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How The States Got Their Shapes

In How The States Got Their Shapes, Brian Unger hits the road to uncover the history hidden in our map. From the crooked borders in the east to the organized boxes in the west, the shapes of the states are more than simple geography.
IMDb 8.2201110 episodesX-RayTV-14
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Episodes

  1. S1 E1 - A River Runs Through It
    May 2, 2011
    41min
    TV-14
    How has water has literally shaped the States?
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  2. S1 E2 - The Great Plains, Trains, & Automobiles
    May 9, 2011
    43min
    TV-14
    How the States Got Their Shapes
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  3. S1 E3 - Force of Nature
    May 16, 2011
    42min
    TV-14
    How have massive geological events helped create the American map? Long before the Founding Fathers drew the map, mother nature shaped some states.
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  4. S1 E4 - State of Rebellion
    May 23, 2011
    42min
    TV-14
    How did the most rebellious states took shape?
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  5. S1 E5 - Living On The Edge
    June 6, 2011
    42min
    TV-14
    What secrets are hiding in our map? What's behind the "blank spots" like Area 51? What possessed the citizens of Key West to throw down their margaritas and secede from Florida?
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  6. S1 E6 - Use It or Lose It
    June 13, 2011
    41min
    TV-PG
    If you thought our borders were set in stone, you'd be wrong. 
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  7. S1 E7 - Church and States
    June 20, 2011
    41min
    TV-14
    Ever since the Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower, what we believe and how we believe has shaped the American map. Could Utah have been bigger than Texas?
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  8. S1 E8 - A Boom With a View
    June 27, 2011
    41min
    TV-14
    Did money make our map? Through boom and through bust, the sweet smell of profit has drawn and redrawn our states. How did Green Bay help carve our border with Canada?
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  9. S1 E9 - Culture Clash
    July 4, 2011
    41min
    TV-14
    Will rivalries within our states break them into pieces? Cultures compete against each other all over the map. In extreme cases, they can divide states in two.
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  10. S1 E10 - Mouthing Off
    July 11, 2011
    42min
    TV-14
    Why do we have so many different words for the same things--like pop versus soda?
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Details

More info

Content advisory
Violencefoul languagesexual content
Subtitles
None available
Directors
David Konschnik
Producers
Abby GreensfelderAnn CarrollDavid McKillopPaul CabanaSean GallagherLaura Casey
Cast
Brian UngerMark Stein
Studio
A+E Networks
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