In which 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 America 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.

Chapters:
Introduction
The 2008 Financial Crash
The Housing Bubble
The Stock Market Crash
Rising Unemployment
Big Bank Bailouts
The End of the Bush Years
Barack Obama
Mystery Document
Obama's Campaign Promises
Economic Recovery
The Affordable Care Act/"Obamacare"
Backlash Against Obama & The Tea Party
Obama's Second Term
Ideological Questions
Credits

In which 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.

Chapters:
Introduction: Progressive Presidents
Nationalization
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt
Square Deal
National Parks
William Howard Taft
The 16th and 18th Amendments
The Election of 1912
New Freedom vs New Nationalism
The Bull Moose Party
Woodrow Wilson's Election
Mystery Document
Woodrow Wilson's Policies
Progressivism & International Affairs
The Panama Canal
The Roosevelt Corollary
Taft's Dollar Diplomacy
Wilson's Foreign Policy
Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson's Legacies
Credits

In which John Green teaches you about some of the colonies that were not in Virginia or Massachusetts. Old New York was once New Amsterdam. Why they changed it, I can say; ENGLISH people just liked it better that way, and when the English took New Amsterdam in 1643, that's just what they did. Before the English got there though, the colony was full of Dutch people who treated women pretty fairly and allowed free Black people to hold jobs. John also discusses Penn's Woods, also known as Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was (briefly) a haven of religious freedom, and William Penn dealt relatively fairly with the natives his colony displaced. Of course, as soon as Penn died, the colonist started abusing the natives immediately. We venture as far south as the Carolina colonies, where the slave labor economy was taking shape. John also takes on the idea of the classless society in America, and the beginning of the idea of the American dream. It turns out that in spite of the lofty dream that everyone had an equal shot in the new world, there were elites in the colonies. And these elites tended to be in charge. And then their kids tended to take over when they died. So yeah, not quite an egalitarian paradise. In addition to all this, we get into the Salem Witch Trials, the treatment of women in the colonies, and colonial economics. Oh yeah, one more thing, before you comment about how he says we're talking about the American Revolution next week, but the end screen says Seven Years War, consider that perhaps the Seven Years War laid the groundwork for the revolution to happen.

Chapters:
Introduction
New Amsterdam Becomes New York
Pennsylvania and the Quakers
South Carolina
Mystery Document
Bacon's Rebellion
The Dominion of New England and The Tolerance Act
The Salem Witch Trials
Colonial American Economics
Colonial American Society
Women's Roles in Colonial America
Credits

In which 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.

Chapters
Introduction: The Reagan Era
Reagan's Election in 1980
Reagan's Supporter Base
Reagan's Vision of "Freedom"
Lowered Tax Rates
Mystery Document
Supply-Side/Trickle-Down Economics
Government Spending in the Reagan Era
1980s Wall Street
Growing Economic Inequality
Reagan's Moderate Policies
Reagan & the End of the Cold War
The Iran Contra Affair
Credits

In which 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 the 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.

Chapters:
Introduction: The Rise of Conservativism
Anti "Big Government" Beliefs
The Election of 1964
Why the South Abandoned the Democratic Party
The Election of 1968
Nixon and the "Silent Majority"
Nixon's Domestic Agenda
Warren Burger
Roe vs. Wade
The Decline of Traditional Family Values
Opponents of the Equal Rights Amendment
Nixon and the Watergate Scandal
Mystery Document
Why Conservativism Gained Traction
Credits

In which 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.

