• Part 2: English Expansion. Align this
video with your curriculum materials covering 16th century religious
turmoil in Europe, the first (unsuccessful) Virginia colony, and
England’s war with Spain. (5 minutes, 47 seconds.)
• Part 3: Jamestown.
Align this video with your curriculum materials covering England’s
difficult colonization of Jamestown, from the days of John Smith and
Pocahontas to the establishment of the House of Burgesses. In
addition, Samuel de Champlain’s founding of Quebec (for France) and
the martyrdom of Father Brebeuf are included in this section. (10
minutes, 39 seconds.)
• Part 4: Freedom of Faith.
Align this video with your curriculum materials covering the origins
of religious persecution in 17th century Europe, the Pilgrims’ journey
on the Mayflower (and subsequent encounters with the Samoset and
Squanto, leading to the first Thanksgiving), and the establishment of
colonies in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. (12 minutes,
31 seconds.)
• Part 5: Colonial Expansion.
Align this video with your curriculum materials covering England’s
founding of New Hampshire and Maryland, Holland’s founding of New
Amsterdam, the English Civil War, the English takeover of New
Amsterdam (New York), and the establishment of Carolina, New Jersey,
and Pennsylvania. (9 minutes, 45 seconds.)
• Part 6: The Commerce
Colonies. Coordinate this video with your curriculum
materials covering the competition between English and French
merchants in establishing of trade relations with the Indians, and
explains the effects of British mercantilism on the Chesapeake Bay
colonies during the latter half of the 17th century. This section also
recounts indentured servitude, the “headright” system, the first
Navigation Acts, battles with Dutch trading companies, and Bacon’s
Rebellion. (9 minutes, 8 seconds.)
• Part 7: The Dominion of New
England. Coordinate this video with your curriculum
materials covering such late-17th century New England events as King
Philip’s War (the first significant war between colonists and Native
Americans), England’s Glorious Revolution (1688), Leisler’s Rebellion
in New York (an early attempt to overthrow a colonial government), and
the Salem witch trials. (10 minutes, 6 seconds.)
• Part 8: Border Skirmishes,
Population Growth, and Spiritual Renewal. Coordinate this
video with your curriculum materials covering King William’s War and
Queen Anne’s War (resulting in England's military dominance over
Europe), the influx of non-English European immigration to the
colonies, and the settlement of the Georgia colony by inmates from
debtors' prisons in England. This segment concludes with an account of
the Great Awakening, a widespread spiritual revival that united the
inhabitants of separate colonies into a single American nation. (12
minutes, 31 seconds.)
• Part 9: Natural Law and the
French and Indian War. Coordinate this video with your
curriculum materials examining the interweaving of European “Age of
Reason” ideas with Great Awakening values, culminating in a natural
rights doctrine that included freedom of the press (Zenger trial).
This segment includes a profile of Benjamin Franklin, as well as a
concise account of the conflict between the English colonists and
combined French and indigenous fighters (depicting the emergence of
George Washington as a military figure). (14 minutes, 18 seconds.)
Unit 2 - Independence (1763-1787)
• Part 1: Seeds of Discord.
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials covering the
ascendance of George III to the British throne, the rising political
turmoil over the debt for the French and Indian War, and the
beginnings of Parliament’s oppression of the American colonies. This
segment also includes Pontiac’s Rebellion (indigenous people against
colonists), and the colonists' reactions to the Sugar Act, Currency
Act, Stamp Act, Quartering Act, and Townshend Acts. (20 minutes, 15
seconds.)
• Part 2: The Intolerable Acts.
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials
exploring the Boston Massacre (1770), the Gaspee incident (burning of
a British customs ship in 1772), and the Boston Tea Party (the dumping
of British tea in Boston Harbor as a protest to the Tea Act of 1773).
This segment also covers Parliament’s passage of the Coercive Acts to
punish the Massachusetts colonists, prompting the formation of the
First Continental Congress (1774) and the passage of the Suffolk
Resolves (declaring grievances against Parliament). The segment
concludes with Parliament's response, the New England Restraining Act.
(13 minutes, 25 seconds.)
