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Episodes
- S1 E1 - Religious Toleration in Colonial America?July 12, 201231minLearn the key elements of a broadened approach to the study of history with this fast-moving examination of the origins of religious and racial tolerance in America. Grasp how the assumptions you've long held can differ dramatically from historical reality. #HistoryFree trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E2 - Neither American nor Revolutionary?July 12, 201230minContinue this new approach to understanding history with a look at efforts of the colonists to defend their "rights as Englishmen" and the ironic role played by European tyrannies in helping establish the nation that would forever change the definition of liberty.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E3 - The Constitution Did Not Create a DemocracyJuly 12, 201232minGain a nuanced understanding of what the Founders' "original intent" really was and how so many of the questions they grappled with divided them for their entire lives - ultimately being bequeathed to their successors and persisting even to this day.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E4 - Washington - Failures and Real AccomplishmentsJuly 12, 201228minSet aside the hagiography that helped shape George Washington's image and undertake a balanced examination that measures his military and presidential failings against his numerous successes. See how some of the least known of those successes may have been his most important contributions to American history.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E5 - Confusions about Jefferson and HamiltonJuly 12, 201229minJefferson and Hamilton held sharply differing views on policy and constitutional interpretation. Learn how their conflict - often thought of in terms of our contemporary understanding of liberalism and conservatism - is actually relevant to us in very different ways from those we imagine.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E6 - Andrew Jackson - An Odd Symbol of DemocracyJuly 12, 201231minAndrew Jackson's election ushered in an era marked by much democratic reform. Ironically, as you'll learn, the man who would be seen as the symbol of such reform actually opposed much of it and championed many policies that few today would call democratic.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E7 - The Second Great Awakening - Enduring ImpactsJuly 12, 201229minGrasp how the links between religion and politics that today inspire such powerful positive and negative emotions are nothing new. See how issues born out of the 19th-century's evangelical upheaval - from prison reform to women's suffrage - still engage us today.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E8 - Did Slavery Really Cause the Civil War?July 12, 201230minBy analyzing this question and the different answers posed by generations of historians, you begin to understand "historiography" - the study of the writing of history - and take a key step in your understanding of history itself.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E9 - The Civil War's Actual Turning PointsJuly 12, 201229minDiscover how perceptions of Gettysburg as the Civil War's "turning point" are inaccurate. Here, examine three battles that were arguably more important and gain new insights into what determines - in any war - how meaningful a battle really was.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E10 - The Myth of Laissez-FaireJuly 12, 201229minThe great age of post - Civil War industrialization and the enormous levels of national and personal wealth it generated (for some) have often been attributed to a governmental attitude of "hands-off" toward business. Discover that such an attitude did not exist in the United States and that, in fact, it never had.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E11 - Misconceptions about the Original PopulistsJuly 12, 201231minIs a reference to someone as a "populist" praise or criticism? Does it have any reference to where a person stands on the political spectrum? This lecture analyzes the nation's original populist movement and what links - if any - it has to contemporary namesakes.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E12 - Labor in America - A Strange HistoryJuly 12, 201230minAlthough often seen as a dramatic reversal of historical government support for labor, today's efforts to scale back collective bargaining rights are actually a reassertion of policy with a long precedent. Learn that the pro-union policies of the New Deal represent the real break with the past.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E13 - Myths about American Isolation and EmpireJuly 12, 201228minWas the United States ever as isolationist and opposed to imperialism as is commonly believed? Explore the myth and reality surrounding our historical self-image and learn how America's expansionist history might appear from the perspectives of other nations.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E14 - Early Progressives Were Not LiberalsJuly 12, 201227minMany liberals see the roots of their philosophy in progressivism, but this is misleading. Learn how progressivism also included many ideas - such as eugenics, limits on free speech, and restrictions on immigration - that would have outraged modern liberals.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E15 - Woodrow Wilson and the Rating of PresidentsJuly 12, 201229minHow, exactly, should past presidents be judged? A provocative examination of Woodrow Wilson's presidency - judged a great success by some and a profound failure by others - provides an opportunity to explore the broader issues of presidential ratings in general.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E16 - The Roaring Twenties ReconsideredJuly 12, 201230minWere the 1920s really a return to isolationism and the values of the late 19th century? Uncover a decade far more complex than is generally believed, as you learn how much of the change begun during the progressive era continued - in many ways setting the stage for contemporary America.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E17 - Hoover and the Great Depression RevisitedJuly 12, 201230minHerbert Hoover came to the White House regarded as both a skilled manager and great humanitarian, yet left the presidency perceived as just the opposite. Gain an understanding of how this could happen through a detailed examination of both his forgotten accomplishments and his often misunderstood failures.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E18 - What Did Roosevelt's New Deal Really Do?July 12, 201233minFDR was simultaneously one of the most beloved and most hated of U.S. presidents. Explore what the New Deal attempted and accomplished - as well as its intended and unintended consequences - as you grasp its role in creating the economic and political systems of today's America.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E19 - World War II Misconceptions and MythsJuly 12, 201230minIs our understanding of "the Good War" correct? Grasp how our reliance on a national mythology makes for not only inaccurate history but a misconceived future because of the long-term effects that myths about the war have had on American policy since 1945.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E20 - Was the Cold War Inevitable?July 12, 201233minProfessor Stoler holds that the cold war was not necessarily destined to happen. In this lecture, he leads you in an analysis of why it took place and lasted so long, with examination along the way of several additional myths regarding this long and dangerous Soviet-American conflict.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E21 - The Real Blunders of the Vietnam WarJuly 12, 201231minWhy did America fail in Vietnam? Was it flawed military strategy? Political micromanagement? America's domestic antiwar movement? You not only learn the answer to this fundamental question, but you also gain a more nuanced understanding of why the debate has raged to this day.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E22 - Myths about American WarsJuly 12, 201230minVietnam is far from America's only misunderstood war. This lecture delves into the common myths and misunderstandings shared by many Americans about why the nation's wars have been fought and how the results have been judged.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E23 - Who Matters in American History?July 12, 201230minWho in history do we choose to remember, and why? Take in the extraordinary accomplishments of several Americans - including John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and George C. Marshall - whose achievements and influence may well have exceeded those of many of the great figures more vividly remembered.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E24 - History Did Not Begin with UsJuly 12, 201236minConclude the course with an appreciation that history did not begin with the events of our own lifetime. Explore the antecedents of the civil rights, antiwar, and women's rights movements and the tendency to pronounce any era's major technological advances as the most important in history.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
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