Chapters:
Introduction: The 1920s
The Roaring 20's
Laissez-Faire Capitalism
Warren G. Harding's Corrupt Administration
Automobiles & Manufacturing
Leisure & Pop Culture
The Birth of the American Film Industry
Consumer Debt and the "American Standard of Living"
Contemporary Celebrity Culture
Mystery Document
Flappers & Women's Liberation
Wealth Disparities in the 1920s
The Supreme Court's Juris Prudence of Civil Liberties
Hyper-Patriotism and White Supremacy
Immigration Restriction Laws
The Scopes Trial & Teaching Evolution
The Legacy of the 1920s
Credits

In which John Green teaches you about America's "peculiar institution," slavery. I wouldn't really call it peculiar. I'd lean more toward a horrifying and depressing institution, but nobody asked me. John will talk about what life was like for an enslaved person in the 19th century United States, and how enslaved people resisted oppression, to the degree that was possible. We'll hear about cotton plantations, the violent punishment of enslaved people, the day-to-day lives of enslaved people, and slave rebellions. Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, and Whipped Peter all make an appearance. Slavery as an institution is arguably the darkest part of America's history, and we're still dealing with its aftermath 150 years after it ended.

Chapters:
Introduction: Slavery in Early America
North & South economic ties
Slave-based agriculture in the South
Popular attitudes concerning slavery
Lives & experiences of enslaved people
Family, love, & religion of enslaved people
Mystery Document
How people resisted & escaped slavery
Slave rebellions
Nat Turner's Rebellion
How enslaved people resisted their oppression & why it matters
Credits

In which John Green teaches you about the roots of the American Revolution. The Revolution did not start on July 4, 1776. The Revolutionary War didn't start on July 4 either. (as you remember, I'm sure, the Revolution and the Revolutionary War are not the same thing) The shooting started on April 19, 1775, at Lexington and/or Concord, MA. Or the shooting started with the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. At least we can pin down the Declaration of Independence to July 4, 1776. Except that most of the signers didn't sign until August 2. The point is that the beginning of the Revolution is very complex and hard to pin down. John will lead you through the bramble of taxes, royal decrees, acts of parliament, colonial responses, and various congresses. We'll start with the end of the Seven Years' War, and the bill that the British ran up fighting the war. This led to taxes on colonial trade, which led to colonists demanding representation, which led to revolution. It all seems very complicated, but Crash Course will get you through it in about 12 minutes.

Chapters:
Introduction: The American Revolution
The End of the Seven Years War
Taxation in the American Colonies
The Stamp Act
The Townshend Acts
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Tea Party
The Intolerable Acts
The First Continental Congress
American Revolution =/= American War for Independence
Early Battles of the American Revolutionary War
Mystery Document
Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Credits

In which John Green teaches you about the tumultuous 2000s in the United States of America, mainly the 2000s 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 and 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 affecting the United States and the world today, so listen up!

Chapters:
Introduction: The 21st Century
Bush v. Gore
Bush's First 100 Days
Education Reform & "No Child Left Behind"
Bush's Tax Cuts
Mystery Document
September 11, 2001
The Bush Doctrine
Afghanistan & The Taliban
Global War on Terror
Iraq, Al Qaeda, and Sadam Hussein
The USA PATRIOT Act
The Bush Administration's Stance on Torture
Bush's Reelection
Economics & Jobs Under Bush
Controversies of the Bush Administration
Hurricane Katrina
The End of Bush's Second Term
The Significance of the Bush Era
Credits

In which John Green teaches you about founding father and third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson is a somewhat controversial figure in American history, largely because he, like pretty much all humans, was a big bundle of contradictions. Jefferson was a slave-owner who couldn't decide if he liked slavery. He advocated for small government but expanded federal power more than either of his presidential predecessor. He also idealized the independent farmer and demonized manufacturing, but put policies in place that would expand industrial production in the US. Controversy may ensue as we try to deviate a bit from the standard hagiography/slander story that is usually told about old TJ. John explores Jefferson's election, his policies, and some of the new nation's (literally and figuratively) formative events that took place during Jefferson's presidency. In addition to all this, Napoleon drops in to sell Louisiana, John Marshall sets the course of the Supreme Court, and John Adams gets called a tiny tyrant.