• Part 3: "Liberty or Death!" Coordinate
this video with your curriculum materials covering the events
surrounding America’s break from England, including Patrick Henry’s
call to arms, the battle at Lexington (launching the American
Revolution), the invasions of Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point, the
assembly of the Second Continental Congress, the establishment of the
Continental Army under George Washington, the Battle of Bunker
(Breed’s) Hill, King George III’s defiant response, and the drafting
of the Declaration of Independence. (18 minutes, 7 seconds.)
• Part 4: The Continental Army.
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials examining George
Washington’s disheartening military setbacks in New York, his
turnaround victories at Trenton and Princeton, and his renewed
difficulties in Pennsylvania. The segment also describes America’s
victory at Saratoga, the bleak Valley Forge winter of 1777, Thomas
Paine’s call to duty, the French alliance with the United States,
America’s currency woes, and the rebuilding of General Washington’s
army. (19 minutes, 2 seconds.)
• Part 5: Hardship,
Perseverance, and Victory. Coordinate this video with your
curriculum materials covering John Paul Jones' victory against British
naval forces (among other battles at sea), plus military campaigns on
the frontier (such as George Rogers Clark's triumph in South
Carolina). Also included are Benedict Arnold's shift in loyalties, the
guerrilla wars waged by Thomas Sumter and Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion,
and America’s gradual retaking of the South. The segment concludes
with the Battle of Yorktown, in which the American's, aided by French
allies, defeat the British to end the War for Independence. (11
minutes, 20 seconds.)
• Part 6: Postwar Challenges.
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials depicting the
Treaty of Paris (securing the peace between Great Britain and the
United States) in 1783, thereafter examining such postwar difficulties
as the war debt that crushed the economy, the military revolt that
threatened the nation's fledgling government, the refusal of state
governments to abide by the terms of the Treaty of Paris, the
enactment of the Northwest Ordinance (Congress’ claim of authority
over lands that had not achieved statehood), the struggle with Spain
over navigation rights to the Mississippi River, and Daniel Shays’
armed rebellion against the Massachusetts court system. The program
concludes with the young nation's call for a stronger federal
government than the one created under the Articles of Confederation.
(15 minutes, 57 seconds.)
Unit 3 - The New Nation and Its
Constitution (1787-1824)
• Part 1: The Constitutional
Convention. Coordinate this video with your curriculum
materials covering the Constitutional Convention of 1787. (14 minutes,
41 seconds.)
• Part 2: Ratification.
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials recounting the
difficulties in getting states to approve the Constitution, leading to
the authoring of the Federalist Papers and the drafting of the Bill of
Rights. (10 minutes, 12 seconds.)
• Part 3: The Washington
Administration. Coordinate this video with your
curriculum materials examining George Washington’s development of the
executive branch of government and Alexander Hamilton’s solution to
the nationwide financial crisis, amidst Thomas Jefferson’s efforts to
limit the powers of federal government. Also included is the impact of
the French Revolution on American foreign policy (culminating in Jay's
Treaty with Great Britain and Pinckney's Treaty with Spain). The
segment concludes with the federal government's handling of domestic
fights, such as the Whiskey Rebellion and the Battle of Fallen
Timbers. (17 minutes, 56 seconds.)
• Part 4: Rationalism and
Revival. Coordinate this video with your curriculum
materials concerning the John Adams presidency (including the XYZ
Affair, the quasi-war with France, the Alien and Sedition Acts, the
transfer of the nation’s capital from Philadelphia to Washington City,
the stormy election of 1800, and Adams’ “midnight appointments” to the
federal judiciary). Also covered is the election of Thomas Jefferson.
(14 minutes, 14 seconds.)
• Part 5: The Jefferson Years.
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials associated with
the Marbury v. Madison case, the Barbary War, the Louisiana Purchase,
the Hamilton-Burr duel, the Aaron Burr trial, the Lewis and Clark
expeditions, and the journeys of Zebulon Pike. Also presented in this
segment are the Yazoo land controversy, France’s war with Great
Britain, the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, British “impressment” of
American seamen, and the beginning of the anti-slavery movement. (18
minutes, 47 seconds.)
