You Need To Know ...​
  • Introduction - 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ...​

Sound Smart: The 15th Amendment | History

​Historian Yohuru Williams give a brief rundown of the history of the 15th Amendment, which outlawed votings rights discrimination after the Civil War.

Reconstruction: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The period immediately following the Civil War (1865 -1877) is known as Reconstruction. Its promising name belies what turned out to be the greatest missed opportunity in American history. Where did we go wrong? And who was responsible? Renowned American history professor Allen Guelzo has the surprising answers in this eye-opening video. ​

Modern American History Series:

ABC News: The Century, America's Time

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It has been a century like no other. And ABC news is proud to present this extraordinary visual encyclopedia of America's last one hundred years. ABC News produced this 15-part series of documentaries on the 20th century and the rise of the United States as a superpower. that originally aired on the History Channel in April 1999. Unprecedented in scope The century: America's time recounts the defining moments, people, and trends that have shaped our nation.

Narrated by Peter Jennings, the 15 part series covers each decade is 6 volumes.

Volume 1
  • Episode 1
    • Seeds of Change FULL (44:41
  • Episode 2
    • 1914-1919: Shell Shocked FULL (44:25)
  • ​Episode 3
    • 1920-1929: Boom to Bust FULL (46:14)
Volume 2
  • Episode 4
    • 1929-1936: Stormy Weather FULL (45:00)
  • Episode 5
    • 1936-1941: Over the Edge FULL (45:05)
Volume 3
  • Episode 6
    • 1941-1945: Civilians at War FULL (1:07:52)
  • Episode 7
    • 1941-1945: The Home Front FULL (44:52)
  • Episode 8
    • 1946-1952: Best Years FULL (45:12)​​
Volume 4​
  • Episode 9
    • 1953-1960: Happy Daze FULL (44:31)
  • Episode 10
    • 1960-1964: Poisoned Dreams FULL (43:14)
  • Episode 11
    • 1965-1970: Unpinned FULL (44:30)
Volume 5
  • Episode 12
    • 1971-1975: Approaching the Apocalypse FULL (45:01)
  • Episode 13
    • 1976-1980: Starting Over FULL (44:29)​​​
Volume 6
  • Episode 14
    • 1981-1989: A New World FULL (43:28)
  • Episode 15
    • 90s and Beyond - Then and Now FULL (44:45)
​The Century 1st Edition
by Peter Jennings 
(Author), 

Todd Brewster  (Author)
​
The Century presents history as it was lived, and as it will be remembered for the next hundred years.  Here is a keepsake volume destined to be an essential part of every family's library: an epic journey through the last hundred years, whose heroes are our grandparents, our parents, ourselves.

ISBN-13: 978-0385483278
ISBN-10: 0385483279​
Resources:
​Teacher Resources - US History Optionsushistoryoptions.weebly.com › teacher-resources

PBS: People's Century 1900-1999

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​On the cusp of the new millennium, People's Century pauses to look back, inviting the people who participated in the great events of our century to reflect on what we've accomplished, where we've failed, how things have -- and haven't -- changed, where we've been, how far we've come and how far we still have to go. From the front lines of war to the battle against racism, the fight for freedom to the struggle for equality: Those who where there tell the stories of our times as People's Century celebrates the human spirit -- and history on a human scale.
The People's Century series represents years of exhaustive research conducted around the world. And, whatever the subject matter, People's Century maintains its commitment to documenting the extraordinary events of the century through the revealing personal testimony of the people who experienced them firsthand -- "no pundits, no academics appear on camera," reminds series executive producer, Zvi Dor-Ner -- an approach unique to this global, historical documentary series.
The twentieth century has been one of unrivaled extremes -- from the height of human accomplishment to the greatest depths of inhumanity. It is also a history defined equally by unencumbered intellectual achievement and astonishing ignorance, war and peace, democracy and dictatorship, by individual resolution and mass revolution. People's Century offers a powerful and personal new perspective on this past, making "history and television for citizens of the twentieth century," says Dor-Ner, "and for the children of the twenty-first."

​About this Web Site
Information for teachers as well as the general audience
About the Series
Series overview, broadcast schedule, program descriptions, biographies
Your Stories
Read and/or submit personal or ancestral accounts relevant to the topics covered in People's Century
Timeline
See the relative time span of each episode and highlights of signifcant world events
Thematic Overview
An interactive overview that provides quick access to information about the programs
Teacher's Guide
Discussion questions to help students in viewing the programs, as well as a classroom activity
​Episodes:
Age of Hope (1900)
Optimism reigns as the new century begins
Killing Fields (1916)
Marching to glory, soldiers face death on an industrial scale in a ghastly global war
Red Flag (1917)
Communism brings hope-and horrors-to Russia's millions
Lost Peace (1919)
The hope for a new world order
On the Line (1926)
Mass production forever alters the lives of workers and consumers
Great Escape (1927)
The world forgets its troubles and falls in love with the movies
Breadline (1929)
Economic depression triggers unemployment on a global scale
Sporting Fever (1930)
Fans root for the home team in a sports craze that pushes nationalism to new levels
Master Race (1933)
Nazism overtakes German society
Total War (1939)
Civilians become targets-contributing to the war effort with their labor and their lives
Fallout (1945)
Nuclear energy is unleashed
Brave New World (1945)
A "cold" war embroils the US and the Soviet Union in a contest of ideologies

​Freedom Now (1947)
Colonial rule is overthrown in Asia and Africa
Boomtime (1948)
Post-war prosperity transforms lifestyles and cultural values in the United States and abroad
Asia Rising (1951)
From the ashes of war, Japan and Korea rise to economic prominence
Living Longer (1952)
Medical advances further the fight against disease
Endangered Planet (1959)
Runaway growth brings prosperity at a price
Skin Deep (1960)
Racial oppression is challenged in the United States and South Africa
Picture Power (1963)
Television unexpectedly transforms society, culture, and politics
Great Leap (1965)
China yields to Chairman Mao
Young Blood (1968)
A new generation challenges the Establishment
Half the People (1969)
At home and at work, women fight for equal rights
Guerrilla Wars (1973)
Revolution succeeds through guerrilla warfare
God Fights Back (1979)
Religious fundamentalism flourishes in the East and West
People Power (1991)
Communist rule crumbles in the Soviet Union
Fast Forward (1999)
New technologies connect the world-while age-old rivalries threaten the New World Order

Industrialization and Progressivism (1877-1920) 

Urbanization

10. The rise of corporations, heavy industry, mechanized farming and technological innovations transformed the American economy from an agrarian to an increasingly urban industrial society.

Industrialization in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was characterized by the rise of corporations and heavy industry, which transformed the American economy. It marked a shift from a predominance of agricultural workers to a predominance of factory workers. It marked a shift from rural living to urban living, with more people living in crowded and unsanitary conditions. 

Mechanized farming also transformed the American economy. Production was made more efficient as machines replaced human labor. 

New technologies (e.g., mechanized assembly line, electric motors) made factory production more efficient and allowed for larger industrial plants. Some of the technological innovations that transformed the American economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries include the telephone, phonograph, incandescent light bulb, washing machine, skyscraper, automobile and airplane.

​The Industrial Economy: Crash Course US History #23

In which John Green teaches you about the Industrial Economy that arose in the United States after the Civil War. You know how when you're studying history, and you're reading along and everything seems safely in the past, and then BOOM you think, "Man, this suddenly seems very modern." For me, that moment in US History is the post-Reconstruction expansion of industrialism in America. After the Civil War, many of the changes in technology and ideas gave rise to this new industrialism. You'll learn about the rise of Captains of Industry (or Robber Barons) like Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockefeller, and JP Morgan. You'll learn about trusts, combinations, and how the government responded to these new business practices. All this, plus John will cover how workers reacted to the changes in society and the early days of the labor movement. You'll learn about the Knights of Labor and Terence Powderly, and Samuel Gompers and the AFL. As a special bonus, someone gets beaten with a cane. AGAIN. What is it with American History and people getting beaten with canes? ​
  • ​Resources for Teaching about Industrialization & Immigration – Education Updates
    • ..activities for teaching about Industrialization and Immigration....
  • industrialization – Education Updates
    • industrialization What is Patent Number 139,121? October 19, 2020October...

The New York Times: Tenement Memories 

Rita Ascione is one of the last living residents of the Lower East Side building that is now the Tenement Museum. She recently returned with her daughter, Valerie Carmody, to see her old apartment.
​Read the story here:
http://nyti.ms/1x0GHsF

Business Insider: A Trip Through The Tenement Museum In New York City

Take a trip through the Tenement Museum in New York City. This video was originally produced as a Facebook Live segment.

Industrialization

11. The rise of industrialization led to a rapidly expanding workforce. Labor organizations grew amidst unregulated working conditions and violence toward supporters of organized labor. 

The rise of industrialization in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries increased the demand for workers. With this demand, immigrants came from other countries and Americans migrated from other parts of the United States to take jobs in industrial centers. 

As a result of the changing nature of work, some members of the working class formed labor organizations (e.g., American Railway Union, American Federation of Labor, Industrial Workers of the World, United Mine Workers of America) to protect their rights. They sought to address issues such as working conditions, wages and terms of employment. 

Labor organizations also grew due to the violence toward supporters of organized labor (e.g., Great Railroad Strike, Haymarket Riot, Homestead Strike, Pullman Strike).

Resource: Standford University - Spatial History Project Railway Union, 1893-1894
Resource: AFL-CIO, History
Resource: IWW, History
Resource: UMWA, History
Resource: Maryland State Archives - The Strike of 1877
Resource: West Virginia Archives & History B&O Railroad Strike of 1877
Resource: University of Pittsburg - The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
Resource: Catskill Archive - The Great Strike, Harper's Weekly August 11, 1877
Resource: Chicago Historical Society - The Haymarket Affair Digital Collection
Resource: Illinois Labor History Society - The Haymarket Affair
Resource: University of Missouri - The Haymarket Riot Trial
Resource: Northern Illinois University - The Haymarket Bomb 
Resource: The Battle of Homestead Foundation
Resource: History Matters - Broken Spirits: Letters on the Pullman Strike
Resource: Northern Illinois University - The Pullman Strike

Simple History: Who were the Richest Tycoons in America?

​https://www.patreon.com/simplehistory

Labor Day's violent beginnings

The bloody Pullman strike in 1894 spurred the national holiday that recognizes American workers

History through Hollywood

​Ted-Ed: Why do Americans and Canadians celebrate Labor Day? -Kenneth C. Davis

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-amer...
In the United States and Canada, the first Monday of September is a federal holiday, Labor Day. Originally celebrated in New York City's Union Square in 1882, Labor Day was organized by unions as a rare day of rest for the overworked during the Industrial Revolution. Kenneth C. Davis illustrates the history of Labor Day from Union Square to today. ​

HISTORY: The Men Who Built America

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John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford and J.P. Morgan rose from obscurity and in the process built modern America. Their names hang on street signs, are etched into buildings and are a part of the fabric of history. These men created the American Dream and were the engine of capitalism as they transformed everything they touched in building the oil, rail, steel, shipping, automobile and finance industries. Their paths crossed repeatedly as they elected presidents, set economic policies and influenced major events of the 50 most formative years this country has ever known. From the Civil War to the Great Depression and World War I, they led the way.
www.history.com/shows/men-who-built-america

Episode 1: A New War Begins
Out of the turmoil of the Civil War, America enters an age of enlightenment that will change the landscape of the country forever. The growth is driven by five insightful men who will change the world forever.
Episode 2: Bloody Battles
As it recovers from the Civil War, America undertakes the largest building phase of the country's history. While much of the growth is driven by railroads and oil, it's built using steel.
Episode 3: Changing the Game
The steel and oil have forever changed the face of America, but they are just the beginning. JP Morgan arrives on the scene and expedites growth through finance.
Episode 4: When One Ends, Another Begins
Railroads, oil, steel and electricity have all been harnessed in less than 50 years, but the face of America is changing and will never be the same.

Westward Expansion

​Westward Expansion: Crash Course US History #24

In which John Green teaches you about the Wild, Wild, West, which as it turns out, wasn't as wild as it seemed in the movies. When we think of the western expansion of the United States in the 19th century, we're conditioned to imagine the loner. The self-reliant, unattached cowpoke roaming the prairie in search of wandering calves, or the half-addled prospector who has broken from reality thanks to the solitude of his single-minded quest for gold dust. While there may be a grain of truth to these classic Hollywood stereotypes, it isn't a very big grain of truth. Many of the pioneers who settled the west were family groups. Many were immigrants. Many were major corporations. The big losers in the westward migration were Native Americans, who were killed or moved onto reservations. Not cool, American pioneers. ​
  • ​Resources for Teaching Westward Expansion – Education Updates
    • If you’re teaching about Westward Expansion, we have a variety of primary sources...
  • Exploration and Westward Expansion | National Archives
    • Exploration and Westward Expansion Exploration 
  • American Originals Documents and Georgia GPS Standards - Education - The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum
    • Battle of Fort McHenry, 1814 Westward Expansion 4.26 Explains the social and...
  • Breaking Barriers in History: Resources for NHD 2020 – Education Updates
    • Slavery & Fugitive Slave Act Westward Expansion The Transcontinental Railroad...
  • Seeking pictures of Buffalo soldiers | History Hub
    • Soldiers; Buffalo Soldier; and Westward-expansion
  • ​​American West Photographs | National Archives
    • ...to the contiguous land stretching westward to the Pacific, south to the Rio Grande...
  • Founders Online: Extracts of Correspondence on Indian Affairs, October 1792
    • field of Battle—one path inclining Westward—the other due North—the latter they...
  • The Homestead Act of 1862 | National Archives
    • Displaced farmers then looked westward to unforested country that offered...

U.S. Population Density (1790–2010) - Westward Expansion

​The animated map of population density, made using Jonathan Schroeder's county-level decadal estimates. Populations for intermediate years was interpolated by cubic splines to log-density; essentially, that means that it assumes a smooth change in the rate of growth for each county over time. Westward Expansion summary: The story of the United States has always been one of westward expansion, beginning along the East Coast and continuing, often by leaps and bounds, until it reached the Pacific-what Theodore Roosevelt described as "the great leap Westward." The acquisition of Hawaii and Alaska, though not usually included in discussions of Americans expanding their nation westward, continued the practices established under the principle of Manifest Destiny.

America the Story of Us: Gold Rush | History

Discover how the Gold Rush led to the creation of California. Own America: The Story of Us ​

The Progressive Era

Immigration & Migration

12. Immigration, internal migration and urbanization transformed American life.

Mass immigration at the turn of the 20th century made the country more diverse and transformed American life by filling a demand for workers, diffusing new traits into the American culture and impacting the growth of cities. 

Many people left their farms for the cities seeking greater job opportunities. The Great Migration marked the mass movement of African Americans who fled the rural South for the urban North. They sought to escape prejudice and discrimination and secure better-paying jobs. They helped transform northern cities economically (e.g., as workers and consumers) and culturally (e.g., art, music, literature). 

Urbanization transformed the physical nature of cities. Central cities focused on industry and commerce. Buildings became taller and tenement buildings provided housing for working families. Cities acquired additional land as they expanded outward. 

The crowding of cities led to increased crime with the development of gangs. Improvements in transportation (e.g., trolleys, automobiles) facilitated the development of suburbs. A growing middle class could easily commute between residential areas and the central cities for business and recreation.  

​America's Sources of Immigration (1850-Today)

​A state-by-state look at the history of U.S. immigration, showing the leading country of origin for newcomers in each territory, by decade.

Business Insider: ​Animated Map Shows History Of Immigration To The US

In 1607, the English established their first permanent settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. Over the coming centuries, millions of people from around the globe were attracted to this New World that came to be the US for a chance at a better life. Today, more than 1 in 8 Americans are immigrants, and almost all are descendants of those born in foreign lands.

History through Hollywood

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​Far and Away (1992)
​
A young Irish couple flee to the States, but subsequently struggle to obtain land and prosper freely.
Director: Ron Howard
Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Thomas Gibson

Picture
The Immigrant (1917)
​
Charlie is an immigrant who endures a challenging voyage and gets into trouble as soon as he arrives in America.
​Director: Charles Chaplin 
​Stars: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell, Albert Austin

Picture
Avalon (1990)
A Polish-Jewish family comes to the USA at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. There, the family and their children try to make themselves a better future in the so-called promised land.
Director: Barry Levinson
Stars: Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth Perkins, Leo Fuchs

Picture
The Immigrant (2013)
1921. An innocent immigrant woman is tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician tries to save her and reunite her with her sister who is being held in the confines of Ellis Island.
Director: James Gray
Stars: Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner

​Growth, Cities, and Immigration: Crash Course US History #25

In which John Green teaches you about the massive immigration to the United States during the late 19th and early 20th century. Immigrants flocked to the US from all over the world in this time period. Millions of Europeans moved to the US where they drove the growth of cities and manned the rapid industrialization that was taking place. In the western US many, many Chinese immigrants arrived to work on the railroad and in mines. As is often the case in the United States, the people who already lived in the US reacted kind of badly to this flood of immigrants. Some legislators tried to stem the flow of new arrivals, with mixed success. Grover Cleveland vetoed a general ban on immigration, but the leadership at the time did manage to get together to pass and anti-Chinese immigration law. Immigrants did win some important Supreme Court decisions upholding their rights, but in many ways, immigrants were treated as second class citizens. At the same time, the country was rapidly urbanizing. Cities were growing rapidly and industrial technology was developing new wonders all the time. John will cover all this upheaval and change, and hearken back to a time when racial profiling did in fact boil down to analyzing the side of someone's face. ​
​Resource: NYPL - The Schomburg Center, The African-American Migration 
Resource: Immigration to the United States 
Resource: The Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum
Resource: NPS - Ellis Island
Resource: The Statue of Liberty Foundation 
Resource: LoC - City Life in the early 19th century 
​Resource: ORE - Infrastructure: Mass Transit in 19th- and 20th

Great American Novels

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​The Jungle
​by Upton Sinclair
​
The Jungle is a 1906 novel by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair. The novel portrays the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities. Wikipedia

100 Years of Immigration to The U.S., 1919 to 2019

​Foreign-born population in the United States, 1919-2019

America The Story of Us: Why do Immigrants Come to America?

Skyscrapers and the Statue of Liberty are symbols of the American Dream for millions of immigrants. Urban life introduces a new breed of social ills, set against the backdrop of stunning skylines and ambitious innovations

Immigrants at Ellis Island | History

​An estimated 40% of Americans are descended from people who passed through the Ellis Island immigration station during its six decades of operation. But what was the immigration process like? #HistoryChannel

Post-Reconstruction

13. Following Reconstruction, old political and social structures reemerged and racial discrimination was institutionalized.

The removal of federal troops from the South accompanied the end of Reconstruction and helped lead to the restoration of the Democratic Party’s control of state governments. With the redemption of the South, many reforms enacted by Reconstruction governments were repealed. 