Chapters:
Introduction: Thomas Jefferson
The Election of 1800
Jefferson's Attitudes Towards Slavery
Gabriel's Rebellion and Other Slave Uprisings
Mystery Document
Jefferson's America
John Marshall, Judicial Review, and Marbury v. Madison
The Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson's Embargo
Jefferson's Complicated Legacy
Credits

In which John Green teaches you about the Mexican-American War in the late 1840s and the expansion of the United States into the western end of North America. In this episode of Crash Course, US territory finally reaches from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific Ocean. After Oregon was secured from the UK and the southwest was ceded by Mexico, that is. Famous Americans abound in this episode, including James K Polk (Young Hickory, Napoleon of the Stump), Martin Van Buren, Zachary Taylor, and Winfield Scott. You'll also learn about the California Gold Rush of 1848, and California's admission as a state, which necessitated the Compromise of 1850. Once more slavery is a crucial issue. Something is going to have to be done about slavery, I think. Maybe it will come to a head next week.

Chapters:
Introduction: Texas & California
Manifest Destiny
The Oregon Trail
Western Settlements
How Texas Became a State
Polk's Wars for Expansion
Critics of the Mexican-American War
The End of the Mexican-American War
The Know-Nothings
The California Gold Rush
Mystery Document
California & the Free Soil Party
California Statehood and the Compromise of 1850
The Problem with Manifest Destiny
Credits

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.

Chapters:
Introduction: The Wild, Wild West
The Western Frontier
Who Settled in the West?
Railroads Facilitated Westward Expansion
Forced Removal of Native Americans
Indigenous Resistance & The Ghost Dance Movement
The Dawes Act
Mystery Document
American Indian Boarding Schools
Cowboys
Ranches Became Family-Run Farms
Irrigation Projects in the Great Plains
The Legacy of the Westward Expansion Era
Credits

In which John Green teaches you about the (English) colonies in what is now the United States. He covers the first permanent English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the various theocracies in Massachusetts, the feudal kingdom in Maryland, and even a bit about the spooky lost colony at Roanoke Island. What were the English doing in America, anyway? Lots of stuff. In Virginia, the colonists were largely there to make money. In Maryland, the idea was to create a colony for Catholics who wanted to be serfs of the Lords Baltimore. In Massachusetts, the Pilgrims and Puritans came to America to find a place where they could freely persecute those who didn't share their beliefs. But there was a healthy profit motive in Massachusetts as well. Profits were thin at first, and so were the colonists. Trouble growing food and trouble with the Natives kept the early colonies from success. Before long though, the colonists started cultivating tobacco, which was a win for everyone involved if you ignore the lung cancer angle. So kick back, light up a smoke, and learn how America became profitable. DON'T SMOKE, THOUGH! THAT WAS A JOKE!

Chapters:
Introduction
Jamestown, Virginia: The First Successful English Colony
The Headright System, Indentured Servants, and Slavery in Jamestown
Tobacco Plantations in the Virginia Colony
Class Structure in the Virginia Colony
The Maryland Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony
Pilgrims, the Mayflower, and the First Thanksgiving
Governance in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Mystery Document
"City on a Hill"
Equality and Representation in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Credits

In which John Green teaches you where American politicians come from. In the beginning, soon after the US constitution was adopted, politics were pretty non-existent. George Washington was elected president with no opposition, everything was new and exciting, and everyone just got along. For several months. Then the contentious debate about the nature of the United States began, and it continues to this day. Washington and his lackey/handler Alexander Hamilton pursued an elitist program of federalism. They attempted to strengthen the central government, create a strong nation-state, and leave less of the governance to the states, They wanted to create debt, encourage manufacturing, and really modernize the new nation/ The opposition, creatively known as the anti-federalists, wanted to build some kind of agrarian pseudo-paradise where every (white) man could have his own farm, and live a free, self-reliant life. The founding father who epitomized this view was Thomas Jefferson. By the time Adams became president, the anti-federalists had gotten the memo about how alienating a name like anti-federalist can be. It's so much more appealing to voters if your party is for something rather than being defined by what you're against, you know? In any case, Jefferson and his acolytes changed their name to the Democratic-Republican Party, which covered a lot of bases, and proceeded to protest nearly everything Adams did. Lest you think this week is all boring politics, you'll be thrilled to hear this episode has a Whiskey Rebellion, a Quasi-War, anti-French sentiment, some controversial treaties, and something called the XYZ Affair, which sounds very exciting. Learn all about it this week with John Green.