• Part 6: James Madison and the
War of 1812. Coordinate this video with your curriculum
materials covering diplomatic hostilities with France's Napoleon
Bonaparte, the indigenous revolt in the Louisiana Territory, the
Battle of Tippecanoe, the escalation of British troops at the Canadian
border, and America’s declaration of war against Great Britain. A
chronology of the War of 1812 follows, including the
Constitution-Guerriere sea battle, the defeat of the USS Chesapeake,
British occupation of Detroit and Fort Dearborn (Chicago), and the
Battle of Lake Erie, the British capture of Fort Niagara, the Battles
of Plattsburgh and Horseshoe Bend, Andrew Jackson’s capture of
Pensacola, the British invasion of Washington, DC (with the burning of
the White House and Capitol), the American defense of Fort McHenry
(where Francis Scott Key penned “The Star-Spangled Banner”), and the
Treaty of Ghent. (18 minutes, 47 seconds.)
• Part 7: The Moral Victory.
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials covering Andrew
Jackson’s decisive victory over British forces at the Battle of New
Orleans, as well as the defeat of Muslim Barbary Pirates; followed by
the postwar "Era of Good Feelings" in America, facilitated by the
growth of textile industries, the development of steamboat travel, the
demilitarization of the US-Canadian border, the Transcontinental
Treaty (in which Spain ceded Florida to the US), the issuance of the
Monroe Doctrine against further European interference in the Americas,
and the rapid addition of new states to the union. (14 minutes, 18
seconds.)
Unit 4 - Westward Expansion and
the Roots of Sectionalism (1824-1850)
• Part 1: Days of Prosperity
and Restlessness. Coordinate this video with your
curriculum materials exploring the origins of slavery in the southern
regions of the United States, juxtaposed with Christianity's role in
launching the abolition movement. The segment also covers the
beginnings of industrialization in the northern cities, the westward
migration of farm families, the expansion of trade in the west, the
development of interstate roads, the construction of the Erie canal,
and the birth of American literature. This unit concludes with the
hotly contested presidential election of 1824. (20 minutes, 11
seconds.)
• Part 2: John Quincy Adams and
"King Andrew." Coordinate this video with your curriculum
materials covering events associated with the presidency of John
Quincy Adams; key among them being the controversies concerning
states' rights verses Indian nation rights. The segment proceeds with
the election of Andrew Jackson and his employment of a "spoils" system
in making federal appointments. The Webster-Hayne Debate is also
reviewed here. (16 minutes, 15 seconds.)
• Part 3: Upheaval. Coordinate
this video with your curriculum materials covering Jedediah Smith’s
western travels, the "Trail of Tears," the changing religious
landscape of the nation, and the chilling effect of the Nat Turner
revolt on the slavery debate. (15 minutes, 21 seconds.)
• Part 4: Jacksonian Democracy.
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials covering Andrew
Jackson’s abandonment of the centralized banking system, South
Carolina’s 1832 threat to secede from the union, Henry Clay’s tariff
compromise, the assassination attempt on Jackson, the publication of
Alexis de Tocqueville's “Democracy in America,” and the war between
Mexico and Texas (which includes the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, Sam
Houston’s ultimate victory at the Battle of San Jacinto, and the
founding of the Republic of Texas as an independent nation). (14
minutes, 12 seconds.)
• Part 5: "Manifest Destiny!"
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials covering the
economic crisis faced by President Martin Van Buren, the killing of
abolitionist Elijah P. Lovejoy, the proposal for gradual slave
emancipation, the brief presidency of William Henry Harrison, John
Tyler’s ascendance to that office, hostilities at the Canadian border,
the 1844 election of James K. Polk, and the annexation of Texas as a
state (prompting a declaration of war from Mexico). (17 minutes, 36
seconds.)
• Part 6: The War with Mexico.
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials to provide a
chronology of the war, from the Battle of Palo Alto to the invasion of
Mexico City, plus the subsequent Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty, and the
development of the Popular Sovereignty approach to slavery in the
newly acquired territories. The segment also includes the California
gold rush. (10 minutes, 48 seconds.)
• Part 7: Elusive Harmony.
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials depicting the
era's milestones in inventiveness, including McCormick’s reaper,
Howe’s sewing machine, and Morse’ telegraph system. Additionally, this
section explores advancements in public education, mental health care,
city street improvements, and rail construction. These were also times
of increasing religious and political rifts over slavery. Subjects
also covered here are the Zachary Taylor presidency, California
statehood, and the Missouri Compromise of 1850. (12 minutes, 13
seconds.)