Racial discrimination was institutionalized with the passage of Jim Crow laws. These state laws and local ordinances included provisions to require racial segregation, prohibit miscegenation, limit ballot access and generally deprive African Americans of civil rights. 

Advocates against racial discrimination challenged institutionalized racism through the courts. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed segregation in the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. The rise of the Ku Klux Klan and other nativist organizations brought increased violence against African Americans. 
Resource: LoC: African American Perspectives
Resource: The Freedman's Bureau Online
Resource: HarpWeek Black History
Resource: NYU LAW - Neglected Voices
Resource: You Don't Have to Ride, Jim Crow!
Resource: Ferris State University - Jim Crow Museum
Resource: Jazz, A Film by Ken Burns, Jim Crow Era
Resource: NPS - Jim Crow Laws
Resource: PBS - The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
Resource: American RadioWorks - Remembering Jim Crow 
​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Birth of a Nation, the NAACP, and the Balancing of Rights

Sound Smart: Plessy v. Ferguson | History

​Historian Yohuru Williams talks about the Plessy v. Ferguson case and its effects on the Civil Rights Movement.

The New Jim Crow Museum

Tour the Jim Crow museum with founder and curator, Dr. David Pilgrim. Dr. Pilgrim discusses some of the major themes of the Jim Crow Museum. Jim Crow was not just a character or a set of "laws", it was a system that built upon itself to create and sustain a society with a racial hierarchy.

The Choices Program: What was it like growing up in Alabama under Jim Crow?

http://www.choices.edu/civilrights
​Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) answers the question "What was it like growing up in Alabama under Jim Crow?" as a part of our curriculum unit on Civil Rights.
  • ​Reviewing the Civil War and Reconstruction | National Archives
    • Major issues of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era. Guiding ...
  • ​reconstruction – Education Updates
    • Focus on Reconstruction: New Teaching Activities February...
  • ​Was Reconstruction a Revolution? | National Archives
    • Congressional records from the Reconstruction period to assess whether the documents...
  • ​Reconstruction – The Unwritten Record
    • Reconstruction Map Minutes: Captured and Abandoned Property in the Post-Civil

The Gilded Age: Problems 

14. The Progressive era was an effort to address the ills of American society stemming from industrial capitalism, urbanization and political corruption.

Industrial capitalism, urbanization and political corruption contributed to many of the problems in American society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Organized movements, such as the Farmers’ Alliances and the Populist Party, were reactions to the effects of industrialization and created a reform agenda which contributed to the rise of Progressivism. Journalists, called muckrakers, exposed political corruption, corporate and industrial practices, social injustice and life in urban America. 

Progressives introduced reforms to address the ills associated with industrial capitalism. Their efforts led to antitrust suits (e.g., Northern Securities Company), antitrust legislation (Clayton Antitrust Act), railroad regulation (Hepburn Act), and consumer protection legislation (e.g., Pure Food and Drug Act, Meat Inspection Act). The Federal Reserve Act was passed to control the nation’s money supply and regulate the banking system. Conservation reforms included the creation of the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service and the passage of the Newlands Act. 

Progressives fought political corruption and introduced reforms to make the political process more democratic (e.g., initiative, referendum, recall, secret ballot, new types of municipal government, civil service reform, primary elections). 

Other progressive reforms included: 
  • 16th Amendment (power of Congress to levy an income tax);
  • 17th Amendment (direct election of U.S. Senators);
  • 18th Amendment (prohibition of alcoholic beverages);
  • 19th Amendment (women’s suffrage).​
​Resource: Nellie Bly, The Pioneer Woman Journalist   
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Kate Chopin's "The Awakening"
Resource: Fraser - Federal Reserve Act of 1913
Resource: The Forest History Society
Resource: National Park System Timeline (Annotated)

​Gilded Age Politics: Crash Course US History #26

​John Green teaches you about the Gilded Age and its politics. What, you may ask, is the Gilded Age? The term comes from a book by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner titled, "The Gilded Age." You may see a pattern emerging here. It started in the 1870s and continued on until the turn of the 20th century. The era is called Gilded because of the massive inequality that existed in the United States. Gilded Age politics were marked by a number of phenomenons, most of them having to do with corruption. On the local and state level, political machines wielded enormous power. John gets into details about the most famous political machine, Tammany Hall. Tammany Hall ran New York City for a long, long time, notably under Boss Tweed. Graft, kickbacks, and voter fraud were rampant, but not just at the local level. Ulysses S. Grant ran one of the most scandalous presidential administrations in U.S. history, and John will tell you about two of the best known scandals, the Credit Mobilier scandal and the Whiskey Ring. There were a few attempts at reform during this time, notably the Civil Service Act of 1883 and the Sherman Anti-trust act of 1890. John will also get into the Grange Movement of the western farmers, and the Populist Party that arose from that movement. The Populists, who threw in their lot with William Jennings Bryan, never managed to get it together and win a presidency, and they faded after 1896. Which brings us to the Progressive Era, which we'll get into next week!

The Progressive Amendments

http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/ - A selected lecture from "Introduction to Key Constitutional Concepts and Supreme Court Cases" with University of Pennsylvania law professor Kermit Roosevelt III. For more civics education resources, go to AnnenbergClassroom.org

Elected v. Appointed: Senators & the Seventeenth Amendment [POLICYbrief]

Prior to the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, U.S. senators were appointed by their state legislators and not directly elected by the people. Professors Wendy Schiller from Brown University and Todd Zywicki from George Mason University discuss the genesis of the amendment and how it fundamentally changed American politics. ​

Does "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" have a hidden message? - David B. Parker

​View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/does-the-wo... In his introduction to “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” L. Frank Baum claims that the book is simply an innocent children’s story. But some scholars have found hidden criticisms of late-nineteenth-century economic policies in the book. Is it possible that one of America’s favorite children’s stories is also a subversive parable? David B. Parker investigates the text for clues. Lesson by David B. Parker, animation by Avi Ofer.

American Experience: The Gilded Age

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GILDED IS NOT GOLDEN.
In the closing decades of the nineteenth century, during what has become known as the Gilded Age, the population of the United States doubled in the span of a single generation. The nation became the world’s leading producer of food, coal, oil, and steel, attracted vast amounts of foreign investment, and pushed into markets in Europe and the Far East. As national wealth expanded, two classes rose simultaneously, separated by a gulf of experience and circumstance that was unprecedented in American life. These disparities sparked passionate and violent debate over questions still being asked in our own times: How is wealth best distributed, and by what process? Does government exist to protect private property or provide balm to the inevitable casualties of a churning industrial system? Should the government concern itself chiefly with economic growth or economic justice? The battles over these questions were fought in Congress, the courts, the polling place, the workplace and the streets. The outcome of these disputes was both uncertain and momentous, and marked by a passionate vitriol and level of violence that would shock the conscience of many Americans today. The Gilded Age presents a compelling and complex story of one of the most convulsive and transformative eras in American history.

  • TRAILER: The Gilded Age: Trailer
  • DIGITAL SHORT: Andrew Carnegie: Man of Steel
  • DIGITAL SHORT: Henry George: From Poverty to Politics
  • DIGITAL SHORT: J.P. Morgan: The Financier
  • ARTICLE: Carnegie’s Bookshelf
  • CHAPTER: The Gilded Age: Chapter 1
  • DIGITAL SHORT: Mary Elizabeth Lease: The Advocate
  • ARTICLE: Ida B. Wells in Brooklyn
  • DIGITAL SHORT: Golden Rule Jones
  • IMAGE GALLERY: Laughing at the Expense of Labor and Capital
  • ARTICLE: Mapping Gilded Age New York

Promo | The Gilded Age

​Meet the titans and barons of the glittering late 19th century, whose materialistic extravagance contrasted harshly with the poverty of the struggling workers who challenged them. The vast disparities between them sparked debates still raging today.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/gilded-age/

Chapter 1 | The Gilded Age | American Experience | PBS

Meet the elite of the lavishly wealthy Gilded Age — and the struggling workers who challenged them. Learn more about our documentary, THE GILDED AGE, including where to watch the full film: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe..

​The Progressive Era: Crash Course US History #27

​John Green teaches you about the Progressive Era in the United States. In the late 19th and early 20th century in America, there was a sense that things could be improved upon. A sense that reforms should be enacted. A sense that progress should be made. As a result, we got the Progressive Era, which has very little to do with automobile insurance, but a little to do with automobiles. All this overlapped with the Gilded Age, and is a little confusing, but here we have it. Basically, people were trying to solve some of the social problems that came with the benefits of industrial capitalism. To oversimplify, there was a competition between the corporations' desire to keep wages low and workers' desire to have a decent life. Improving food safety, reducing child labor, and unions were all on the agenda in the Progressive Era. While progress was being made, and people were becoming more free, these gains were not equally distributed. Jim Crow laws were put in place in the south, and immigrant rights were restricted as well. So once again on Crash Course, things aren't so simple.
Resource: COMMONLIT: The Progessive Era

Sound Smart: Child Labor in the Industrial Revolution | History

​Historian Yohuru Williams gives a rundown of important facts on child labor in the time of the Industrial Revolution. #SoundSmart

Child Labor Reform in the Progressive Era

​At the turn of the twentieth century, progressive reformers turn their attention to the nearly two million children working often in unhealthy or dangerous work environments.

Foreign Affairs from Imperialism to Post-World War I 
(1898-1930) 

American Imperialism & Global Progressivism 

15. As a result of overseas expansion, the Spanish-American War and World War I, the United States emerged as a world power.
  • With the closing of the western frontier, Americans developed favorable attitudes toward foreign expansion. Pushed along by global competition for markets and prestige, an expanded navy and a sense of cultural superiority, the United States engaged in a series of overseas actions which fostered its move to global power status. The annexation of Hawaii followed by a successful conclusion to the Spanish-American War allowed the United States to join other nations in imperialist ventures. 
  • With its entry into World War I, the United States mobilized a large army and navy to help the Allies achieve victory. After the war, European countries were forced to concentrate their resources on rebuilding their countries. However, the United States enjoyed a brief period of economic prosperity and was able to exert authority as a world power

​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - The Birth of an American Empire (4 Lessons)
Resource: Crucible of Empire: The Spanish-American War
Resource: A World Power
Resource: The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii
Resource: Theodore Roosevelt Association

​American Imperialism: Crash Course US History #28

John Green teaches you about Imperialism. In the late 19th century, the great powers of Europe were running around the world obtaining colonial possessions, especially in Africa and Asia. The United States, which as a young country was especially suceptible to peer pressure, followed along and snapped up some colonies of its own. The US saw that Spain's hold on its empire was weak, and like some kind of expansionist predator, it jumped into the Cuban War for Independence and turned it into the Spanish-Cuban-Phillipino-American War, which usually just gets called the Spanish-American War. John will tell you how America turned this war into colonial possessions like Puerto Rico, The Philippines, and almost even got to keep Cuba. The US was busy in the Pacific as well, wresting control of Hawaii from the Hawaiians. All this and more in a globe-trotting, oppressing episode of Crash Course US History.

How the Media Started the Spanish-American War | Citizen Hearst | American Experience | PBS

​For months, William Randolph Hearst’s newspapers reported the drama and increasing tension in Cuba, with little regard for the truth. When, on April 20, 1898, President McKinley asked for a declaration of war, Hearst was more than happy to take the credit. His papers read: “How do you like The Journal’s war?” The Spanish-American War was a victory for Hearst, whose paper stood atop the New York market when all was said and done. Official Website: https://to.pbs.org/3yhHK9o | #CitizenHearstPBS

Crucible of Empire: The Spanish American War

When a declining Spain, beset by rebellion abroad, fell to American expansionism, the United States inherited her colonies and suddenly emerged as a world power. The experience and questions that the Spanish-American War raised about foreign intervention echo throughout the 20th century—as recent events in Kosovo show. Even in its own time, the war with Spain was understood as a turning point in American history.

The Spanish-American War

The American public has great interest in tabloid accounts of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain.

Who Were the Rough Riders? | Explorer

Teddy Roosevelt assembles a group of men in the First United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. ​

Black Soldiers Were the Real Heroes at San Juan Hill. And They Got No Credit.

President Theodore Roosevelt and his 'rough riders' are remembered as heroes of the Spanish-American war—a "total fabrication" according to Jerry Tuccille, author of the recent book, The Roughest Riders: The Untold Story of the Black Soldiers in the Spanish-American War. ​

Theodore Roosevelt: American Hero

History through Hollywood

Picture
Rough Riders  (1997  
​TV Movie)

Undersecretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt resigns to form a volunteer militia unit called "The Rough Riders" to fight in the Spanish American War.
Director: John Milius 
​Stars: Tom Berenger, Sam Elliott, Gary Busey, Brad Johnson

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​1898: Our Last Men in the Philippines (2016)
​
A soldiers trapped inside a church as last refugee. A fight that no one couldn't win. A war that no one wanted to lose.
​Director: Salvador Calvo
Stars: Luis Tosar, Javier Gutiérrez, Álvaro Cervantes

Picture
Baler (2008)
Baler is a love story between Feliza, the daughter of a rebel commander and Celso, a half-Spanish soldier, set during the twilight years of the Spanish regime in the Philippines. The young couple struggle to keep their forbidden love alive despite familial and political tensions, culminating in an almost year-long blockade known as the Siege of Baler.
Director: Mark Meily
Stars: Phillip Salvador, Jericho Rosales, Anne Curtis​

Picture
The Hawaiians (1970) ​
The intertwined lives of two kindred souls with ambition begins when Captain Whip Hoxworth discovers that Nyuk Tsin has been smuggled aboard as part of cargo on The Carthaginian, which he ...
Director: Tom Gries
Stars: Charlton Heston, Tina Chen, Geraldine Chaplin ​

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​Princess Kaiulani (2009)
​
The true story of a Hawaiian princess' attempts to maintain the independence of the island against the threat of American colonization.
Director: Marc Forby
Stars: Q'orianka Kilcher, Barry Pepper, Shaun Evans

American Experience: Panama Canal

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  • TRAILER: Panama Canal: Trailer
  • CLIP: Travel the Panama Canal
  • TIMELINE: Creating the Canal
  • ARTICLE: The New Deal
  • IMAGE GALLERY: Working on the Panama Canal
  • CLIP: Locks on the Panama Canal. 
  • ARTICLE: The Canal Today
  • ARTICLE: Chief Engineers of the Panama Canal
  • PRIMARY SOURCE: Roosevelt's Message to Congress
​On August 15th, 1914, the Panama Canal opened, connecting the world’s two largest oceans and signaling America’s emergence as a global superpower. American ingenuity and innovation had succeeded where, fifteen years earlier, the French had failed disastrously. But the U.S. paid a price for victory: a decade of ceaseless, grinding toil, an outlay of more than 350 million dollars — the largest single federal expenditure in history to that time — and the loss of more than 5,000 lives. Along the way, Central America witnessed the brazen overthrow of a sovereign government, the influx of more 55,000 workers from around the globe, the removal of hundreds of millions of tons of earth, and engineering innovation on an unprecedented scale. The construction of the Canal was the epitome of man’s mastery over nature and signaled the beginning of America’s domination of world affairs.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/panama/#film_description

​Progressive Presidents: Crash Course US History #29

​John Green teaches you about the Progressive Presidents, who are not a super-group of former presidents who create complicated, symphonic, rock soundscapes that transport you into a fantasy fugue state. Although that would be awesome. The presidents most associated with the Progressive Era are Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. During the times these guys held office, trusts were busted, national parks were founded, social programs were enacted, and tariffs were lowered. It wasn't all positive though, as their collective tenure also saw Latin America invaded A LOT, a split in the Republican party that resulted in a Bull Moose, all kinds of other international intervention, and the end of the Progressive Era saw the United States involved in World War. If all this isn't enough to entice, I will point out that two people get shot in this video. Violence sells, they say.
​Theodore Roosevelt: Progressive Crusader | The Heritage ...
Sep 24, 2012 — Key Takeaways. As President, Roosevelt pushed executive powers to new limits, arguing that the rise of industrial capitalism had rendered ...
​Theodore Roosevelt: Impact and Legacy | Miller Center
Theodore Roosevelt is widely regarded as the first modern President of the United ... His presidency endowed the progressive movement with credibility, lending ...
​Teddy Roosevelt nominated as Bull Moose candidate ...
Theodore Roosevelt is nominated for the presidency by the Progressive Party, a group of Republicans dissatisfied with the renomination of President William.
​Roosevelt's Progressivism | Boundless US History
Theodore Roosevelt strived to reconcile labor and business through Progressive legislation. The Progressive movement encompassed these reconciliations as ...

President McKinley Assassinated

Theodore Roosevelt: Youngest U.S. President & Nobel Peace Prize Winner | Mini Bio | BIO

​Watch a short biography video of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States who focused on ecological preservation. #Biography #TheodoreRoosevelt

Woodrow Wilson: The great romantic

​President Woodrow Wilson lobbied Congress to support his passion project, the League of Nations, but he also lobbied a widow to become the second Mrs. Wilson. Mo Rocca offers a portrait of the 28th president.

The United States in World War I

​America in World War I: Crash Course US History #30

​John Green teaches you about American involvement in World War I, which at the time was called the Great War. They didn't know there was going to be a second one, though they probably should have guessed, 'cause this one didn't wrap up very neatly. So, the United States stayed out of World War I at first, because Americans were in an isolationist mood in the early 20th century. That didn't last though, as the affronts piled up and drew the US into the war. Spoiler alert: the Lusitania was sunk two years before we joined the war, so that wasn't the sole cause for our jumping in. It was part of it though, as was the Zimmerman telegram, unrestricted submarine warfare, and our affinity for the Brits. You'll learn the war's effects on the home front, some of Woodrow Wilson's XIV Points, and just how the war ended up expanding the power of the government in Americans' lives.
​U.S. Entry into World War I - HISTORY
Apr 6, 2017 — On August 4, as World War I erupted across Europe, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed America's neutrality, stating the nation “must be ...
​U.S. Participation in the Great War (World War I) | Progressive ...
U.S. Participation in the Great War (World War I). Corner of the Battlefield Near Arras, August 8, 1918. Detroit Publishing Company. War broke out in Europe in ...

How WWI Changed America: America Goes to War

​When World War I broke out in Europe in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared the U.S. neutral. By 1917, President Wilson announced, “the world must be made safe for democracy” which brought the nation into war, reshaping its role in the world.

The US in World War I | History

​After running on the campaign, "He Kept Us Out of the War," Woodrow Wilson brings the United States into World War I in April 1917. #TheWorldWars

Local History:

"Lost Voices of the Great War"
​- Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens

http://www.summitwwi.org/
​Summit County and the Great War is a collaborative partnership between the Akron-Summit County Public Library, MAPS Air Museum, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, Summit County Historical Society and the University of Akron Archival Services, formed to commemorate Summit County's contribution to the U.S. war effort during World War One (1917-1918).
In addition to a map of World War I-related county locations, community partners, and digital resources made available through Summit Memory and its contributors, this site also contains a schedule of events that lists information about a number of commemorative programs and activities taking place within Summit County, Ohio, from 2017-2018.