Chapters:
Introduction
Alexander Hamilton's Vision for America
Thomas Jefferson's Vision for America
Democratic-Republicans vs. Federalists
George Washington and the First U.S. Presidential Election
Hamilton's Five-Point Plan
Republican Opposition to Hamilton's Economic Plan
The Whiskey Rebellion
Early U.S. Foreign Affairs
The End of Washington's Presidency
Mystery Document
John Adams' Presidency
The Alien and Sedition Acts
Credits

In which John Green teaches you about the American Revolution. And the Revolutionary War. I know we've labored the point here, but they weren't the same thing. In any case, John will teach you about the major battles of the war, and discuss the strategies on both sides. Everyone is familiar with how this war played out for the Founding Fathers; they got to become the Founding Fathers. But what did the revolution mean to the common people in the United States? For white, property-owning males, it was pretty sweet. They gained rights that were a definite step up from being British Colonial citizens. For everyone else, the short-term gains were not clear. Women's rights were unaffected, and slaves remained in slavery. As for poor white folks, they remained poor and disenfranchised. The reality is it took a long time for this whole democracy thing to get underway, and the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness weren't immediately available to all these newly minted Americans.

Chapters:
Introduction: The American Revolution
The Battles of the American War for Independence
Colonists and the American Revolutionary War
Slaves and the American Revolutionary War
Native Americans and the American Revolutionary War
Women and the American Revolutionary War
'Revolutionary' Ideas: Voting Rights
'Revolutionary' Ideas: Religious Freedom
How the American Revolution Affected the Economy
Mystery Document
Slavery and Hypocrisy in the American Colonies
American Ideals of Equality
Credits

In which John Green finally gets around to talking about some women's history. In the 19th Century, the United States was changing rapidly, as we noted in the recent Market Revolution and Reform Movements episodes. Things were also in a state of flux for women. The reform movements, which were in large part driven by women, gave these self-same women the idea that they could work on their own behalf, and radically improve the state of their own lives. So, while these women were working on prison reform, education reform, and abolition, they also started talking about equal rights, universal suffrage, temperance, and fair pay. Women like Susan B. Anthony, Carry Nation, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the Grimkés, and Lucretia Mott strove tirelessly to improve the lot of American women, and it worked, eventually. John will teach you about the Christian Temperance Union, the Seneca Falls Convention, the Declaration of Sentiments, and a whole bunch of other stuff that made life better for women.

Chapters:
Introduction: How Women Transformed Pre-Civil War America
Women's Experience During Colonial America
Women's Participation in the Political Process
Women's Participation in the Market Revolution
Mystery Document
Women's Opportunities for Work
Women's Participation in Reform Movements
Women's Suffrage
Women in the Abolitionist Movement
Opposition to Women's Rights
The Suffragettes
The Patriarchy
Women's Participation in Reform Movements
Credits

In which 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.

Chapters:
Introduction: Women in the Progressive Era
The Women's Era
The Women's Christian Temperance Union
The Role of Women in Politics During the Progressive Era
National Consumers League
Women Working Outside the Home
Mystery Document
Birth Control
Why Access to Birth Control Matters
Jane Addams & The Settlement House Movement
Women and Electoral Politics
The 19th Amendment
The Suffrage Movement
The National Women's Party
The Equal Rights Amendment
The Legacy of the Suffragettes
Credits