Episode list

By describing Native American cultures in various regions of what eventually became the United States, we examine how indigenous peoples shaped their societies and what we can learn from enhancing our understanding of them.

Through the eyes of native peoples and conquistadors, we explore the collision of cultures emanating from the voyages of Columbus and other Europeans. We describe Spanish colonization in the Santa Fe area and assess the lasting impact of the Columbian exchange on the world.

Failing at Roanoke, the British established permanent colonies at Jamestown and later in the Charleston area. We examine how the emergence of staple crops, forced labor, and a racial hierarchy shaped the society, economy and the politics of the region in the 17th century.

Religious motivations inspired British settlers at Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. We describe the challenges facing pilgrims, puritans, and native peoples in the region, and we assess the enduring effects of Puritanism in America.

Ethnic and religious diversity in America took on even broader dimensions in the Middle Colonies. By examining the maturation of the northern colonies, we analyze the effects of diversity and growth on the shaping of America.

While northern colonies became more diverse in the early 18th century, the distinctive nature of a slave society began to characterize the southern colonies. We examine the slave trade, the conditions of slave labor, the emergence of an African American culture and the effects of slavery on southern society. In addition, we consider to what extent an "American" identity had emerged by 1760.

Between 1754 and 1774, a series of events, decisions and choices moved the colonies toward a revolution. By considering the ingredients necessary to make a revolution and how the American experience fits into this framework, we examine how and why the Americans were near the breaking point by the mid-1770s.

More than a year after the military engagement began at Lexington and Concord, American political leaders formalized the revolution against British authority. The purpose and meaning of the Declaration of Independence as the revered seminal statement of American ideals is analyzed.

Declaring independence was one thing, actually winning it was another. We examine the military aspects of the American Revolution, how the war affected the American people, why the Americans won, and the enduring effects of that victory.

Having won independence, the American people now grappled with the process of nation-building. Among the challenges facing that generation was the persistent issue of distributing political power among individuals, states and the national government. We explore how and why they adopted the Constitution which still provides the legal framework for the nation.

The state of the nation in 1789 begged for signs of stability. We examine how the political leadership of George Washington and the economic plan of Alexander Hamilton shaped the United States in the 1790s-and for generations afterwards.

While Washington and Hamilton had laid foundations of stability, internal and external conflicts continued to disrupt the nation. We analyze how, out of this turmoil, important precedents became established, including the acceptance by the revolutionary generation of a peaceful transfer of power.

Thomas Jefferson's inauguration as president in 1801 represented a significant transfer of power as well as vision about the future of America. As Jefferson and the nation increasingly looked westward, we explore what this meant in terms of territorial expansion, relations with American Indians and the emerging conflicts between nationalism and sectionalism.

Both Hamilton's and Jefferson's visions of America began to take shape in the north and west during the 1820s and 1830s. We examine how a market revolution, spurred on by new developments in transportation, manufacturing, and farming, set in motion changes which would affect the American people for generations to come.

Andrew Jackson, the first president from west of the Appalachian Mountains, mirrored the changing American society and became a symbol of the times. We analyze the emergence of Jackson, his decisions regarding nullification, the national bank, and Indian removal and the limits of democracy during that era.

While the north continued to diversify, the spread of slave system marked the south's expansion westward. We examine the changing nature of slavery, its effects on blacks and whites, how slaves coped, and how the institution of slavery challenged the future of the nation.

The idea was not new, but during the 1830s and 1840s a surge in religious enthusiasm compelled reformers to try to perfect America. By examining religious and social reform movements, including abolition and women's rights, we assess the effects of these developments on the shaping of America.

By the 1840s, the westward movement of the American people had brought them once again into territory claimed by other people and other nations. We analyze the "Manifest Destiny" of the United States, as the nation annexes Texas, acquires the Oregon territory and forces Mexico to cede California and the southwest as a result of war.

Perceptive observers were wary of the state of the union after the war with Mexico. What John C. Calhoun called "forbidden fruit" was referred to as "poison" by essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The persistence of slavery dashed any hopes that the Compromise of 1850 might settle sectional differences between north and south. Abolitionists and slave catchers dramatized the moral issue involved with the Fugitive Slave Act, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act and Dred Scott decision led to irrepressible conflicts.

Even though the Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property and could be taken anywhere, those opposed to this view continued to press their case. We examine the emergence of Abraham Lincoln, the raid on Harper's Ferry, the election of 1860 and the decision for secession. Was the Civil War inevitable?

When Confederate troops made war by firing upon Fort Sumter, the very survival of the United States was at stake. We examine why each side was fighting and assess their relative strengths and weaknesses. We describe the major military developments in 1861-62 and analyze what this indicated about the nature of the conflict.

By 1862, it was clear that the effects of Civil War reached far beyond the battlefields. Using the Shenandoah Valley as a setting, we describe what life was like on the northern and southern home fronts. We also analyze how Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation changed the nature of the war.

Union Preserved, Freedom Secured begins with the battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg, then describes and analyzes the major military operations of the final two years of the Civil War.

When the Civil War ended, there was hope that this "second American Revolution" would provide a new birth of freedom for the American people. As we assess the successes and failures of Reconstruction, we consider why the Reconstruction era ended with a revolution only half-accomplished.

Looking Backward, Looking Forward uses the U.S. Centennial as an occasion for reflection, to assess the state of the nation and discuss themes tracked throughout this course: freedom and equality, race and identity, gender and ethnicity. Distinguished experts share what they believe students should learn from their study of American history.