Lost Voices of the Great War

Commemorative Sites in Summit County

Browse University of Akron WWI collections

Browse Summit Memory WWI collections

Educational Materials
  • Lost Voices of the Great War Viewing Guide
  • Elementary School Lesson Plan
  • “War Comes to Akron” 
  • High School Lesson Plan
  • “Summit County Women at War”
  • High School Lesson Plan
  • “Charles C. Jackson, an African American Officer in World War I”
​Additional Resources
World War I Online Resources
​For additional resources and a listing of programs and activities happening around Ohio and the nation, visit the United States World War One Commission's website at www.worldwar1centennial.org.
The commemoration of Summit County and the Great War is supported in part by the Ohio History Connection.

​Stan Hywet and the Great War

Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, 714 N. Portage Path, Akron, Ohio
The Seiberling family provided financial support for war-related organizations, shifted rubber production from domestic to military goods, and sent their sons and grandsons into battle to fight two world wars. In addition to touring the Seiberling estate, guests may view the permanent exhibit, “The Seiberling Legacy,” which highlights the family's legacy including their contributions to both world wars. Visit www.stanhywet.org for hours of operation.

​MAPS World War One Exhibit

MAPS Air Museum, 2260 International Pkwy, North Canton, Ohio
​Recently opened display in the Ohio Military Museum section, located on the mezzanine level, accessible by elevator. The display covers the story of World War One from the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, through the occupation of Germany by the victorious Allies after the war. The display consists of text, posters, photographs, art work, and uniforms and artifacts of the American Doughboy, including a life-size fully equipped Doughboy mannequin. American volunteers, such as the Lafayette Escadrille and the American Field Service (AFS) ambulance drivers for France, who entered the war before America officially became a combatant, are noted as well. The majority of the display discusses the American involvement, including the branches of service involved as well as a selection of technological advances created to meet military needs. MAPS hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 9am-4:30pm; Sunday, 11:30am-4pm; closed Mondays. Telephone: 330-896-6332 
https://mapsairmuseum.org.

Post-War Years: Peacekeeper vs. Isolationists

16. After WWI, the United States pursued efforts to maintain peace in the world. However, as a result of the national debate over the Versailles Treaty ratification and the League of Nations, the United States moved away from the role of world peacekeeper and limited its involvement in international affairs. 
  • After WWI, the United States emerged as a world leader and pursued efforts to maintain peace in the world. President Wilson’s efforts partially helped shape the Treaty of Versailles, but debate over its terms and efforts to avoid foreign entanglements led to its defeat in the Senate and the United States’ decision not to join the League of Nations. 
  • Desires to avoid another major war led to treaties addressing arms limitation and territorial expansion (Four-, Five- and Nine-Power Treaties). In 1928, the United States signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact to prohibit war as “an instrument of national policy.” In taking a leading role in these later treaties, the United States sought to limit its involvement in international affairs

Resource: NEH EDSITEment - The Debate in the United States over the League of Nations (3 Lessons)
Resource: Postwar Disillusionment and the Quest for Peace, 1921-1929 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Woodrow Wilson and Foreign Policy (4 Lessons)
​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - From Neutrality to War: The United States and Europe, 1921–1941 (4 Lessons)
​Resource: University of Oxford - History of the League of Nations

Treaty of Versailles

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was among the statesmen who gathered in France in June 1919 to sign the Treaty of Versailles, an agreement that did little to heal the wounds of World War I and set the stage for World War II. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-...Versailles?source=youtube_18879

Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points | History

​Jacqui Rossi explains the details of President Woodrow Wilson's 1918 plan to end World War I by assessing both the causes of war and solutions for peace.

War has been Outlawed, time to pay attention!

Kellogg-Briand Pact, agreement, signed Aug. 27, 1928, condemning "recourse to war for the solution of international controversies." It is more properly known as the Pact of Paris. In June, 1927, Aristide Briand, foreign minister of France, proposed to the U.S. government a treaty outlawing war between the two countries. Frank B. Kellogg, the U.S. Secretary of State, returned a proposal for a general pact against war, and after prolonged negotiations the Pact of Paris was signed by 15 nations—Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, the Irish Free State, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, and the United States. The contracting parties agreed that settlement of all conflicts, no matter of what origin or nature, that might arise among them should be sought only by pacific means and that war was to be renounced as an instrument of national policy. Although 62 nations ultimately ratified the pact, its effectiveness was vitiated by its failure to provide measures of enforcement

Prosperity, Depression and 
the New Deal 
(1919-1941) 

Post-War Years: The Roaring 20s and Social Unrest

17. Racial intolerance, anti-immigrant attitudes and the Red Scare contributed to social unrest after World War I.
  • The Great Migration of African Americans to northern cities heightened racial tensions there and led to a series of urban race riots in 1919. Lynchings and the enforcement of Jim Crow legislation continued in the South during the post-war era. Racial intolerance also was seen in the revival of the Ku Klux Klan across the United States. 
  • An increase in immigration to the United States from southern and eastern Europe preceded World War I. Nativism after the war was reflected in the passage of immigration quotas. Intolerance toward immigrants, Catholics and Jews was exhibited by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. 
  • The success of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia followed by post-war labor strikes and a series of bombs sent to public and business officials in the United States stirred fears of revolution among Americans. The Red Scare of 1919-1920 was a reaction to these perceived threats and led to the incarceration and deportation of many aliens​
​Resource: The New York Library - The African-American Migration Experience  
​Resource: Up from the Bottoms: The Search for the American Dream 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - African-American Soldiers After World War I: Had Race Relations Changed? 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - NAACP's Anti-Lynching Campaigns: The Quest for Social Justice... (2 Lessons)
Resource: Library of Congress - Political Cartoons
Resource: Editorial Cartoons of J.N. "Ding" Darling  
​Resource: University of Washington - The Ku Klux Klan In Washington State, 1920s  
Resource: Baruch College - Red Scare (1918-1921) is an Image Database by Leo Robert Klein

Great American Novels

Picture
​To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
​
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. Instantly successful, widely read in high schools and middle schools in the United States, it has become a classic of modern American literature, winning the Pulitzer Prize. Wikipedia

Migrations: The Great Migration

​The musical traditions of the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the industrialized cities of the Northeast, Midwest, and West during the early 20th century up to the 1970s are featured. Nicholas Payton traces the path of African rhythms from the Caribbean to New Orleans, Kansas City, Chicago, and New York, while Deva Mahal puts her modern edge on soul music. 

Columbus Neighborhoods: The Great Migration

​Learn about the history of the mass exodus of African-Americans who left the South to live and work in northern cities like Columbus, motivated by opportunities for economic and political advancement.

Revisiting the Great Migration through paintings and poetry

​The Great Migration of 6 million African-Americans from the rural South to the urban North was a shift that reshaped America forever. Artist Jacob Lawrence captured that story in an epic work of art known as the Migration Series. Now all 60 of Lawrence's small paintings are on show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, with new reflections by 10 poets. Jeffrey Brown reports.

The history of Tulsa's 'Black Wall Street' massacre

CNN's Sara Sidner speaks with a survivor of the massacre at "Black Wall Street" in Tulsa, Oklahoma, about the devastating chapter of American history.

The Chicago Race Riot of 1919

Department of History at Ohio State
Created by Nick Huffmon

Chicago segregation lingers after 1919 race riot

​It has been 100 years since the race riots that followed the death of 17-year-old Eugene Williams, and the terror of those days still reverberates in Chicago. (July 24)

The Tulsa Race Massacre; Then and now.

REMEMBER “BLACK WALL STREET.” It’s the 97th anniversary of the horrific 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. While much has changed, it’s not enough. Be a part of a better tomorrow...

Sound Smart: The Great Migration | History

Historian Yohuru Williams explains what you need to know to sound smart about the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North after the Civil War. ​

Up South: African-American Migration in the Era of the Great War

During World War I, tens of thousands of African Americans fled the South. In Up South, a Mississippi barber and a sharecropper woman tell how they organized groups to escape Jim Crow laws, lynchings, and forced labor. The promise of freedom and full citizenship drew them to Chicago. Once there, the migrants faced poor housing, discrimination on the job, and racial violence. They responded by forming women's clubs, engaging in political campaigns, and creating the "New Negro" movement. (Length: 30 minutes)
*Also available in Spanish

TED: The Great Migration and the power of a single decision | Isabel Wilkerson

Sometimes, a single decision can change the course of history. Join journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson as she tells the story of the Great Migration, the outpouring of six million African Americans from the Jim Crow South to cities in the North and West between World War I and the 1970s. This was the first time in American history that the lowest caste people signaled they had options and were willing to take them -- and the first time they had a chance to choose for themselves what they would do with their innate talents, Wilkerson explains. "These people, by their actions, were able to do what the powers that be, North and South, could not or would not do," she says. "They freed themselves."

Faces of the Great Migration

​Rockford residents share memories of moving to the area from the Jim Crow-era South.

Social Change: Economics

18. An improved standard of living for many, combined with technological innovations in communication, transportation and industry, resulted in social and cultural changes and tensions. 
  • Following World War I, the United States experienced a period of successful advances in industry and an economic boom that improved the standards of living for many Americans. Technological innovations in communication included commercial radio broadcasts, talking motion pictures, and wider circulation of newspapers and magazines. These innovations influenced the development of a popular culture and mass advertising. 
  • Advances in transportation during this era include the Model A Ford and the airplane. In industry, mass production techniques continued to make factory production more efficient. These developments also contributed to an improved standard of living. 
  • These innovations brought change. But some changes challenged conventional social mores and created tensions. For example, increased automobile ownership contributed to the growth of suburbs, the creation of new businesses (e.g., motels, gas stations) and the expansion of others (e.g., rubber, plate glass, petroleum, steel). New surfaced roads were constructed to accommodate increased traffic. But use of the automobile also challenged traditional family values and tried the patience of travelers. Young people used cars to exercise freedom from parental rules. Increased numbers of commuters had to face the problems of traffic congestion​

Industrial Advancements

​Resource: Life Without Technology 
​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Carl Sandburg's "Chicago": Bringing a Great City Alive
Resource: Henry Ford and the Model T: A Case Study in Productivity 
Resource: The Henry Ford 
​Resource: PBS, American Experience - Henry Ford

How The Ford Model T Took Over The World

History of the Model T | The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation

​In this segment from “The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation” you’ll learn about the Model T car.

Natural Rubber | How It's Made

​Enjoy the factory fun with this How It's Made: Natural Rubber music video. | For more How It's Made, visit http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows...

Charles Goodyear

Charles Goodyear (1800–1860) invented “vulcanized” rubber in 1839 when he accidentally left a mixture of India rubber, sulfur and lead oxide on a hot stove. This chemical reaction of rubber with sulfur at a high temperature transformed it from a smelly, virtually useless substance into a stable, versatile commercial product with hundreds of applications. Goodyear was granted U.S. Patent No. 3633 in 1844, but his vulcanization process was so simple that it was easily pirated. ​

River Rouge Plant; Recycling Model T Fords; Hoover w/ Edison & Ford 221690-10 | Footage Farm

1916 Highland Park Assembly Line 221196-09

Driving a Ford Model T Is a Lot Harder Than You'd Think! We Tried It

Starting in 1908, Henry Ford sold his novel Model T cars as the first to be really accessible to the masses. What's more, he marketed them as easy to handle for casual drivers and (gasp!) women since they started with a button rather than a crank. Thing is, those old Model Ts were still pretty complicated to drive. Bloomberg Pursuits' Hannah Elliott took a 1914 Model T for a spin but first she needed a driving lesson. ​

Ford Model T: How to Drive The Car That Moved The World - XCAR

1927 Ford Model T - Jay Leno's Garage

After driving it across four states from Portland, Oregon, Clayton Paddison stops by the garage to show Jay how he hot-rodded his 1927 Ford Model T on a budget.

Industrial Conflict

The Labor Movement in the United States | History

​Analyze the impact of the labor movement in America throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Labor Unions: History of Unions & Collective Bargaining

​Professor Richard Epstein, Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, gives a brief history of unions and collective bargaining--beginning with the New Deal and the industrial age and running through some of the changes in our economy over the last 80 years.

The Rise of Labor Unions

​As America’s factories grow in the late 19th century, so do the demands for unions as workers struggle with long hours, low wages and dangerous working conditions.

History through Song
Union Songs

​Woody Guthrie- Ludlow Massacre

Refers to the violent deaths of 20 people, 11 of them children, during an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families inLudlow, Colorado on April 20, 1914

Bruce Springsteen - Factory

Florence Reece - Which Side are You on?

Billy Bragg - Power in a Union

​History through Hollywood

Picture
Matewan (1987)
​
A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
Director: John Sayles 
​Stars: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham

Picture
​"American Playhouse" The Killing Floor (1984)
​
During World War I, a poor black Southerner travels north to Chicago to get work in the city's slaughterhouses, where he becomes embroiled in the organized labor movement.
Director: Bill Duke
Stars: Damien Leake, Alfre Woodard, Dennis Farina

Picture
In Dubious Battle (2016)
An activist gets caught up in the labor movement for farm workers in California during the 1930s.
Director: James Franco
​
Stars: Nat Wolff,  James Franco, Vincent D'Onofrio

Picture
​F.I.S.T. (1978)
​
A rebellious Cleveland warehouse worker rises through the ranks of a trucking industry union to become union president but his organized crime links cause his eventual downfall.
Director: Norman Jewison
Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle

Modern Labor Union documentaries:
  • American Dream
  • Fight in the Fields
  • Roger & Me
  • The Take (Spanish)
  • Workingman's Death (German)

Social Change: Cultural

19. Movements such as the Harlem Renaissance, African-American migration, women’s suffrage and Prohibition all contributed to social change.
  • The Harlem Renaissance was a celebration of African American culture and contributed to social change. The themes of African American art and literature gave pride to people of African heritage and increased awareness of the struggles related to intolerance and life in large urban centers. Jazz flourished during the Harlem Renaissance and became an established American music genre. 
  • The large numbers of African Americans moving to northern cities during the Great Migration increased competition for jobs, housing and public services. The movement to give women suffrage saw the fruition of its goal with the passage of the 19th Amendment. 
  • The change brought more women into the political process, eventually including women running for public office. Prohibition had mixed results. Establishments that openly sold liquor closed their doors. 
  • Prohibition lacked popular support. It further divided the nation along secularist/ fundamentalist, rural/urban and modern/traditional lines. It led to speakeasies and increased organized crime. The law was difficult to enforce and was repealed with the 21st Amendment.

Resource: Teaching With Documents: The Volstead Act and Related Prohibition Documents  
Resource: PBS - Prohibition, A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick
Resource: Teaching With Documents: Woman Suffrage and the 19th Amendment
Resource: Voting Rights for Women: Pro- and Anti-Suffrage 
​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Women's Suffrage: Why the West First?
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wall-paper"—The "New Woman"
Resource: The Roaring 20s 
​Resource: PBS - Jazz, A Film by Ken Burns 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Jazz and World War II: A Rally to Resistance, A Catalyst for Victory

I, Too, Sing America: The Harlem Renaissance at 100

Guest Curator and nationally renowned author Wil Haygood talks about the Harlem Renaissance and the I, Too, Sing America exhibition at Columbus Museum of Art. On view October 19, 2018 - January 20, 2019 at Columbus Museum of Art.

Rare 1920s Footage: All-Black Towns Living the American Dream | National Geographic

​By the 1920s, Oklahoma was home to some 50 African-American towns, in addition to a large and prosperous black community living in the city of Tulsa. These towns and their self-reliant middle class and affluent residents are documented by the home movies of Reverend S. S. Jones, an itinerant minister and businessman.

Jazz Age in the South: An African American Perspective, DeKalb History Center

​It was the 1920s, the Jazz Age. There were wild parties! And while Al Capone was busy unleashing violence upon Chicago, African Americans in Bible Belt Georgia were fighting racial, social, and political battles, thus transforming America in unexpected ways.

Mini Bio: Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was the leading voice of the Harlem Renaissance, whose poetry showcased the dignity and beauty in ordinary black life. The hours he spent in Harlem clubs affected his work, making him one of the innovators of Jazz Poetry.

Rare Footage: Hundreds Gather at a 1920s African-American Baptism | National Geographic

The practice of communal outdoor baptism was—and in some cases still is—a central community event among both black and white evangelical churches in America. This home movie footage from Oklahoma, filmed in the mid-1920s by Reverend S. S. Jones, a minister and businessman who lived in the region, provides a penetrating view into the spiritual lives of people in the state’s many booming African-American towns. ​

The Harlem Renaissance

​With a Jim Crow south alive and well, many black Americans migrated north. This migration resulted in the formation of a creative urban hub in Harlem, New York, and the Harlem Renaissance became a time where black Americans flourished creatively.

Great American Novels

Picture
​Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison
​
Invisible Man is a novel by Ralph Ellison, published by Random House in 1952. It addresses many of the social and intellectual issues faced by the African Americans in the early twentieth century, ... Wikipedia

The Harlem Renaissance's cultural explosion, in photographs

​At the turn of the last century, African Americans from across the country flooded New York City’s Harlem, leading to an explosion of books, poetry and music that is now collectively known as the Harlem Renaissance. A photography exhibit currently on display traces the history of one of the nation’s most recognized neighborhoods as it continues to evolve. Special correspondent Jared Bowen reports.

Rare Footage Shows All-Black Towns in 1920s America | NowThis

​This rare footage shows what life was like in all-Black towns during the 1920s. » Subscribe to NowThis: http://go.nowth.is/News_Subscribe

Jazz: A Film By Ken Burns

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​Filmmaker Ken Burns tells the story of jazz — the quintessential American art form. The 10-part series follows the growth and development of jazz music from the gritty streets of New Orleans to the Lincoln Gardens on Chicago's south side, where Louis Armstrong first won fame, from Prohibition-era speakeasies to the wide-open clubs of Kansas City, from the elegant Roseland Ballroom in Times Square, where only whites were allowed to dance, to the more egalitarian Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, where people of all colors mingled.
​
Six years in the making, 
Jazz features 75 interviews, more than 500 pieces of music, 2,400 still photographs and more than 2,000 archival film clips — many rare and never before seen. Third-person voices are provided by Samuel L. Jackson, Delroy Lindo, Derek Jacobi and Harry Connick Jr., among others.

  • ROOTS OF JAZZ
    • Explore the cities and scenes that made jazz.
  • MUSIC 101
    • A basic primer on key musical concepts.
  • UNUM
    • Ken Burns curates a new way to explore US history by theme and era.