Unit 5 - Secession, Civil War,
and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
• Part 1: Misguided Notions and
Political Division. Coordinate this video with your
curriculum materials covering the role of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in shaping
public opinion toward slavery, the 1852 election of Franklin Pierce,
Commodore Perry’s journey to Japan, and the Gadsden Purchase from
Mexico. (12 minutes, 45 seconds.)
• Part 2: "Bleeding" Kansas.
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials examining the
consequences of the disastrous Kansas-Nebraska Act, the formation of
the Republican Party, the disputed election and ensuing guerrilla
warfare in Kansas, and violence in the Senate. The segment also
depicts the presidential election of James Buchanan in 1856, the Dred
Scott case, the constitutional crisis in Kansas, and the bank panic of
1857. (17 minutes, 35 seconds.)
• Part 3: The Rise of Abraham
Lincoln and the Secession of the South. Assign this video
with your curriculum materials covering the Lincoln-Douglas debates,
John Brown’s assault on Harper’s Ferry, Abraham Lincoln’s presidential
victory in the election of 1860, the secession of the southern states,
the formation of the Confederate States of America, the election of
Jefferson Davis as the Confederate president, and Lincoln’s stand
against secession. (13 minutes, 1 second.)
• Part 4: The War Begins.
Associate this video with your curriculum materials covering the Union
loss at Fort Sumter, Lincoln’s suspension of constitutional rights,
the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), the split of West Virginia from
Virginia, the failed union naval blockade of southern ports,
diplomatic issues with Great Britain, and the Union capture of Port
Royal Sound. (13 minutes, 14 seconds.)
• Part 5: 1862.
Coordinate this video with your curriculum materials chronicling such
1862 events as: the Union victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, the
Confederate victory at Shiloh, the battle between the iron-clad
warships Virginia (nee Merrimac) and the Monitor, Union dominance over
the Mississippi River, the Battle of Seven Pines, Congress’ passage of
the Homestead Act, the Confederate victory at Second Battle of Bull
Run, the Union’s turnaround victory at Antietam, Lincoln’s issuance of
the Emancipation Proclamation, the paradoxical participation of
African Americans and Cherokee Indians in the Confederate Army, the
creation of the Underground Railroad, and the Union defeat at
Fredericksburg. (17 minutes, 17 seconds.)
• Part 6: The Turning Tide. Coordinate
this video with your curriculum materials covering Lincoln’s
implementation of a temporary income tax to finance the war,
dissention in the Confederate government, anti-war protests in New
York, the costly Confederate victory at Chancellorsville, the pivotal
Battle of Gettysburg, the Union victories at Chickamauga and Lookout
Mountain, the organization of field hospitals, the successful Union
campaign at Vicksburg, and the Union occupation of Chattanooga. (12
minutes, 58 seconds.)
• Part 7: The Fall of the
South. Coordinate this video with your curriculum
materials related to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, General Sherman’s
march to Atlanta, the military standoffs at the Wilderness and
Spotsylvania, the southern stand at Cold Harbor, the siege of
Richmond, the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, the fall of the Confederacy
at Petersburg, and General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. The segment
also presents Lincoln’s second inauguration, his assassination, Andrew
Johnson’s Amnesty Proclamation, the Congressional persecution of
former Confederate states, the establishment of Freedmen’s Bureaus for
former slaves, Republican passage of the first Civil Rights Act
(1866), America’s military assistance to the Juarez regime in Mexico,
the implementation of retaliatory reconstruction acts on southern
states, and the impeachment--but not removal--of Andrew Johnson. (18
minutes, 30 seconds.)
• Part 8: Reconstruction and
Corruption. Coordinate this video with your curriculum
materials covering the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad,
Seward’s purchase of Alaska, the election of Ulysses S. Grant, the
arrival of “Carpetbaggers” in the former confederacy, the “Black
Friday” economic crisis in 1869, the Tweed Ring scandal, the financial
panic of 1873, the Whiskey Ring Fraud, the disputed presidential
election of 1876, and the end of Reconstruction. (12 minutes, 43
seconds.) END OF THE FIRST SEMESTER SERIES.