Ken Burns discusses his documentary series "Jazz" - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG

See Ken Burns' full interview at http://emmytvlegends.org/interviews/p...
  1. Gumbo (Beginnings to 1917)
  2. The Gift (1917 - 1924)
  3. Our Language (1924 - 1929)
  4. The True Welcome (1929 - 1934)
  5. Swing: Pure Pleasure (1935 - 1937)6
  6. Swing: The Velocity of Celebration (1937 - 1939)
  7. Dedicated to Chaos (1940 - 1945)
  8. Risk (1945 - 1955)
  9. Ken Burns: Jazz - The Adventure (1955-1960)
  10. Ken Burns: Jazz - A Masterpiece By Midnight (1961-PRESENT)

​Women's Suffrage: Crash Course US History #31

​John Green teaches you about American women in the Progressive Era and, well, the progress they made. So the big deal is, of course, the right to vote women gained when the 19th amendment was passed and ratified. But women made a lot of other gains in the 30 years between 1890 and 1920. More women joined the workforce, they acquired lots of other legal rights related to property, and they also became key consumers in the industrial economy. Women also continued to play a vital role in reform movements. Sadly, they got Prohibition enacted in the US, but they did a lot of good stuff, too. The field of social work emerged as women like Jane Addams created settlement houses to assist immigrants in their integration into the United States. Women also began to work to make birth control widely available. You'll learn about famous reformers and activists like Alice Paul, Margaret Sanger, and Emma Goldman, among others.

​National Women's History Museum: Suffrage Background​

TED-Ed: The historic women’s suffrage march on Washington - Michelle Mehrtens

Explore how the Women’s Suffrage Parade on Washington in 1913 helped women secure the right to vote in the United States through the 19th amendment. ​

Smithsonian: ​Susan B. Anthony, the Suffragette Superhero

Votes for women: How the suffragists won

​One hundred years ago the 19th Amendment, which would protect women's right to vote, was just one vote short of ratification. "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan reports on how the landmark legislation finally earned passage, and talks with historians Elaine Weiss, Susan Ware and Martha S. Jones about how suffragists such as Carrie Chapman Catt won the long-pitched battle which, for black women, continued long after the amendment became embedded in our Constitution. Brennan also talks with singer Rosanne Cash who celebrated the suffragists' legacy.

The 19th Amendment | History

​In 1920, women in the U.S. gained the right to vote - but only after a struggle that lasted more than 70 years! Learn how suffragists fought for the 19th amendment. #HistoryChannel

Sound Smart: Women's Suffrage | History

Historian Yohuru Williams recaps the efforts of women to secure the right to vote in the early 19th century. ​​

​Sound Smart: The 19th Amendment | History

​Historian Matthew Pinsker Learn about the long arduous journey made by suffragists that eventually won them the right to vote in 1920. Hosted by historian Matthew Pinsker.

​What Happened at the Seneca Falls Convention? | History

​Learn about the movement for women's equality that precipitated the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, and what its attendees - including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott - hoped to achieve.

American Experience: The Vote

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https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/vote/

Chapter 1 | Part 1 | The Vote | American Experience | PBS

​Learn more about THE VOTE, including where to watch the documentary: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe... One hundred years after the passage of the 19th Amendment, The Vote tells the dramatic culmination story of the hard-fought campaign waged by American women for the right to vote — a transformative cultural and political movement that resulted in the largest expansion of voting rights in U.S. history.
​One hundred years after the passage of the 19th Amendment, The Vote tells the dramatic culmination story of the hard-fought campaign waged by American women for the right to vote — a transformative cultural and political movement that resulted in the largest expansion of voting rights in U.S. history.
In its final decade, from 1909 to 1920, movement leaders wrestled with contentious questions about the most effective methods for affecting social change. They debated the use of militant, even violent tactics, as well as hunger strikes and relentless public protests. The battle for the vote also upended previously accepted ideas about the proper role of women in American society and challenged the definitions of citizenship and democracy.
Exploring how and why millions of 20th-century Americans mobilized for — and against — women’s suffrage, The Vote brings to life the unsung leaders of the movement and the deep controversies over gender roles and race that divided Americans then — and continue to dominate political discourse today.
  • ARTICLE: Helping People in Jail Exercise their Right to Vote in North Carolina
  • ARTICLE: Washed Away by the Majority’
  • ARTICLE: Getting Out the Latino Vote in Rural California
  • CLIP: The Race to Ratification
  • ARTICLE: How Shifting Demographics Are Changing a 2020 Swing State
  • ARTICLE: The Legacy of Activism in the Motor City
  • INTERACTIVE: She Resisted: Strategies of Suffrage
  • ARTICLE: Black Women’s 200 Year Fight for the Vote
  • DIGITAL SHORT: From Women’s Suffrage to the ERA, a Century-Long Push for Equality
  • TRAILER: The Vote: Trailer
  • ARTICLE: Not All Women Gained the Vote in 1920
  • DIGITAL SHORT: The Ongoing Fight

​The Roaring 20's: Crash Course US History #32

​John Green teaches you about the United States in the 1920s. They were known as the roaring 20s, but not because there were lions running around everywhere. In the 1920s, America's economy was booming, and all kinds of social changes were in progress. Hollywood, flappers, jazz, there was all kinds of stuff going on in the 20s. But as usual with Crash Course, things were about to take a turn for the worse. John will teach you about the Charleston, the many Republican presidents of the 1920s, laissez-faire capitalism, jazz, consumer credit, the resurgent Klan, and all kinds of other stuff.

Fashion History: 1900-1920

Fashion History 2: The Roaring Twenties

The Charleston In The 1920's

​How to Dance: The Charleston

Bet You Didn't Know: Prohibition | History

Did you know it wasn't illegal to drink during Prohibition? Get the whole story behind the "noble experiment." ​

How Prohibition Created the Mafia | History

​Starting in January 1920, the United States became a dry country. Prohibition banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol in an attempt to civilize unruly Americans (and some other reasons). The experiment had many unintended consequences, but most dangerously, it fostered the rise of organized crime and the American Mafia. #HistoryChannel

Prohibition: Banning alcohol was a bad idea... - Rod Phillips

Dig into the Prohibition era in the United States, when the government banned the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol. ​

Great American Novels

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​The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
​
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. Wikipedia

WWI Legacies: Flappers

Author Judith Mackrell explains the social movement after World War I that created flappers.

Teen life in the 1920s | Further Back In Time For Dinner

Life as a teenager in the 1920s wasn't exactly easy. Sienna and Julian Ferrone venture back in time to find out how young people lived in a world with no mobile phones and no TV. Sienna gets a taste of life as a flapper, and Julian dips his toe into the world of 1920s advertising. #BackInTimeAU ​

These Men Risked Their Lives to Build 1920s New York Skyscrapers

​The skyscrapers of Manhattan needed a new, bolder type of construction worker. They got them in 'roughnecks' - hardened men who worked without safety harnesses, hard hats or even bathroom breaks. Watch the Full Episode with your FREE trial for Smithsonian Channel Plus by signing up today at https://watch.smithsonianchannel.com/

The Great Depression

Monetary Policies

20. The Great Depression was caused, in part, by the federal government’s monetary policies, stock market speculation and increasing consumer debt. The role of the federal government expanded as a result of the Great Depression.
  • One of several factors leading to the Great Depression in the United States was the excessive amount of lending by banks. This fueled speculation and use of credit. The Federal Reserve attempted to curb these practices by constricting the money supply. The effect was to worsen economic conditions by making it harder for people to repay debts and for businesses, including banks, to continue operations. 
  • Another factor leading to the Depression was stock market speculation. Many investors were buying on margin with the hope of making huge profits. But the collapse of the stock market led many to lose their investments and fortunes. The closing of many factories led to the rise of consumer debt as workers lost needed income. 
  • During the 1930s, the role of the federal government was greatly expanded with the New Deal. This occurred through its efforts to help the economy recover, with programs such as the National Recovery Administration, to provide relief to the unemployed by creating jobs and to institute reforms for the protection of the elderly, farmers, investors and laborers. 

Resource: NEH, EDSITEment- FDR: Fireside Chats, the New Deal... (5 Lessons)
Resource: PBS American Experience - The Crash of 1929 
Resource: PBS - The Dust Bowl, A Film by Ken Burns 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Dust Bowl Days
​Resource: The GilderLehrman Institute - Wall Street Crash of 1929
Resource: Where Did All the Money Go? The Great Depression Mystery
Resource: Economics of the New Deal 
​Resource: The History Channel - The Great Depression
Resource: American Memory
Resource: The Great Depression and the Federal Government
Resource: The 1930s: Drastic Times Call For Drastic Measures
Resource: The Smithsonian - Picturing the Thirties 
​Resource: UVA - America in the 1930s 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - "Esperanza Rising"
Resource: FDR Prersidental Library and Museum
Resource: Hyperhistory - Timelines of The Great Depression
Resource: The Living New Deal
Resource: Smithsonian - 1934 A New Deal for Artists 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Depression-Era Photographs 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Folklore in Zora Neale Hurston's...
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - ​John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”
Resource: Our Documents - National Recovery Act (1933) 
​Resource: LoC - FDR and the New Deal 1933-1945  
Resource: Smithsonian - FDR Clashed with the Supreme Court – and Lost ​
Resource: EH - Great Depression 
Resource: PBS American Experience - Seabiscuit 
Resource: YouTube - Seabiscuit vs. War Admiral - 1938 Match Race
​Resource: James J. Braddock
​Resource: Woody Guthrie 
​Resource: LoC - Woody Guthrie and the Archive of American Folk Song 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"...
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - "To Kill A Mockingbird" and the Scottsboro Boys...

Drawn History: Herbert Hoover | History

​Herbert Hoover, America’s 31st president, took office in 1929, the same year the U.S. economy plummeted into the Great Depression.

The real Herbert Hoover

​Herbert Hoover had been president for less than a year when the Crash of 1929 initiated the Great Depression, an epochal event in American history that would place his name near the bottom of presidential rankings. But the engineer and business magnate, who made several fortunes in his 20s, is also remembered as a great humanitarian for feeding several million starving Belgians during World War I, and for introducing a variety of innovations in American life, from standardized traffic lights to milk cartons. Mo Rocca examines Hoover's remarkable rise (from humble beginnings to the White House) and his remarkable fall.

Hoover and the Great Depression

​A new history of the Great Depression is emerging. One that acknowledges the role that government played in causing and prolonging it, and the constructive role that free enterprise could have played, if it were given the chance. In this video, UCLA economist Lee Ohanian explains how Herbert Hoover, widely misunderstood as a champion of the free market, actually turned what should have just been a recession into a depression due to his mistrust of the market.

Bonus Army

​In 1932, tens of thousands of members of the Bonus Army marched on Washington demanding payment for their service in WWI from Hoover and their government. Their march would change the history of the United States military forever.

FDR 1932 Campaign and Election

​FDR 1932 Campaign and Election - FDR Presidential Library 1932 - Video 277 - Fox Movietone Newsreel FDR 1932 Campaign and Election with sound FDR in Boston and then in NYC FDR votes in Hyde Park and then wins the election. NLR 201-22-5 Eleanor Roosevelt in Guadalcanal-silent Archival footage from the FDR Presidential Library NLR 201-2594-23-2 Public Domain.

Hoover and FDR | America: Facts vs. Fiction

​There are many common misperceptions about Hoover and FDR as political foes and lawmakers. | For more, visit http://military.discovery.com/tv-show...

History through Hollywood

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Cinderella Man (2005)
​
The story of James Braddock, a supposedly washed-up boxer who came back to become a champion and an inspiration in the 1930s.
Director: Ron Howard 
​Stars: Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Craig Bierko, Paul Giamatti

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Seabiscuit (2003)
​
True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.
Director: Gary Ross 
​Stars: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Cooper

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The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
​A down-and-out golfer attempts to recover his game and his life with help from a mystical caddy.
Director: Robert Redford
Stars: Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron

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Of Mice and Men (1939)
​
A mentally disabled giant and his level headed guardian find work at a sadistic cowboy's ranch in depression era America.
Director: Lewis Milestone
Writers: John Steinbeck (by), Eugene Solow (screen play)
Stars: Lon Chaney Jr., Burgess Meredith, Betty Field

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​Of Mice and Men (1992)
​
A nomadic farm worker looks after his dimwitted, gentle-giant friend during the Great Depression.
Director: Gary Sinise
Writers: John Steinbeck (novel), Horton Foote (screenplay)
Stars: John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, Ray Walston

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​The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
​
A poor Midwest family is forced off their land. They travel to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.
Director: John Ford
Writers: Nunnally Johnson (screen play), John Steinbeck (based on the novel by)
Stars: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine

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​Annie (1982)
​
A spunky young orphan is taken in by a rich eccentric, much to the chagrin of the cantankerous woman who runs the orphanage.
Director: John Huston
Stars: Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney, Carol Burnett ​

​The Great Depression: Crash Course US History #33

​John Green teaches you about the Great Depression. So, everybody knows that the Great Depression started with the stock market crash in 1929, right? Not exactly. The Depression happened after the stock market crash, but wasn't caused by the crash. John will teach you about how the depression started, what Herbert Hoover tried to do to fix it, and why those efforts failed.

Great American Novels

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​The Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck
​
The Grapes of Wrath is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962. Wikipedia

Stories from the Great Depression

The National Archives Southeast Region presents stories from survivors of the Great Depression overlaid with powerful pictures from era.

The Great Depression

​Teachable Moments are short films that provide a quick overview of important topics and events from the Roosevelt Era. Created by the FDR Library's Education staff with the support of the Pare Lorenz Center, they are designed to assist primary and secondary school students. Use this link to access the subtitled version of this Teachable Moment... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROfQc...

The New Deal: Crash Course US History #34

John Green teaches you about the New Deal, which was president Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan to pull the united States out of the Great Depression of the 1930's. Did it work? Maybe. John will teach you about some of the most effective and some of the best known programs of the New Deal. They weren't always the same thing. John will tell you who supported the New Deal, and who opposed it. He'll also get into how the New Deal changed the relationship between the government and citizens, and will even reveal just how the Depression ended. (hint: it was war spending)

Did FDR End the Great Depression?

​Did FDR help end the Great Depression? Did his New Deal improve an otherwise hopeless economy? Lee Ohanian, Professor of Economics at UCLA and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, explains.

FDR, The New Deal, and The Expansion of Federal Power with Authors Burton and Anita Folsom

During his first presidential press conference, Barack Obama defended federal economic intervention, stating "there are several who have suggested that FDR was wrong to intervene back in the New Deal. ​

How the New Deal Left Out African-Americans

​During the Great Depression, unemployment among African-Americans was twice that of whites - mostly due to segregation. One rare opportunity came on the Pullman sleeper trains, where most of the porters were black. From the Series: America in Color: The 1930s http://bit.ly/2hwYyUR

Top Three Myths about the Great Depression and the New Deal

Historian Stephen Davies names three persistent myths about the Great Depression. Myth #1: Herbert Hoover was a laissez-faire president, and it was his lack of action that lead to an economic collapse. Davies argues that in fact, Hoover was a very interventionist president, and it was his intervening in the economy that made matters worse. Myth #2...

America the Story of Us: FDR | History

​FDR's impact on America was especially profound by use of his groundbreaking use of mass media. Own America: The Story of Us on DVD or Blu-ray! http://www.shophistorystore.com/

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's (FDR's) New Deal Explained in One Minute

​Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal is, without a doubt, one of the most representative case studies in economic history when it comes to the willingness of the state (in our case, run by FDR) to think outside the box.

Here's How the Great Depression Brought on Social Security | History

​Explore how the Great Depression of the 1930s forced America to consider having a social safety net, leading President FDR to sign the Social Security Act into law via his New Deal programs. Learn how Social Security has changed over time.

From Isolation to World War 
(1930-1945) 

​Isolationists

21. During the 1930s, the U.S. government attempted to distance the country from earlier interventionist policies in the Western Hemisphere as well as retain an isolationist approach to events in Europe and Asia until the beginning of WWII.
  • Following World War I, the United States was reluctant to become entangled in overseas conflicts that would lead to another war. Although it had used the Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary to justify intervention into Latin American affairs, the U.S. retreated from these policies during the1930s with the Good Neighbor Policy. 
  • The Neutrality Acts of the 1930s were attempts to isolate the country from the problems erupting in Asia and Europe. 
  • The United States tried to maintain its isolationist approach when war broke out in Europe. But to aid countries fighting against fascist aggression, the United States introduced the cash-and-carry policy, negotiated the destroyer-for-bases agreement and enacted the Lend-Lease Policy. It also helped write the Atlantic Charter. The expansionist policies of Japan and the bombing of Pearl Harbor ended U.S. isolationist policies.
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - From Neutrality to War: The United States and Europe, 1921–1941 (4 Lessons)
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - The Road to Pearl Harbor: The United States and East Asia, 1915–1941 (4 Lessons)
Resource: DOS - Good Neighbor Policy, 1933 
​Resource: The Gilder Lehrman Institute - Franklin Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy, 1936 
Resource: Digital History - Neutrality Act of 1936 ​
Resource: PBS, American Experience - FDR, Primary Resources: The Neutrality Act of 1937 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Legislating Neutrality, 1934–1939 
​Resource: Foreign Affairs - Cash and Carry Neutrality by Allen W. Dulles 
​Resource: DOS - The Atlantic Conference & Charter, 1941 
Resource: Yale Law School, The Avalon Project - The Atlantic Conference 
Resource: Yale Law School, The Avalon Project - Atlantic Charter 
Resource: NHHC - Overview of The Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941 
Resource: University of Hawaii - Hawaii War Records Depository 
Resource: British Pathe - Pearl Harbour - First Pictures 
Resource: YouTube - Movietone exclusive! Bombing of Pearl Harbour - 1941 
Resource: Critical Past - Pearl Harbor bombed by Japanese during World War II 
Resource: World War II Database - US Navy Report of Japanese Raid on Pearl Harbor 

What Was the Lend-Lease Act? | History

The Lend-Lease Act was a compromise that allowed the United States to provide aid to England while avoiding full involvement in World War II. ​

Lend-Lease

Roosevelt's Lend-lease plan -- which promised the return of American weapons after England used them -- "was patent nonsense," according to historian Robert Dallek. "What were the British going to do, give us the tanks back that were blown up, the planes that were shot down?"

The Atlantic Charter: Hope for a New World

​For more information, visit: https://RockwellFourFreedoms.org

President Franklin Roosevelt’s Address on the Neutrality Act of 1937

​9/21/1939 Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., Collection National Archives Identifier: 2173199

The United States in
​World War II

Mobilization

22. The United States mobilization of its economic and military resources during World War II brought significant changes to American society.
  • The mobilization of the United States to a wartime economy during World War II was massive. The federal government reorganized existing plants to produce goods and services for the war effort and instituted policies to ration and redirect resources. 
  • Mobilization caused major impacts on the lives of Americans. A peacetime draft was instituted in 1940 to supplement military enlistments. Scrap drives were conducted to reallocate materials for war goods. Regulations were imposed on some wages and prices. Some products were subjected to rationing. Citizens raised victory gardens to supplement food supplies and purchased war bonds to help fund the war. Some labor unions signed no-strike pledges. 
  • Job opportunities in the civilian workforce and in the military opened for women and minorities. African Americans organized to end discrimination and segregation so that they could contribute to the war effort. Although Japanese Americans were interned in relocation camps by the U.S. government, many enlisted in the armed services. 

Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - FDR's "Four Freedoms" Speech 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - American Diplomacy in World War II (4 Lessons)
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - The United States in World War II: "The Proper Application of Overwhelming Force" (4 Lessons)
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment -​ On the Home Front
Resource: Memorandum Regarding the Enlistment of Navajo Indians 
Resource: Navajo Code Talkers 
​Resource: Oklahoma Historical Society - Code Talkers
Resource: Documents and Photographs Related to Japanese Relocation During World War II
Resource: Japanese American Internment

​World War II Part 1: Crash Course US History #35

​John Green teaches you about World War II, a subject so big, it takes up two episodes. This week, John will teach you how the United States got into the war, and just how involved America was before Congress actually declared war. John will actually talk a little about the military tactics involved, and he'll get into some of the weaponry involved, specifically the huge amount of aerial bombing that characterized the war, and the atomic bombs that ended the war in the Pacific.

Hillsdale College

The Second World Wars

​World War II, the greatest armed conflict in human history, encompassed global fighting in unprecedented ways. This course analyzes Allied and Axis investments and strategies that led one side to win and the other to lose. It also considers how the war’s diverse theaters, belligerents, and ways of fighting came eventually to define a single war.
​Course Lectures
  1. ​The Stakes of World War II
  2. Air
  3. Water
  4. Earth
  5. Fire
  6. People
  7. Ends
https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/the-second-world-wars

The Second World Wars with Victor Davis Hanson | Online Course

World War II, the greatest armed conflict in human history, encompassed global fighting in unprecedented ways. This course analyzes Allied and Axis investments and strategies that led one side to win and the other to lose. It also considers how the war’s diverse theaters, belligerents, and ways of fighting came eventually to define a single war. 

December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor

The attack on the Pacific fleet based at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 by Japanese fighters, bombers, and torpoedo bombers would forever change history and America's role in the world. Here is a feature recalling the attack and its impact on the lives of those who experienced it first hand as well as those who found out about it through news broadcasts.
The Central Florida WW2 Museum

President Roosevelt Declares War on Japan | War Archives

America Prepares for World War 2 | America's Call to Arms | WW2 Newsreel | 1941

The Best Film Archives

World War II Part 2 - The Homefront: Crash Course US History #36

John Green teaches you about World War 2, as it was lived on the home front. You'll learn about how the war changed the country as a whole, and changed how Americans thought about their country. John talks about the government control of war production, and how the war probably helped to end the Great Depression. A broader implementation of the income tax, the growth of large corporations, and the development of the West Coast as a manufacturing center were also results of the war. The war positivelychanged the roles of women and African Americans, but it was pretty terrible for the Japanese Americans who were interred in camps. In short, World War II changed America's role in the world, changed American life at home, and eventually spawned the History Channel.

World War Two and US Industrial Production | How military production gave the US an advantage in WW2

The morning of December 7th, 1941 saw Pearl Harbor awake to a Japanese surprise attack meant to remove the USA from WWII before this "sleeping giant awoke". What did Japan see in this isolationist nation that caused them such fear?

The U.S. Homefront

WWII In HD: America Enters World War II | History

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt committed American forces to the Allied cause in World War II.

​The U.S. Homefront During WWII | History

It was all hands on deck as Americans pitched into a second World War effort after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Iowa PBS: Rationing During World War II | World War II Stories

​To help prevent a shortage of food and goods necessary during World War II, the federal government began to ration everything with a strategic value. Special coupon books were issued to every man, woman, and child in the united states. Without the coupon books, you could not buy certain items like sugar, meat, tires, or fuel oil. Americans were asked to turn down their thermostats to conserve fuel in colder months and grow more food in their backyard gardens. Learn more with this segment of Iowa Public Television's Iowa's WWII Stories.

AP: How people stayed healthy during wartime food rationing

How Japanese Americans Were Forced Into Concentration Camps During WWII | Flashback | History

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Government issued executive order 9066, which empowered the military to round up anyone of Japanese ancestry and place them in internment camps. #HistoryChannel

​Web Originals : Ask History: Rosie the Riveter | History

Who was the "real" Rosie the Riveter? Ask History has the story behind this famous icon. #AskHistory

Running for President During WWII | Flashback | History

With World War II coming to a close, America held its presidential election in 1944, voting on who would determine the fate of a post-war world. Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeking his 4th term, faced off against Thomas E. Dewey, the Governor of New York. #Flashback

Europe 

The World Wars: Franklin D. Roosevelt | History

​Mini-biography on the life of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

​World War II in HD: Pearl Harbor | History

​December 7, 1941 saw the deaths of 2,000 at Pearl Harbor, and the United States entry into World War II.

The World Wars: Dwight Eisenhower | History

Mini-biography on the life of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Deconstructing History: Sherman Tank | Histor

With almost 50,000 manufactured during World War II, the M4 medium tank, popularly known as the "Sherman," provided critical armored support to Allied ground troops.

​World War II in HD: D-Day | History

Over 130,000 troops stormed the beaches on D-Day, over one million would soon follow.

World War II in HD: Battle of the Bulge | History

Amazing color footage from the Battle of the Bulge. ​

WWII in HD: VICTORY IN EUROPE: VE Day Celebrated Across the Globe, 5/8/45 | History

On May 8, 1945, WWII came to an end in Europe as the Allies declared victory after 6 long years of war. Spontaneous celebrations erupt across the world, in this clip from WWII in HD, "End Game". #WWIIInHD

The World Wars: Harry S. Truman | History

​Mini-biography on the life of Harry S. Truman.

The Pacific
​#Battle360

The Battle of Midway: Anatomy of a Decisive World War II Victory | Battle 360 | History

​Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. Learn more about the Battle of Midway. #TheWorldWars

The Doolitte Raid on Tokyo (1942): The US Strikes Back | Battle 360 | History

​In April 1942, B-25 bombers took off from the USS Hornet for a dangerous bombing run over mainland Japan in this clip from Season 1, "Call to Duty". #Battle360

The Battle of Santa Cruz: How the US Navy Beat the Odds | Battle 360 | History

At the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the US Navy attempts to crush the Japanese fleet, white the Japanese aim to drive Allied forces from Guadalcanal, in this scene from "Bloody Santa Cruz." #Battle360

​Raid on Marshall Islands: Anatomy of Decisive WWII Victory | Battle 360 | History

​The raid on Japanese garrisons stationed in the Marshall Islands chain was a decisive victory for the US Navy that boosted morale of a crew still shaken by the attack on Pearl Harbor in this clip from "Call of Duty." #Battle360

The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal: How the US Won a Strategic Victory | Battle 360 | History

​ On Friday the 13th, 1942, the US Navy clashed with Imperial Japanese forces in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The conflict led to the destruction of ships on both sides, but ended in a strategic US victory. Learn more about this deadly battle, in this scene from Battle 360, "Enterprise vs. Japan". #Battle360

BIGGEST NAVAL BATTLE OF WWII (Part 1): The Battle of Leyte Gulf | Battle 360 | History

​The Battle of Leyte was an amphibious invasion that launched the beginning of the recapture and liberation of the entire Philippines after almost three years of Japanese occupation in this clip from "Battle of Leyte Gulf". #Battle360

Code Talkers

CIA: Navajo Code Talkers and the Unbreakable Code

In the heat of battle, it is of the utmost importance that messages are delivered and received as quickly as possible. It is even more crucial that these messages are encoded so the enemy does not know about plans in advance.
During World War II, the Marine Corps used one of the thousands of languages spoken in the world to create an unbreakable code: Navajo.
World War II wasn’t the first time a Native American language was used to create a code.
During World War I, the Choctaw language was used in the transmission of secret tactical messages. It was instrumental in a successful surprise attack against the Germans.
Germany and Japan sent students to the United States after World War I to study Native American languages and cultures, such as Cherokee, Choctaw, and Comanche.
Because of this, many members of the U.S. military services were uneasy about continuing to use Code Talkers during World War II. They were afraid the code would be easily cracked, but that was before they learned about the complexity of Navajo.
https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2008-featured-story-archive/navajo-code-talkers/
Resources:
  • https://americanindian.si.edu/education/codetalkers/html/chapter4.html
  • https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/american-indian-code-talkers
  • https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/code-talkers.html
  • www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/64650/navajo-code-talkers/
  • https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/28/us/navajo-code-talkers-trump-who/index.html
  • https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2020/08/17/navajo-code-talkers-honored-in-virtual-ceremony/​
  • https://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-navajo-code-talkers.htm
  • https://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/navajocodetalk.htm
  • https://www.discovernavajo.com/navajo-code-talkers-sam-lowe.aspx

Code of Honor - Comanche Code Talkers of WWII

​This is a special television presentation by the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center honoring the brave and heroic Comanche Code Talkers of WWII. The documentary originally aired Thanksgiving Day, 2013. www.comanchemusuem.com

Navajo Code Talkers

Native Americans from the American southwest were vital to Allied victories during WWII. 

An Unbreakable Code

The Code Talkers used native languages to send military messages before World War II. Choctaw, for example, was successfully used during World War I. But the Marine Corps needed an “unbreakable” code for its island-hopping campaign in the Pacific. Navajo, which was unwritten and known by few outside the tribe, seemed to fit the Corps’ requirements. Twenty-nine Navajos were recruited to develop the code in 1942. They took their language and developed a “Type One Code” that assigned a Navajo word to each English letter. They also created special words for planes, ships and weapons. But just because a person understood Navajo didn’t mean they could understand the code. While a person fluent in the language would hear a message that translated into a list of words that seemingly had no connection to each other, a code talker would hear a very clear message.
Here is an example: Navajo Code: DIBEH, AH-NAH, A-SHIN, BE, AH-DEEL-TAHI, D-AH, NA-AS-TSO-SI, THAN-ZIE, TLO-CHIN
Translation: SHEEP, EYES, NOSE, DEER, BLOW UP, TEA, MOUSE, TURKEY, ONION
Deciphered Code: SEND DEMOLITION TEAM TO …
​In addition to being unbreakable, the new code also reduced the amount of time it took to transmit and receive secret messages. Because all 17 pages of the Navajo code were memorized, there was no need to encrypt and decipher messages with the aid of coding machines. So, instead of taking several minutes to send and receive one message, Navajo code talkers could send several messages within seconds. This made the Navajo code talker an important part of any Marine unit.

The Cold War 
(1945-1991)

The Atomic Age

23. Use of atomic weapons changed the nature of war, altered the balance of power and began the nuclear age.
  • The dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan hastened the end of World War II and is considered the beginning of the nuclear age. The use of these bombs introduced a new type of weapon capable of mass destruction. 
  • In the four-year period following World War II, the United States was the only country in possession of atomic bombs and this contributed to its status as a superpower. 
  • The threat of using this weapon was seen as a deterrent to the ambitions of the Soviet Union. The testing and explosion of the atomic bomb by the Soviets in 1949 established the Soviet Union as a second superpower. It also began a nuclear arms race that continued for decades and threatened world peace.
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - The Origins of the Cold War, 1945–1949 (3 Lessons)
Resource: Atomic Archive 
Resource: DOE - Manhattan Project Signature Facilities
Resource: ALSOS Digital Library for Nuclear Issues 
​Resource: American Museum of Science & Energy
Resource: National Museum of Nuclear Science & History 
​Resource: ORNL, Swords to Plowshares (PDF)
Resource: Harry S. Truman Library, The Decision to Drop the Bomb
Resource: PBS American Experience, Race for the Superbomb
Resource: Voices of the survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Resource: Recorded Testimony of A-bomb Survivors
​Resource: Saga University, The Medical Effects of the Nagasaki Atomic Bombing
​
Resource: Google Earth - Nagasaki Archive 
Resource: Nagasaki City - Peace & Atomic Bomb
Resource: Google Earth - Hiroshima Archive 
Resource: Mapping - Hiroshima Archive
​Resource: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum 
​Resource: Nuclear Files 
Resource: International Atomic Energy Agency

Hiroshima: Dropping the Bomb

Hear first-hand accounts from the air and ground, re-telling every memory from the day the world first witnessed the horrors of atomic warfare.

The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima | The Daily 360 | The New York Times

​Through modeling and mapping technologies, witness from above what happened in Hiroshima, Japan on Aug. 6, 1945.

Atomic Bomb Wipes Out Hiroshima In A Matter Of Seconds | Greatest Events of World War 2 In Colour

​With pressure to get Japan to surrender with as little casualties as possible, President Truman allows the military to use their atomic bomb on Hiroshima. 

History through Hollywood

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Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
This film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret wartime project in New Mexico where the first atomic bombs were designed and built.
Director: Roland Joffé
Stars: Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, Bonnie Bedelia 

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​Little Boy (2015)
​
An eight-year-old boy is willing to do whatever it takes to end World War II so he can bring his father home. The story reveals the indescribable love a father has for his little boy and the love a son has for his father.
Director: Alejandro Monteverde
Stars: Jakob Salvati, Emily Watson, David Henrie ​

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The Atomic Cafe (1982)
​
Disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.
Directors: Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, Pierce Rafferty 
​Stars: Paul Tibbets, Harry S. Truman, W.H.P. Blandy, Brien McMahon

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​Als die Sonne vom Himmel fiel (2015)
(The Day the Sun Fell)

The filmmaker's grandfather worked at the Red Cross after the Hiroshima bombing. Her quest to learn why he never talked about his experiences takes a new turn after Fukushima's catastrophe.
Director: Aya Domenig
Stars: Aya Domenig, Kiyomi Doi, Shigeru Doi

Containment

24. The United States followed a policy of containment during the Cold War in response to the spread of communism.
  • The policy of containment began in the late 1940s to halt the spread of communism in Europe and Asia. It became the policy of the United States for decades. 
  • Following World War II, most of the eastern Europe countries had communist governments and were under Soviet control. The Chinese Revolution ushered in a communist government. 
  • In Europe, the Marshall Plan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were efforts to contain communism. In Asia, the policy of containment was the basis for U.S. involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars

Resource: The United States Enters the Korean Conflict
Resource: Dwight D. Eisenhower Library - The Korean War
Resource: Grand Valley State University Veteran's History Project 
Resource: korean-war.com   ​

What Was the Marshall Plan? | History

​The Marshall Plan was an example of "good deed foreign policy" designed to rebuild Western European economies in the wake of WWII.

Seeing the Victory Through: The 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan

roduced by USAID in 1997, this video celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan.

Here's How the Truman Doctrine Established the Cold War | History

​Learn how the Truman Doctrine marked the beginning of the Cold War, how it shaped America's attitude towards communism and how it shifted its foreign policy on interventionism with its involvement in the Mediterranean after World War II.

​The Cold War: Crash Course US History #37

​John Green teaches you about the Cold War, which was the decades long conflict between the USA and the USSR. The Cold War was called cold because of the lack of actual fighting, but this is inaccurate. There was plenty of fighting, from Korea to Viet Nam to Afghanistan, but we'll get into that stuff next week. This week we'll talk about how the Cold War started. In short it grew out of World War II. Basically, the Soviets occupied eastern Europe, and the US supported western Europe. This setup would spill across the world, with client states on both sides. It's all in the video. You should just watch it.

What Was the Cold War?

​The decades-long “Cold War” (1947-1989) between the United States and the Soviet Union was so named because the two global powers never came to direct blows. Yet, the war was not without its victims. In fact, millions of Cubans, Koreans and Vietnamese suffered under Communist tyranny. In this video, Renowned British historian Andrew Roberts explains why “The Cold War” could just as easily be called “The Third World War.”

American Experience: ​Cold War Roadshow

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https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/roadshow/
  • CHAPTER: Cold War Roadshow: Chapter 1
  • CLIP: Cold War Butterflies
  • CLIP: Khrushchev Visits IBM
  • CLIP: Khrushchev Goes to Hollywood
  • CLIP: Khrushchev's American Journey
  • CLIP: Khrushchev Arrives in America
  • CLIP: Inside Khrushchev's Airplane 
  • CLIP: Khrushchev Tours Washington
  • CLIP: Khrushchev Takes Manhattan
  • CLIP: Sergei Khrushchev Reflects
  • CLIP: Khrushchev on the Farm
  • TRAILER: Cold War Roadshow: Trailer
​Cold War Roadshow tells the story of one of the most bizarre episodes in the annals of modern history — the unprecedented barnstorming across America in the fall of 1959 by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, the world leader of communism and America’s arch nemesis. At the very height of the Cold War, with American schoolchildren practicing duck-and-cover drills, the man who Americans feared could incinerate them in a rain of hydrogen bombs arrived in Washington, D.C. at the invitation of President Eisenhower. For both men, the visit was an opportunity to halt the escalating threats of the Cold War and chart a new course toward peaceful coexistence. For the American press, it was the media blockbuster story of the year.

Khrushchev Arrives in America - A Clip from "Cold War Roadshow"

​When Nikita Khrushchev became the first Soviet Premier ever to visit the U.S., celebrations ran high. So did tensions.

The Red Scare (1920s-1960s)

25. The Second Red Scare and McCarthyism reflected Cold War fears in American society. 
  • The actions of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe and the spread of communism in Asia sparked fears among many Americans. A second Red Scare focused attention on the media, labor unions, universities and other organizations as targets of communist subversion. 
  • Like the first Red Scare following World War I, civil liberties were again challenged. The investigations of the House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC) prompted employers to blacklist suspected communists, including actors and writers. 
  • Senator Joseph McCarthy played on fears of subversion with his charges of communists infiltrating the U.S. government. The McCarthy hearings and HUAC investigations held the attention of the American people through the middle 1950s
​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Anticommunism in Postwar America, 1945–1954: Witch Hunt or Red Menace? (3 Lessons)
Resource: The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy
​
Resource: UC Berkeley - "Political Tests for Professors: Academic Freedom during the McCarthy Years"
Resource: Center for Constitutional Rights - McCarthy Era Blacklist Victims
Resource: Dwight D. Eisenhower Library - McCarthyism/The "Red Scare"

Sound Smart: The House Un-American Activities Committee | History

Take a crash course on the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a group that investigated the "loyalty" of those suspected of having Communist ties after World War II. ​

Sound Smart: Joseph McCarthy | History

​Historian Yohuru Williams talks about Senator Joseph McCarthy and his role in stoking fears of communism and its sympathizers during the 1950s.

​Sound Smart: The Hollywood 10 | History

Historian Yohuru Williams discusses key facts about the Hollywood 10, a group of film directors, screenwriters, and producers blacklisted for Communist affiliations in 1947.

TED-Ed: What is McCarthyism? And how did it happen? - Ellen Schrecker

​View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-mcc... In the 1950s, as part of a campaign to expose suspected Communists, thousands of individuals were aggressively investigated and questioned before government panels. Named after its most notorious practitioner, the phenomenon known as McCarthyism destroyed lives and careers. But how did this episode of political repression take off? Ellen Schrecker traces the history of McCarthyism. Lesson by Ellen Schrecker, animation by Patrick Smith.

History through Hollywood

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​Hollywood on Trial (1976)
​
The documentary analyzes a dark period in Hollywood's history due to the Red Scare of the 1940's and 1950's, when actors, writers and directors were persecuted and investigated by the House...
Director: David Helpern (as David Helpern Jr.)
Stars: Walter Bernstein, Alvah Bessie, Lester Cole

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Guilty by Suspicion (1991)
David Merrill (Robert De Niro), a fictitious 1950s Hollywood Director, returns from filming abroad in France to find that his loyalty has been called into question by the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and he is unable to work until cleared.
Director: Irwin Winkler
Stars: Robert De Niro, Annette Bening, George Wendt 

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​Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) 
​
​Broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow looks to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Director: George Clooney
Stars: David Strathairn, George Clooney, Patricia Clarkson 

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​Trumbo (2015)
In 1947, Dalton Trumbo was Hollywood's top screenwriter, until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs.
Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren 

American Experience: McCarthy

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https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/mccarthy/
  • DIGITAL SHORT: Joseph McCarthy: Senator of Anti-Communism
  • DIGITAL SHORT: Margaret Chase Smith
  • DIGITAL SHORT: Langston Hughes on Trial
  • DIGITAL SHORT: Roy Cohn: Chief Counsel for McCarthy
  • ARTICLE: Numbed with Fear: Chinese Americans and McCarthyism
  • IMAGE GALLERY: "McCarthyism" Inspired Cartoons
  • ARTICLE: The Persecution of My Father
  • ARTICLE: More Than Just a Man
  • CHAPTER: McCarthy: Chapter 1
​McCarthy chronicles the rise and fall of Joseph McCarthy, the Wisconsin senator who came to power after a stunning victory in an election no one thought he could win. Once in office, he declared that there was a vast conspiracy threatening America — emanating not from a rival superpower, but from within. Free of restraint or oversight, he conducted a crusade against those he accused of being enemies of the state, a chilling campaign marked by groundless accusations, bullying intimidation, grandiose showmanship and cruel victimization. With lawyer Roy Cohn at his side, he belittled critics, spinning a web of lies and distortions while spreading fear and confusion. After years in the headlines, he was brought down by his own excesses and overreach. But his name lives on linked to the modern-day witch hunt we call “McCarthyism.”

Chapter 1 | McCarthy | American Experience | PBS

The Cold War: Early (Cuba & Asia)

26. The Cold War and conflicts in Korea and Vietnam influenced domestic and international politics.
  • The Cold War dominated international politics and impacted domestic politics in the United States for almost 45 years. The intense rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union led to the creation of alliances, an arms race, conflicts in Korea and Vietnam and brought the world close to nuclear war with the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cold War affected international politics in the Middle East and Latin America. 
  • The Cold War affected domestic politics. It led to the Second Red Scare and the rise of McCarthyism. A space race impelled the U.S. to increase spending on science education. 
  • The Korean War also fed into the communist hysteria of the late 1940s and 1950s. The United States was able to secure support from the United Nations for the defense of South Korea while the Soviet Union was boycotting the Security Council. 
  • The Vietnam War divided the country and sparked massive protests. Spending for the war came at the expense of the domestic programs launched by President Johnson. This led to urban unrest in the 1960s. The Vietnam War was a dominant issue in the presidential campaigns of 1968 and 1972. The difficulties and eventual withdrawal from Vietnam led to concerted efforts on part of the U.S. to find allies in future conflicts​
​Resource: Harvard Kennedy School - The Cuban Missle Crisis  
Resource: Wilson Center - Cuban Missile Crisis  
Resource: NEH EDSITEment - The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
​Resource: Vietnam War Bibliography by Richard Jensen  
​Resource: History Commons - Timeline US-Vietnam (1947-2001) 
Resource: UC Berkeley Library Sound Recording Project - Vietnam War  
Resource: PBS American Experience - Vietnam War 
​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Revolution '67 Protest: Why and How 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Revolution '67 How Do We Know?
​
Resource: National Archives - Pentagon Papers

​JFK on the Cuban Missile Crisis - 1962 | Today in History | 22 Oct 16

On October 22, 1962, in a nationally broadcast address, President John F. Kennedy revealed the presence of Soviet-built missile bases under construction in Cuba and announced a quarantine of all offensive military equipment being shipped to the Communist island nation.

TED Ed: The history of the Cuban Missile Crisis - Matthew A. Jordan

Imagine going about your life knowing that, at any given moment, you and everyone you know could be wiped out without warning at the push of a button. This was the reality for millions of people during the forty-five year period after World War II now known as the Cold War. Matthew A. Jordan explains the history behind the peak of all this panic — the thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis

​Welcome to The Armageddon Letters HD

​Director: Joe McCauley | http://www.armageddonletters.com | https://twitter.com/armageddontweet | Executive Producer: Don Morrison | Producer + Creator: Koji Masutani | Producers: janet M. Lang + James G. Blight | (C) 2012 The Balsillie School of International Affairs

http://www.facebook.com/armageddonlet...
http://choices.edu/missilecrisis

​Got Fear? HD

​Director: Matthieu Van Eeckhout | http://www.armageddonletters.com | https://twitter.com/armageddontweet | Executive Producer: Don Morrison | Producer + Creator: Koji Masutani | Producers: janet M. Lang + James G. Blight | (C) 2014 Koji Masutani

https://www.facebook.com/armageddonle...
http://www.choices.edu/missilecrisis

History through Hollywood

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The Manchurian Candidate (1962) 
​
A former prisoner of war is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.
Director: John Frankenheimer
Stars: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh

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October Sky (1999)
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
Director: Joe Johnston
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern

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Thirteen Days (2000)
A dramatization of President Kennedy's administration's struggle to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis in October of 1962. (145 mins.)
Director: Roger Donaldson
Stars: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Shawn Driscoll, Drake Cook

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Blast from the Past (1999)
​
A naive man comes out into the world after spending 35 years in a nuclear fallout shelter.
Director: Hugh Wilson
Stars: Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken 

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​Matinee (1993)
A small-time film promoter releases a kitschy horror film during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Director: Joe Dante
Stars: John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton

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​The Good Shepherd (2006)
​
The tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life.
Director: Robert De Niro
Stars: Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro

The Cold War in Asia: Crash Course US History #38

​John Green teaches you about the Cold War as it unfolded in Asia. As John pointed out last week, the Cold War was occasionally hot, and a lot of that heat was generated in Asia. This is starting to sound weird with the hot/cold thing, so let's just say that the United States struggle against communist expansion escalated to full-blown, boots on the ground war in Korea and Vietnam. In both of these cases, the United States sent soldiers to intervene in civil wars that it looked like communists might win. That's a bit of a simplification, but John will explain it all to you.

​History through Hollywood

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​The Green Berets (1968)
Col. Mike Kirby picks two teams of crack Green Berets for a mission in South Vietnam. First off is to build and control a camp that is trying to be taken by the enemy the second mission is to kidnap a North Vietnamese General.
Directors: Ray Kellogg, John Wayne
Stars: John Wayne, David Janssen, Jim Hutton 

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​The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003)
Documentary
The story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense under President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara.
Director: Errol Morris

The Vietnam War: A Film By Ken Burns & Lynn Novick

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  • The Vietnam War - A Film By Ken Burns & Lynn Novick (The Soundtrack)​
  • The Vietnam War (Original Score)​ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Episodes:

​1: “Déjà Vu” (1858-1961)
2: “Riding the Tiger” (1961-1963)
3: “The River Styx” (January 1964-December 1965)
4: “Resolve” (January 1966-June 1967)
5: “This Is What We Do” (July 1967-December 1967)
6: “Things Fall Apart” (January 1968-July 1968)
7: “The Veneer of Civilization” (June 1968-May 1969)
8: “The History of the World” (April 1969-May 1970)
9: “A Disrespectful Loyalty” (May 1970-March 1973)
10: “The Weight of Memory” (March 1973-Onward)
​Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s ten-part, 18-hour documentary series, THE VIETNAM WAR, tells the epic story of one of the most consequential, divisive, and controversial events in American history as it has never before been told on film. Visceral and immersive, the series explores the human dimensions of the war through revelatory testimony of nearly 80 witnesses from all sides—Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as combatants and civilians from North and South Vietnam. Ten years in the making, the series includes rarely seen and digitally re-mastered archival footage from sources around the globe, photographs taken by some of the most celebrated photojournalists of the 20th Century, historic television broadcasts, evocative home movies, and secret audio recordings from inside the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations.
  • ​Classroom: Explore activities and videos related to The Vietnam War.
  • Veterans Resources: Resources for veterans and their family members and information about veterans services.
  • Reading List: A selection of reading materials, suggested as an accompaniment to the film.
  • University of Virginia Miller Center: Explore more of the war through the secret Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon White House tapes, curated by scholars and experts in presidential audio at UVA's Miller Center.
  • Texas Tech Vietnam Center & Archive: If you are looking for other ways to share your experiences related to the Vietnam era, learn about how you can contribute to Texas Tech University’s Vietnam Center and Archive.

THE VIETNAM WAR | Consulting with Ken Burns & Lynn Novick | PBS

Official website: http://to.pbs.org/2gMme8N ​| #VietnamWarPBS​ Gen. Merrill McPeak and Mai Elliott talk about their experience consulting on The Vietnam War: A Film By Ken Burns & Lynn Novick.

​The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick

​In a Columbia University forum, introduced by University President Lee C. Bollinger and moderated by Dean of General Studies Peter Awn, filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick will join in conversation with Michael K. Heaney, JD, PhD, a Vietnam veteran who attended Columbia’s School of General Studies in 1967, and current undergraduate Mark Franklin, an Iraq/Afghanistan veteran who is President of Columbia’s Student Military Veterans organization. They will talk about the military-civilian divide that grew on American college campuses during the Vietnam War and what has changed today because of efforts to heal that rift. While Columbia may be known for its anti-war activism a half century ago, over the past decade the University has become a major higher education destination for recent military veterans, both in its School of General Studies which was designed for such “non-traditional” undergraduate students after World War II, as well as its graduate and professional schools.

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick: The Vietnam War Is the Key to Understanding America

The Vietnam War led to more than 1.3 million deaths and it's one of the most divisive, painful, and poorly understood episodes in American history. Documentarians Ken Burns and Lynn Novick have spent the past decade making a film that aims to exhume the war's buried history. Their 10-part series, which premieres on PBS next week, is a comprehensive look at the secrecy, disinformation, and spin surrounding Vietnam, and its lasting impact on two nations. The 18-hour film combines never-before-seen historical footage, with testimonies from nearly 80 witnesses, including soldiers on both sides of the conflict, leaders of the protest movement, and civilians from North and South Vietnam. A two-time Academy Award winner, Burns is among the most celebrated documentary filmmakers of our time, best-known for the 1990 PBS miniseries The Civil War, which drew a television viewership of 40 million. He and Novick are longtime collaborators, and in 2011 she co-directed and produced with Prohibition with Burns. In 2011, Reason's Nick Gillespie interviewed Burns that film and the role of public television in underwriting his work. With the release of The Vietnam War, Gillespie sat down with Burns and Novick to talk about the decade-long process of making their new film, and why understanding what happened in Vietnam is essential to interpreting American life today. Produced by Todd Krainin. Cameras by Meredith Bragg, Austin Bragg, Mark McDaniel, and Krainin. Full interview transcript available at http://bit.ly/2x0e5U4

History through Song 
​Songs of Vietnam Protests

Country Joe McDonald - I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin
*WARNING! Language

Joan Baez - Saigon Bride

Barry McGuire - Eve Of Destruction

Crosby, Sills, Nash & Young - Ohio

History through Hollywood
​The Vietnam War

*WARNING! War Violence
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​We Were Soldiers (2002)
​
The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War, and the soldiers on both sides that fought it, while their wives wait nervously and anxiously at home for the good news or the bad news.
Director: Randall Wallace
Stars: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear 

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​Platoon (1986)
​
A young soldier in Vietnam faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
Director: Oliver Stone
Stars: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe

1968

​A Brief Timeline of 1968

  • January 30—The Tet Offensive occurs in Vietnam
  • February 27--Walter Cronkite delivers scathing report on America's chances of winning in Vietnam
  • March 16—My Lai Massacre occurs in Vietnam
  • March 31—LBJ Announces He Won’t Seek Reelection
  • April 4—Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • April 11—Civil Rights Act of 1968
  • April 22-30—Student Protests at Columbia University
  • June 5—Assassination of Robert Kennedy
  • August 22-30—Chaos at the Democratic Convention
  • September 7—Miss America protest
  • October 16—Tommie Smith and John Carlos give the Black Power salute during the Mexico City Olympics
  • October 31—LBJ orders a halt to all bombing of North Vietnam
  • November 5—Nixon Wins US Presidency
  • University’s website devoted to 1968, including a timeline, interviews, essays, and a useful bibliography devoted to this tumultuous year: http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/1968/
  • The University of Virginia’s website devoted to “The Psychedelic ‘60s”, featuring images, essays, and extensive information on the 1960s.explore.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/show/sixties
  • NASA’s Apollo 8 website, featuring an overview, statistics, images, and audio clips: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo8info.html
https://images.history.com/images/media/interactives/1968guide.pdf

HISTORY: ​1968 with Tom Brokaw 

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​The year 1968 is considered one of the most turbulent, and pivotal, twelve month periods in American history. This single year was a flashpoint for many of the social, political, and cultural transformations for which the overall decade of the 1960s is known. During these years, the United States became entrenched in an unpopular war in Vietnam abroad, while unrest, experimentation, violence, and outspokenness raged throughout the nation. The Civil Rights Movement gained momentum, sit-ins and riots became commonplace, leaders were assassinated on a seemingly regular basis, and social experimentation and psychedelic music became the rage in San Francisco and elsewhere. Many consider these years divisive, others shameful, yet some believe they were necessary to galvanize change in America. 

History through Song 
​Songs of 1968

​This list is of Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1968.
No.TitleArtist(s)
​1 "Hey Jude" The Beatles
2 "Love is Blue" Paul Mauriat
3 "Honey" Bobby Goldsboro
4 "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" Otis Redding
5 "People Got to Be Free" The Rascals
6 "Sunshine of Your Love" Cream
7 "This Guy's in Love With You" Herb Alpert
8 "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" Hugo Montenegro
9 "Mrs. Robinson" Simon & Garfunkel
10 "Tighten Up" Archie Bell & the Drells
​
11. ...

The Beatles - Hey Jude

The Beatles - Revolution

The Rascals - A Beautiful Morning

Love is Blue - Paul Mauriat

Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild

Aretha Franklin - Since You've Been Gone

CNN: '1968': The Year That Changed America

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​CNN's four-part Original Series Event '1968' looks back half a century at a year marked by the assassinations of MLK and RFK, a contentious presidential election, escalating anti-Vietnam War sentiment and more.

https://www.cnn.com/shows/1968
​1968
  • My memories of '68: Chaos in black and white
  • How space travel united a fractured world
Vietnam 
  • When MLK turned on Vietnam, even liberal 'allies' turned on him
  • The Vietnam War: 5 things you might not know
  • Photos from the year that changed America
The assassination of an icon 
  • 'A wound that remains raw'
  • The question that haunts Martin Luther King's last day in Memphis
A cultural shift 
  • Rare behind-the-scenes photos from '2001: A Space Odyssey'
  • Jesse Jackson: Why I'm taking to the streets again
Presidency in the balance 
  • The stunning -- and pivotal -- decision by Lyndon Johnson
  • Behind the Picture: RFK's assassination, 1968
A space first 
  • 9 events that changed the world in 1968
  • Merry Christmas from the moon
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkqkpfE7LwoSEWHeOBdhM6Q/videos

Top-grossing films of 1968

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​2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
​
After discovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, mankind sets off on a quest to find its origins with help from intelligent supercomputer H.A.L. 9000.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester

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​Planet of the Apes (1968)
​
An astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes are the dominant species, and humans are the oppressed and enslaved.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Stars: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter ​

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​Funny Girl (1968)
​
The life of Fanny Brice, famed comedienne and entertainer of the early 1900s. We see her rise to fame as a Ziegfeld girl, subsequent career, and her personal life, particularly her relationship with Nick Arnstein.
Director: William Wyler
Stars: Barbra Streisand,
Omar Sharif, Kay Medford ​

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​Rosemary's Baby (1968)
​
A young couple trying for a baby move into a fancy apartment surrounded by peculiar neighbors.
Director: Roman Polanski
Stars: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon

 The Collapse of Communism

27. The collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe and the USSR brought an end to the Cold War.
  • There were multiple causes for the collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The effect of these was the reduction of the tensions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. that characterized the Cold War period. Several communist governments in Eastern Europe gave up power following mass demonstrations for democracy. The collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in independent republics that moved to institute democratic reforms and introduce free-market economies. This brought an end to the Cold War era. 
  • The political and economic turmoil occurring in some of the new governments posed new challenges for the United States. The U.S. supported economic and education reforms by providing assistance to some of the former communist countries.

Resource: The Cold War Museum  
Resource: Virtual Exhibits on Communism

Social Transformations in the United States 
(1945-1994)

The Cold War: Social Changes (Civil Rights)

- 
28. Following World War II, the United States experienced a struggle for racial and gender equality and the extension of civil rights.
  • African Americans, Mexican Americans, American Indians and women distinguished themselves in the effort to win World War II. Following the war, movements began to secure the same freedoms and opportunities for these Americans that other Americans enjoyed. 
  • African-American organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the National Urban League (NUL) struggled for equal opportunities and to end segregation. They demonstrated and sought redress in the courts to change long-standing policies and laws. 
  • Mexican Americans organized through the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) to improve the conditions of migrant workers. 
  • American Indians organized to improve conditions on reservations, protect land rights and improve opportunities in education and employment. They formed groups such as the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the American Indian Movement (AIM). 
  • Women made progress toward equal opportunities through demonstrations, lawsuits and the National Organization for Women (NOW). 
​
Resource: Hispanics in the U.S. Army
Resource: Hispanic Americans in the U.S. Army
Resource: UT at Austin - Latinos and Latinas & WWII Oral History Project
Resource: Native Americans in World War II by Thomas D. Morgan
Resource: Native Americans in the U.S. Army
Resource: Justice and the Jim Crow Laws
Resource: The March on Washington and Its Impact
Resource: Civil Rights Greensboro
Resource: Digital History - Civil Rights Voices     
Resource: UGA - Civil Rights Digital Library
Resource: NAACP
​
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - "A Raisin in the Sun" 
​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Dr. King's Dream 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nonviolence
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - JFK, Freedom Riders... 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - JFK, LBJ, and the Fight...
Resource: SCLC History
Resource: Duke University - SNCC Legacy Project
Resource: NUL History
Resource: UFW
Resource: UC San Diego Library - Farmworker Movement Document Project
Resource: UW - Farm Workers in Washington State History Project
Resource: Ohio Farm Bureau
Resource: American Indian Movement
Resource: American Indian Movement Interpretive Center
Resource: Cleveland American Indian Movement
Resource: Taking AIM, The Story of the American Indian Movement
Resource: NOW
Resource: Women for Women International
Resource: USC, Gould School of Law - A Brief history of Jim Crow Laws
*Identified and recommended by Ms. Lynwood and her 5th graders reading, To Kill a Mockingbird
​

Sound Smart: The Freedom Rides | History

​Historian Yohuru Williams describes the Civil Rights-era Freedom Rides protests and the Supreme Court decisions that inspired them.

History through Song

Say It Loud, I'm Black & I'm Proud-James Brown

​Nina Simone: Mississippi Goddam

​The Motor City is Burning - John Lee Hooker

U2 - Pride (In The Name Of Love)

History through Hollywood

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The Butler (2013)​
As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.
Director: Lee Daniels
Stars: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack ​

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Selma (2014)
A chronicle of Martin Luther King's campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.
Director: Ava DuVernay
Stars: David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth

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Mississippi Burning (1988)
Two FBI agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.
Director: Alan Parker
Stars: Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand

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​Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
​
A Mississippi district attorney and the widow of Medgar Evers struggle to finally bring a white racist to justice for the 1963 murder of the civil rights leader.
Director: Rob Reiner
Stars: Alec Baldwin, James Woods, Whoopi Goldberg

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The Best of Enemies (2019)
Civil rights activist Ann Atwater faces off against C.P. Ellis, Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, in 1971 Durham, North Carolina over the issue of school integration. (Inspired by true events chronicled in 'The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South' by Osha Gray Davidson)
Director:
Robin Bissell
Stars:
 Taraji P. Henson, Sam Rockwell, Babou Ceesay 

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​Remember the Titans (2000)
​
The true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit.
Director: Boaz Yakin
Stars: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris

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Cesar Chavez (2014)
A biography of the civil-rights activist and labor organizer Cesar Chavez.
Director: Diego Luna
Stars: Michael Peña, America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson

​Civil Rights and the 1950s: Crash Course US History #39

​John Green teaches you about the early days of the Civil Rights movement. By way of providing context for this, John also talks a bit about wider America in the 1950s. The 1950s are a deeply nostalgic period for many Americans, but there is more than a little idealizing going on here. The 1950s were a time of economic expansion, new technologies, and a growing middle class. America was becoming a suburban nation thanks to cookie-cutter housing developments like the Levittowns. While the white working class saw their wages and status improve, the proverbial rising tide wasn't lifting all proverbial ships. A lot of people were excluded from the prosperity of the 1950s. Segregation in housing and education made for some serious inequality for African Americans. As a result, the Civil Rights movement was born. John will talk about the early careers of Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, and even Earl Warren. He'll teach you about Brown v Board of Education, and the lesser known Mendez vs Westminster, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and all kinds of other stuff.

Civil Rights resources:

  • Eyes on the Prize
  • ​​Citizen King
    • ​​​Teacher's Guide: Suggestions for Active Learning
  • ​The Murder of Emmett Till
  • Freedom Summer
  • Soundtrack for a Revolution
  • ​Freedom Riders
  • JFK and Civil Rights
  • ​​The Kennedys and Civil Rights
  • 1964
  • ​​People Of The Civil Rights Movement: Part 1
  • Malcolm X: Make it Plain
  • Meet the Players: US Federal Government

Sound Smart: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 | History

Historian Yohuru Williams explains the events leading up to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and the act's historical significance. ​

Sound Smart: The Black Panthers | History

​Historian Yohuru Williams recounts the history of the Black Panther Party in the United States.

For additional resources on the Civil Rights Movement, please review my Black History pages:

Black History

The Cold War: Economic & Scientific Advancements


29. The postwar economic boom, greatly affected by advances in science, produced epic changes in American life. 
The United States experienced an era of unprecedented prosperity and economic growth following World War II. Contributing to this prosperity was public demand for goods and services. The demand for housing and automobile ownership spurred the growth of suburbs. Economic opportunities in defense plants and high-tech industries led to the growth of the Sunbelt. 

Postwar prosperity produced some other epic changes (e.g., baby boom, increased consumerism, increased mobility via automobiles, pop culture, franchising and longer life spans). 

Advances in science following the war also impacted American life. Examples include:
  • Medicine (e.g., polio vaccine, birth control pill, artificial heart valve, open-heart bypass, organ transplant, genetic engineering);
  • Communication (e.g., transistor, television, computers, Internet, mobile phones);
  • Nuclear energy (e.g., atomic weapons, nuclear power plants); and
  • Transportation (e.g., passenger jet airplanes, catalytic converters in cars).

Resource: College of Physicians of Philadelphia - Timeline of Polio
​
Resource: PBS- On the Edge Paralyzing Polio
Resource: Polio Global Eradication Initative
Resource: National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
​
Resource: Atomic Archive
  • ​Sputnik and the Space Race | Eisenhower Presidential Library
    • and the Space Race Research Online Documents Sputnik and the Space Race If an...
  • American Moonshot: JFK and the Great Space Race | JFK Library
    • American Moonshot: JFK and the Great Space Race 
  • JFK and the Space Race: Transcript | JFK Library
    • JFK and the Space Race: We choose to go to the moon...
  • Cold War - The Race for Space
    • Wars | Secret Front Lines | The Race for Space |America's Cold War Culture| After...Timeline The Race for Space 
  • Space Program | JFK Library
    • investigate man's ability to function in space; and to recover astronaut and spacecraft...Space Program In 1961, President John F. Kennedy began a ...

​History through Hollywood

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​The Right Stuff (1983)
​
The story of the original Mercury 7 astronauts and their macho, seat-of-the-pants approach to the space program.
Director: Philip Kaufman
Stars: Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris

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​Hidden Figures (2016) 
The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.
Director: Theodore Melfi
Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe 

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​Apollo 13 (1995)
​
NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.
Director: Ron Howard
Stars: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon

The Cold War: Social Changes (Population Demographics)

30. The continuing population flow from cities to suburbs, the internal migrations from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt and the increase in immigration resulting from passage of the 1965 Immigration Act have had social and political effects. 
  • The postwar movement from cities to suburbs had social and political effects. The cities became predominately black and poor, and strongly Democratic. The suburbs were mainly white and leaned Republican. The decaying environment and the low employment opportunities in large cities contributed to urban riots in the 1960s. 
  • The employment opportunities in defense plants and hightech industries located in the South and California led to the growth of the Sunbelt. This development contributed to a political power shift in the country as reflected in the reapportionment of congressional districts. 
  • The 1965 Immigration Act allowed more individuals from Asia, Africa and Latin America to enter the United States. The resulting immigration impacted the country’s demographic makeup. Hispanics became the fastest growing minority in the U.S. which led to an increase in Spanish language media and funding for bilingual education programs. As these new immigrants became citizens, their voting practices impacted the balance of power between the major political parties

Resource: The Growth of the Suburbs – and the Racial Wealth Gap 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Building Suburbia: Highways and Housing in Postwar America
Resource: Immigrant Voices

1950s newsreel about the building of suburbia in Levittown

​​History through Hollywood

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​Pleasantville (1998)
​
Two 1990s teenage siblings find themselves in a 1950s sitcom, where their influence begins to profoundly change that complacent world.
Director: Gary Ross
Stars: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen ​

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​La Bamba (1987)
​
Biographical story of the rise from nowhere of early rock and roll singer Ritchie Valens who died at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
Director: Luis Valdez
Stars: Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto ​

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​Forrest Gump (1994)
The presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, the events of Vietnam, Watergate and other historical events unfold through the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, whose only desire is to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Robert Zemeckis 
​Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field

Wholesome TV about the 1950s & 1960s

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​I Love Lucy (TV Series 1951–1957)
The wife of a band leader constantly tries to become a star - in spite of her having no talent, and gets herself (along with her best friend) into the funniest predicaments.
Stars: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance

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The Dick Van Dyke Show (TV Series 1961–1966)
​
The misadventures of a TV writer both at work and at home.
Creator: Carl Reiner
Stars: Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie

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​The Andy Griffith Show (TV Series 1960–1968)
​
Widower Sheriff Andy Taylor, and his son Opie, live with Andy's Aunt Bee in Mayberry, North Carolina. With virtually no crimes to solve, most of Andy's time is spent philosophizing and calming down his cousin Deputy Barney Fife.
Creators: Sheldon Leonard, Aaron Ruben, Danny Thomas
Stars: Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Don Knotts ​

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​Leave It to Beaver (TV Series 1957–1963)
​
The misadventures of a suburban boy, family and friends.
Creators: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher, Dick Conway
Stars: Jerry Mathers, Hugh Beaumont, Barbara Billingsley ​

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​My Three Sons (TV Series 1960–1972)
Widower Steve Douglas raises three sons with the help of his father-in-law, and is later aided by the boys' great-uncle. An adopted son, a stepdaughter, wives, and another generation of sons join the loving family in later seasons.
Stars: Fred MacMurray, Stanley Livingston, Don Grady

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​Happy Days (TV Series 1974–1984)
​
The Cunningham family live through the 1950s with help and guidance from the lovable and almost superhuman greaser, Fonzie.
Creator: Garry Marshall
Stars: Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross

The Cold War: The Role of Government

31. Political debates focused on the extent of the role of government in the economy, environmental protection, social welfare and national security.
  • The 1930s and early 1940s witnessed a great expansion in the role of the federal government in various policy areas. This expanded role continued to be the focus of political debates in the postwar period. For the economy, the debates were between those who favored a more activist role of the government to correct inequities and those who felt that the government should lessen its involvement and let the marketplace work. Public opinion on this issue was often influenced by the current state of the economy. 
  • The debate on the government’s role to protect the environment in the postwar period increased during this period due to research on the effects of pesticides, pollution and waste disposal, and concerns about conservation and global warming. Demands from environmentalists led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. 
  • The government’s role on social welfare issues attracted intense debates, particularly relating to poverty, unemployment and national health insurance. 
  • The controversies surrounding the federal government’s role in protecting the country recurred during times of perceived threats. Fears concerning communist infiltration of the government during the 1940s and 1950s, and anti-war protests during the Vietnam Era, led to debates over national security.

Resource: Teach Rock - THE PROTEST TRADITION
Resource: Earth Day 40th Anniversary Curriculum Unit 
Resource: Enironmental Protection Agency

​The 1960s in America: Crash Course US History #40

John Green teaches you about a time of relative tumult in the United States, the 1960s. America was changing rapidly in the 1960s, and rights movements were at the forefront of those changes. Civil Rights were dominant, but the 60s also saw growth in the Women's Movement, the LGBT rights movement, the Latino rights movement, and the American Indian movement. Also, Americans began to pay a bit more attention to the environment. All this change happened against the backdrop of the Cold War and the Rise of Conservatism. It was just wild. John will teach you about sit-ins, Freedom Rides, The March on Washington, MLK, JFK, LBJ, and NOW. Man, that is a lot of initialisms. And one acronym. ​

Sound Smart: The 1960s | History

​Historian Yohuru Williams sums up the tumultuous political and cultural movements of the 1960s.

Environment

How Rachel Carson Launched The Environmental Movement

​Environmental conservation pioneer Rachel Carson is one of the remarkable leaders who persevered in turbulent times and became a better leader for it whom Nancy Koehn profiles in her book, FORGED IN CRISIS.

Clear Skies, Clean Air

Creator(s): General Services Administration. Office of Public Information. 1949- ? (Most Recent)
Series: Moving Images Relating to General Government Services, ca. 1971 - 1994
Record Group 269: General Records of the General Services Administration, 1922 - 1997
Production Date: ca. 1971
Scope & Content: This film illustrates the General Services Administration's internal use of a natural gas-powered automobile as a partial solution to the energy crisis.
National Archives Identifier: 2694749
Local Identifier: 269-2
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2694749

Labor Rights

​The Story of OSHA

​The Story of OSHA (1980) This film tells workers how OSHA was set up to stem the tide of disease, injury, and death, and what their rights are under the law. Explains how NIOSH conducts tests, how standards are set, and how OSHA investigates complaints. Produced and distributed by OSHA in 1980. Then in 1981, the incoming head of OSHA Thorne Auchter recalled and destroyed most copies. A few copies were kept alive by renegade union officials who refused to return their copies. The penalty for being discovered in possession of one of these films was loosing all OSHA funding for their safety and health programs. This film was preserved through the years through the efforts of Mark Catlin, who made this and other censored OSHA films available for digitizing.

Labor Relations

Exactly how political, economic, and workforce changes affect employers and unions will be factors in the future of the labor–management relationship.

Equality

Why hasn't the Equal Rights Amendment been ratified?

​Did you know the Equal Rights Amendment, which guarantees equal legal rights regardless of sex, has been passed by 37 states — and that constitutional amendments need to be passed by 38 states to become enshrined in that founding document?

​Phyllis Schlafly debates Betty Friedan on ERA

​Phyllis Schlafly and Betty Friedan debate the Equal Rights Amendment and the women's liberation movement on Good Morning America. Aired January 28, 1976

American Experience: Rachel Carson

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https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/rachel-carson/
  • CHAPTER: Rachel Carson: Chapter 1
  • ARTICLE: The Role for a Lifetime
  • DIGITAL SHORT: Malaria and the Silent Spring
  • ARTICLE: Telling the Big Story: Science Writer Elizabeth Kolbert
  • TRAILER: Rachel Carson: Trailer
​Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
​
www.rachelcarson.org › SilentSpring

​Silent Spring 50th Anniversary Edition Silent Spring began with a “fable for tomorrow” – a true story using a composite of ..
​Silent Spring Institute
silentspring.org
Silent Spring Institute is a mission-driven scientific research organization dedicated to uncovering the environmental causes of breast cancer. Our independent ..
​When Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was published in 1962, the book became a phenomenon. A passionate and eloquent warning about the long-term dangers of pesticides, the book unleashed an extraordinary national debate and was greeted by vigorous attacks from the chemical industry. But it would also inspire President John F. Kennedy to launch the first-ever investigation into the public health effects of pesticides — an investigation that would eventually result in new laws governing the regulation of these deadly agents.

Chapter 1 | Rachel Carson | American Experience | PBS

​Rachel Carson is an intimate portrait of the woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world. When Silent Spring was published in September 1962 it became an instant bestseller and would go on to spark dramatic changes in the way the government regulated pesticides.

​The Rise of Conservatism: Crash Course US History #41

​John Green teaches you about the rise of the conservative movement in United States politics. So, the sixties are often remembered for the liberal changes that the decade brought to America, but lest you forget, Richard Nixon was elected to the presidency during the sixties. The conservative movement didn't start with Nixon though. Modern conservatism really entered mainstream consciousness during the 1964 presidential contest between incumbent president and Kennedy torch-bearer Lyndon B Johnson, and Republican senator Barry Goldwater. While Goldwater never had a shot in the election, he used the campaign to talk about all kinds of conservative ideas. At the same time, several varying groups, including libertarian conservatives and moral conservatives, began to work together. Goldwater's trailblazing and coalition building would pay off in 1968 when Richard Nixon was elected to the White House, and politics changed forever when Nixon resigned over the Watergate scandal. You'll also learn about the ERA, , EPA, OSHA, the NTSB, and several other acronyms and initialisms.

Reagan Conservatism

​Ronald Reagan expertly articulates what Conservatism means. This clip is from his 1966 announcement for Governor of California. Here he is addressing Democrats who may be questioning what their leaders are doing. "Can we possibly believe that anyone can manage our lives better than we can manage them ourselves?"

History vs. Richard Nixon - Alex Gendler

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/history-vs-...
The president of the United States of America is often said to be one of the most powerful positions in the world. But of all the US presidents accused of abusing that power, only one has left office as a result. Does Richard Nixon deserve to be remembered for more than the scandal that ended his presidency? Alex Gendler puts this disgraced president’s legacy on trial.
Lesson by Alex Gendler, animation by Brett Underhill.

Richard Nixon - U.S. President | Mini Bio | BIO

Born on January 9, 1913, in Yorba Linda, California, Richard Nixon was a Republican congressman who served as vice president under Dwight D. Eisenhower. Nixon ran for president in 1960 but lost to charismatic Massachusetts senator John F. Kennedy. Undeterred, Nixon returned to the race eight years later and won the White House by a solid margin. In 1974, he resigned rather than be impeached for covering up illegal activities of party members in the Watergate affair. He died on April 22, 1994, at age 81, in New York City. ​

Remembering 1968: The return of Richard Nixon

Richard Schlesinger looks back at the hard-fought race for the presidency in the turbulent year of 1968, when President Johnson withdrew from seeking re-election, and Richard Nixon – following losses in runs for the White House and the California Governor's Mansion – won the Republican presidential nomination and, ultimately, the presidency. Richard Schlesinger talks with biographer Evan Thomas, Nixon aide Dwight Chapin and speechwriter Pat Buchanan, and with then-Senator Walter Mondale, about the unpredictable contest between a law-and-order candidate hoping to shed his image as a "loser," and a sitting vice president breaking from his own administration to vow an end to the bombing of North Vietnam.

Richard Nixon's resignation speech

​On August 8, 1974, Richard Nixon addressed the American people from the White House to announce his resignation as President of the United States.

History Through Hollywood

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​All the President's Men (1976)
"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and  Carl Bernstein  uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President  
Richard Nixon's resignation.
​Director: Alan J. Pakula
Writers: Carl Bernstein (book), Bob Woodward (book)
Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden 

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Nixon (1995)
A biographical story of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, from his days as a young boy, to his eventual Presidency, which ended in shame.
Director: Oliver Stone
Writers: Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson | 1 more credit »
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Boothe 

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Frost/Nixon (2008)
A dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon.
Director: Ron Howard
Stars: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon

United States and 
the Post-Cold War World 
(1991-Present)

The Modern U.S.

32. Improved global communications, international trade, transnational business organizations, overseas competition and the shift from manufacturing to service industries have impacted the American economy.
  • The American economy has been impacted by many influences since the early 1990s. Global communication has rapidly increased use of technologies such as the personal computer, Internet and mobile phone. 
  • Business organizations that operate internationally with production facilities in more than one country have grown exponentially. For example, an American automobile might have parts imported from several countries and be assembled in yet another country. 
  • Overseas competition has challenged American producers and local communities. The U.S. trade deficit has increased with the value of goods and services imported exceeding those that are exported. This has led to a decrease in manufacturing jobs and closing of plants. It also has contributed to a shift toward service industries and a growth in lower-paying jobs in fast food and sales
Resource: USAID - Mobile Solution 
​Resource: MIT Technology Review - Are Smart Phones Spreading Faster than Any Technology in Human History? 
Resource: Pew Research Center - Part 1: How the internet has woven itself into American life 
Resource: The Aspen Institute - Global Consequences of Next-Generation Media 
Resource: Business Insider - These 14 giant corporations dominate the global auto industry 
Resource: Scaruffi.com - A Timeline of the Automobile Industry 
​Resource: Quandl - USA>Statistical Data>U.S. World Trade        
Resource: DATA 360 - U.S. Trade Balance
Resource: Globalization 101 - The Trade Balance

The 1970s

Ford, Carter, and the Economic Malaise: Crash Course US History #42

John Green teaches you about the economic malaise that beset the United States in the 1970s. A sort of perfect storm of events, it combined the continuing decline of America's manufacturing base and the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979, and brought about an stagnant economy, paired with high inflation. Economists with a flair for neologisms and portamenteau words called this "stagflation," and it made people miserable. Two presidential administrations were scuttled at least in part by these economic woes; both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter are considered failed presidents for many reasons, but largely because of an inability to improve the economy. (hint: In reality, no one person can materially change something as big as the world economy, even if they are president, but one person sure can make a handy scapegoat!) So, by and large, the 70s were a pretty terrible time in America economically, but at least the decade gave us Mr. Green.

This History of the 1970s Energy Crisis

​This outlines the gas crisis in the United States and how it was corrected with more fuel efficient usage of oil products.

​​History Documentary

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Harlan County U.S.A. ​(1976)
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A filmed account of a bitterly violent miner strike.
​Director: Barbara Kopple 
Stars: Norman Yarborough, Houston Elmore,Phil Sparks, John Corcoran

Jimmy Carter - U.S. President | Mini Bio | BIO

Born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, Jimmy Carter was the 39th president of the United States (1977-81) and served as the nation's chief executive during a time of serious problems at home and abroad. Carter's perceived mishandling of these issues led to defeat in his bid for reelection. He later turned to diplomacy and advocacy, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2002. #Biography

Carter and the Economy: Energy Crisis

Carter asked the American people to cut down their energy usage during a fireside chat on February 2, 1977. "All of us must learn to waste less energy," Carter said.

Oil Crisis | Stock market Crash | OPEC | This Week| 1973

The 1973 oil crisis paralyzed the USA and crippled the automotive industry. 'This Week' looks at how the lack of oil affects not only the US car Industry but also the every day lives of US citizens. First shown: 06/12/1973

Tempers Flare In Lines for Gasoline in 1979

This MacNeil/Lehrer Report piece highlights the anguish caused by gas shortages at a station in Queens, New York in 1979.​

​​History Through Hollywood

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The Candidate (1972) ​
Bill McKay is a candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. He has no hope of winning, so he is willing to tweak the establishment.
Director: Michael Ritchie
Stars: Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas 

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​Norma Rae (1979)
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A young single mother and textile worker agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.
Director: Martin Ritt
Stars: Sally Field, Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman

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​​Saturday Night Fever (1977)
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Anxious about his future after high school, a 19-year-old Italian-American from Brooklyn tries to escape the harsh reality of his bleak family life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco.
Stars: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller

The 1980s

​The Reagan Revolution: Crash Course US History #43

​ John Green teaches you about what is often called the Reagan Era. Mainly, it covers the eight years during which a former actor who had also been governor of the state of California was president of the United States. John will teach you about Reagan's election victory over the hapless Jimmy Carter, tax cuts, Reagan's Economic Bill of Rights, union busting, and the Iran-Contra among other things. Learn about Reagan's domestic and foreign policy initiatives, and even a little about Bonzo the Chimp.

Here's Why Reaganomics is so Controversial | History

​"Learn about President Ronald Reagan's economic policies, which are known as Reaganomics, and why its trickle-down theory construct — giving huge tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations — is a controversial idea even to this day".

Ronald Reagan - U.S. President | Mini Bio | BIO

Born in Tampico, Illinois, on February 6, 1911, Ronald Reagan initially chose a career in entertainment, appearing in more than 50 films. While in Hollywood, he worked as president of the Screen Actor's Guild and met his future wife, Nancy (Davis) Reagan. He later served two terms as governor of California. Originally a liberal Democrat, Reagan ran for the U.S. presidency as a Republican and won two terms, beginning in 1980, ultimately becoming a conservative icon over the ensuing decades. Having suffered from Alzheimer's disease in his later years, Reagan died on June 5, 2004. #Biography

Reagan and the Economy: the 1982 Recession

​The 1982 recession during the Reagan Administration resulted in high interest rates, homelessness, and unemployment. "We are really in trouble," Reagan confided to his diary.

"Berlin Wall" Speech

​President Reagan's remarks on East-West relations at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany on June 12, 1987.

President Reagan's Farewell Address to the Nation — 1/11/89

​President Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address to the Nation on 1/11/89. For more information on the ongoing works of President Reagan's Foundation, visit us at http://www.reaganfoundation.org
SHOW LESS

The Best of President Reagan's Humor

​Click here to watch the latest edition of our "Best of President Reagan" series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMVoa...

​History Through Hollywood

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​War Games  
​(1983)

A young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III.
Director: John Badham
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood

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​Gung Ho (1986)
When a Japanese car company buys an American plant, the American liaison must mediate the clash of work attitudes between the foreign management and native labor.
Director: Ron Howard
Stars: Michael Keaton, Gedde Watanabe, George Wendt

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Pretty in Pink (1986)
A poor girl must choose between the affections of dating her childhood sweetheart or a rich but sensitive playboy.
Director: Howard Deutch
Stars: Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Harry Dean Stanton ​

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​Ferris Bueller's Day Off  (1986)
A high school wise guy is determined to have a day off from school, despite what the Principal thinks of that.
Director: John Hughes
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara 

The 1990s

​George HW Bush and the End of the Cold War: Crash Course US History #44

​John Green teaches you about the end of the Cold War and the presidency of George H.W. Bush. It was neither the best of times, nor the worst of times. On the domestic front, the first president Bush inherited the relative prosperity of the later Reagan years, and watched that prosperity evaporate. That was about all the interest Bush 41 had, domestically, so let's move to foreign policy, which was a bigger deal at this time. The biggie was the end of the Cold War, which is the title of the video, so you know it's important. The collapse of the Soviet Union was the biggest deal of Bush's term, and history has assigned the credit to Ronald Reagan. We give the guy a break, and say that he helped. He was certainly expert in foreign policy, having been and envoy to China, ambassador to the United Nations, and head of the CIA. Bush also oversaw the first Gulf War, which was something of a success, in that the primary mission was accomplished, and the vast majority of the troops were home in short order. It didn't do much to address some of the other problems in the region, but we'll get to that in the next few weeks. Along with all this, you'll learn about Bush's actions, or lack thereof, in Somalia and the Balkans, and you'll even be given an opportunity to read Bush's lips.

The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall - Konrad H. Jarausch

​View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-rise-a... On August 13, 1961, construction workers began tearing up streets and erecting barriers in Berlin. This night marked the beginning of one of history’s most infamous dividing lines: the Berlin Wall. Construction continued for a decade as the wall cut through neighborhoods, separated families, and divided not just Germany, but the world. Konrad H. Jarausch details the history of the Berlin Wall. Lesson by Konrad H. Jarausch, directed by Remus & Kiki.

How CNN covered fall of Berlin Wall

​Go inside CNN's coverage of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989:

What Happened in the Persian Gulf War? | History

Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait set off a brief but consequential conflict involving an international coalition of forces led by the United States. ​​

Iraq/Kuwait - Saddam Retains Leadership

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has ruled Iraq for more than 16 years. The 58-year-old Arab joined the Iraqi Ba'th Party in 1957, and two years later, fled to Cairo as a poltical refugee after participating in an attempt to assassinate President Abdul Karim Qasim. He returned to Iraq in 1963 when the Ba'th Party came to power. But after the party was ousted by the Nasserites in 1964, Saddam was arrested after participating in a failed coup attempt against President Abdul Salam Aref. The party regained power in 1968, and Saddam took charge of the secret security apparatus. He eventually joined the Revolutionary Command Council, Iraq's highest governing body, gradually becoming the second man after President Ahmad Hassan el-Bakr, to whom he was related. In the late 1970s, el-Bakr became a nominal president as Saddam became the real ruler. In July 1979, el-Bakr handed over the presidency and party leadership to Saddam, who consolidated his grip on power by brutal repression.

George H.W. Bush - U.S. President | Mini Bio | BIO

​Born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, George H.W. Bush fought in WWII and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1966. He served as Ronald Reagan's vice president for two terms and then won the 1988 U.S. presidential race, before losing his bid for a second term to Bill Clinton. Afterward, he made appearances for son George W. Bush, who also was elected U.S. president, and co-founded the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.

​The Impact Of President George H.W. Bush's Foreign Policy | Morning Joe | MSNBC

​​Dan Drezner explains the appeal of former President H.W. Bush to Democrats and why he called Bush 41 the 'greatest president of my lifetime.' Peggy Noonan also discusses Bush's relationship with Reagan.

10 times George H.W. Bush's humor brought laughter to his loved ones in mourning

​Amid tears, loved ones delivering eulogies at George H.W. Bush's memorial services remembered the times the former president made them laugh.

​​History Through Hollywood

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​Boyz n the Hood (1991)
Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
Director: John Singleton
Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Hudhail Al-Amir

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​Courage Under Fire (1996)
A U.S. Army officer, despondent about a deadly mistake he made, investigates a female chopper commander's worthiness for the Medal of Honor.
Director: Edward Zwick
Stars: Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips 

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​Jarhead (2005)
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A psychological study of operations desert shield and desert storm during the gulf war; through the eyes of a U.S marine sniper who struggles to cope with the possibility his girlfriend may be cheating on him back home.
Director: Sam Mendes
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black

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​Singles (1992)
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A group of twenty-something friends most of whom live in the same apartment complex search for love and success in grunge-era Seattle.
Director: Cameron Crowe
Stars: Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick

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​Into the Wild (2007)
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After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.
Director: Sean Penn
Stars: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener

A New Age of Television

​The number of cable services aimed at specific audiences with specialized interests grew at its greatest pace ever during this period, dividing the audience into smaller and smaller segments. Inevitably, the share of that audience held by each of the major networks continued to decline, although each network was still attracting many more viewers than any of the cable channels. Besides the familiar cable services dedicated to news, sports, movies, shopping, and music, entire cable channels were devoted to cooking (Food Network), cartoons (Cartoon Network), old television (Nick at Nite, TV Land), old movies (American Movie Classics, Turner Classic Movies), home improvement and gardening (Home and Garden Television [HGTV]), comedy (Comedy Central), documentaries (Discovery Channel), animals (Animal Planet), and a host of other interests. The Golf Channel and the Game Show Network were perhaps the most emblematic of how far target programming could go during this era. By the end of the decade, almost 80 percent of American households had access to cable programming through cable hookups or direct delivery by satellite.
https://www.britannica.com/art/television-in-the-United-States/The-1990s-the-loss-of-shared-experience

CNN Live Coverage - Start of Iraq War (7:00 P.M E.T - 12:00 A.M E.T)

Top 10 Television Sitcoms of the 1990s

(1997) The Simpsons story ''FOX: Behind the Scenes'' Making of, how it all began

​The Clinton Years, or the 1990s: Crash Course US History #45

​John Green teaches you about the United States as it was in the 1990s. You'll remember from last week that the old-school Republican George H.W. Bush had lost the 1992 presidential election to a young upstart Democrat from Arkansas named Bill Clinton. Clinton was a bit of a dark horse candidate, having survived a sex scandal during the election, but a third party run by Ross Perot split the vote, and Clinton was inaugurated in 1993. John will teach you about Clinton's foreign policy agenda, which included NATO action in the Balkans and the Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO. He'll also cover some of the domestic successes and failures of the Clinton years, including the failed attempt at healthcare reform, the pretty terrible record on GLBTQ issues, Welfare reform, which got mixed reviews, and the happier issues like the huge improvements in the economy. Also computers. Cheap, effective, readily available computers came along in the 1990s and they kind of changed the world, culminating in this video, which is the end of the internet. Until next week.

Bill Clinton - The United States' 42nd President | Mini Bio | Biography

Bill Clinton, the United States' 42nd president. ​

Bill Clinton's 1992 US presidential election campaign - BBC Newsnight archives

Charles Wheeler reports for BBC Newsnight on Bill Clinton's final frantic round of campaigning for the 1992 US presidential election. ​

President Clinton on Drug Policy (1998)

​This is video footage of President William Jefferson Clinton delivering remarks on ending drug use and drug availability for offenders.

Clinton And The Clintons (Presidential Documentary) | Timeline

​Documentary chronicling the events that led to the impeachment proceedings of US President Bill Clinton, featuring archive footage and comprehensive interviews.

USA: PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON LEGACY

As president-elect Bush waits just offstage to be sworn in as the nation's 43rd chief executive, President Clinton's time in office is down to it's final days. After eight years in the Oval Office, Bill Clinton .... In a matter of days, at just 54 years old, President Clinton will begin his future as the youngest ex-president since Theodore Roosevelt. While Clinton ponders what's next in his future, his past will soon belong to historians, to interpret, reinterpret and challenge. If you were to gauge his achievements by statistics alone, his eight years in the White House would certainly be considered a success...

Clinton and Foreign Policy

The scandal that changed how the media covers politics

​President Bill Clinton’s affair with intern Monica Lewinsky led to his impeachment. How would we react to Monica in the era of #MeToo? CNN’s Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash covered the story as it happened and adds insider perspective to our look back at the scandal.

The 90s: The Last Great Decade? 
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The Clinton Lewinsky Scandal | National Geographic

​The release of the Starr Report puts the lurid and explicit details of President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky on public record.
  • ​The Clinton Lewinsky Scandal
  • Clarence Thomas Hearing
  • The Ultimate '90s #TBT Party
  • The Y2K Scare
  • James Van Der Beek
  • Vanilla Ice
  • Ice Cube
  • Rob Lowe
  • Roseanne Barr
  • Matthew Perry
  • Brian Williams
  • Susan Sarandon
  • Shannen Doherty
  • The ATF Raid the Branch Davidians
  • Tonya vs. Nancy
  • The Alien Frenzy
  • Nirvana in the Nineties
  • Roseanne Barr's Success Story  

​​History Through Hollywood

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​Menace II Society (1993)
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A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
Directors: Albert Hughes (as The Hughes Brothers), Allen Hughes (as The Hughes Brothers)
Stars: Tyrin Turner, Larenz Tate, June Kyoto Lu ​

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​Hoop Dreams (1994)
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A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
Director: Steve James
Stars: William Gates, Arthur Agee, Emma Gates ​

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​Empire Records (1995)
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Twenty-four hours in the lives of the young employees at Empire Records when they all grow up and become young adults thanks to each other and the manager. They all face the store joining a chain store with strict rules.
Director: Allan Moyle
Stars: Anthony LaPaglia, Debi Mazar, Maxwell Caulfield ​

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​You've Got Mail (1998)
Two business rivals who despise each other in real life unwittingly fall in love over the Internet.
Director: Nora Ephron
Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Greg Kinnear ​

The World after September 11, 2001

33. The United States faced new political, national security and economic challenges in the post-Cold War world and following the attacks on September 11, 2001.

The post-Cold War period and the attacks on September 11, 2001, presented new challenges for the United States, including: 
  • Instability produced by the demise of balance-ofpower politics:
  • Changing role of the United States in global politics (e.g., preemptive wars);
  • Issues surrounding the control of nuclear weapons:
  • Broadening of terrorism; and
  • Dynamic of balancing national security with civil liberties. 

Economic challenges for the country included operating within a globalized economy. The country witnessed the change from the prosperity of the 1990s to the recession that began in 2007. Reductions in defense spending due to the end of the Cold War led to the loss of millions of U.S. jobs in defense plants. 

The attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, presented national security challenges for the country. Debates over two wars (i.e., Iraq and Afghanistan) that were launched in response to the September 11 attacks, the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act and the detainment and torture of enemy combatants divided the country.

Resource: UNODA - Nuclear Weapons 
​Resource: Brookings - NATO, Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control 
Resource: Brookings - 50 Facts About U.S. Nuclear Weapons Today 
​Resource: NCBI - Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: Opportunities for Control and Abolition 
​Resource: Nuclear Files - Nuclear Arms Control Treaties 
Resource: Washington Times -  U.N. panel to frame guidelines on legality of pre-emptive strike 
Resource: CFR- The Bush Administration's Doctrine of Preemption (and Prevention): When, How, Where? 
Resource: BBC - Ethics Guide, Pre-emptive strikes
Resource: ThoughtCast - Alan Dershowitz on Preemption and the Hezbollah 
Resource: U.S. National Counterterrorism Center 
Resource: PBS, Frontline - Target America
Resource: UN -  Text and Status of the United Nations Conventions on Terrorism 
​Resource: Red Cross - International humanitarian law and terrorism: questions and answers
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​Terrorism, War, and Bush 43: Crash Course US History #46

​John Green teaches you about the tumultuous 2000's in the United States of America, mainly the 2000's that coincide with the presidency of George W Bush. From the controversial election in 2000, to the events of 9/11 and Bush's prosecution of the War on Terror, the George W. Bush presidency was an eventful one. John will teach you about Bush's domestic policies like tax cutting, education reform, and he'll get into the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The event that came to pass during Bush's presidency are still very much effecting the United States and the world today, so listen up!

What Happened on 9/11

9/11 shocked America and changed the course of modern history. Everyone knows what happened on that day…right? The truth is, many young people don’t, but they need to. CJ Pearson explains why.

9/11: Second plane hits South Tower

​As the gravity of what is going on unfolds, the world watches live as a second plane hits the South Tower.

N.J. Burkett reporting as Twin Towers begin to collapse on September 11, 2001

Raw video from the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. ​​

Sep 20th 2001 Bush Declares War on Afghanistan And The Taliban

Explosive investigative report says U.S. government misled public on war in Afghanistan

In a blockbuster story representing the culmination of several years of investigation and pursuit of government documents, The Washington Post reports that U.S. officials have been misleading the American public about the war in Afghanistan for the past 18 years. John Yang talks to The Washington Post’s Craig Whitlock, lead reporter on the story, about what the classified document trove revealed.

America's post-9/11 foreign policy role

Becky Anderson talks to Paul Wolfowitz and Joseph Nye about American foreign policy after Sept. 11. More from CNN at http://www.cnn.com/

​History Through Hollywood

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​Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
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A nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile, and pacifist searches New York City for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Director: Stephen Daldry
Stars: Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock ​

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​​Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
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A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
Director: Kathryn Bigelowl
Stars: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt ​

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​Man of the Year (2006)
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A comedian who hosts a news satire program decides to run for president, and a computerized voting machine malfunction gets him elected.
Director: Barry Levinson
Stars: Robin Williams, Laura Linney, Lewis Black ​

​Obamanation: Crash Course US History #47

​John Green teaches you about recent history. By which we mean VERY recent history. John covers the end of George W. Bush's administration presidency of Barack Obama (so far). Some people would say, "It's too soon to try to interpret the historical importance of such recent events!" To those people we answer, "You're right." Nonetheless, it's worthwhile to take a look at the American we live in right now as a way of looking back at how far we've come. Anyway, John will teach you about Obama's election, some of his policies like the Affordable Care Act, the 2009 stimulus, and the continuation of the war on terror. If you still can't reconcile a history course teaching such recent stuff, just think of this one as a current events episode.
How the American people govern themselves at national, state and local levels of government is the basis for this course. Students can impact issues addressed by local governments through service learning and senior projects. 
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