What were the causes and effects of the Mexican-American War? In this video, Kim discusses how Manifest Destiny and the annexation of Texas brought on the war, as well as how the war affected US politics and the existing residents of the Mexican Cession.

The Middle colonies consisted of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware. Located in the middle of the Atlantic seaboard, their economies combined the industry of the North with the agriculture of the South. They were unusual, however, for their degree of religious toleration and their wide range of ethnic diversity.

A deep dive into Miranda v. Arizona, a Supreme Court case decided in 1966. This case established the "Miranda rule," which requires police to inform suspects in police custody of their rights. In this video, Kim discusses the case with scholars Paul Cassell and Jeffrey Rosen.

In the late nineteenth century, sociologists misused Darwin's theory of evolution to justify racism. KA's historian Kim and biologist Emily discuss how evolution really works and how sociologists in the Gilded Age misunderstood its application to human society.

Does "survival of the fittest" apply to human culture? Kim and Emily continue their discussion of the theory of evolution and how Gilded Age sociologists mistakenly applied it to race and class.

Comparing different models of what it means to be a good citizen. Created by Kimberly Kutz.

In 1820, James Monroe articulated the US foreign policy goal of ending European colonization in the Americas.

In the late 1500s and early 1600s, the United Kingdom cast its gaze westward and joined the quest for American colonies. In this video, Kim discusses the motivations for English colonization, including competition with Catholic nations for riches and souls, and the development of 'joint-stock' companies.

What was life like in North America before Europeans arrived? In this video, Kim explores how different environmental factors in North America shaped a variety of Native American societies.

In the late 1400s, several developments in Europe paved the way for European exploration in the Americas. In this video, Kim discusses how Portugal led the charge with new navigation technology, and how the unification of Spain set the stage for Columbus's voyage in 1492.

Federal troops left the South after the Compromise of 1877, ending Reconstruction. The Supreme Court ruled that segregation did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment in the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896.

In the period after the Civil War in the American South, when Southern society reorganized to account for the end of slavery. In this video, Kim discusses how many Southern governments passed laws preventing African Americans from voting, among other things, which prompted Congress to pass the Fourteenth Amendment.

During Reconstruction, federal troops attempted to enforce the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments in the South.

The Cold War was a period of increased tensions and competition for global influence between the United States that lasted from approximately 1945 until 1991. Tensions increased in the aftermath of World War II when the United States dropped the atom bomb and Russian forces took over Eastern Europe. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union never directly attacked one another, but instead fought proxy wars in order to repel or spread communism, respectively.

Timothy O’Sullivan, A Harvest of Death, 1863, albumen print, 17.2 × 22.5 cm, illustration in Alexander Gardner’s Photographic Sketchbook of the War, 1866 (Library of Congress) A conversation between Dr. Kimberly Kutz Elliott and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Steven Zucker, Smarthistory, and Kimberly Kutz.

Plessy v. Ferguson was an 1896 Supreme Court case concerning whether "separate but equal" railway cars for black and white Americans violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In this video, Kim discusses the case with scholars Jamal Greene and Earl Maltz.

Although the New England colonies differed from the Chesapeake colonies in their economies and environments, both regions shared forms of government that were unusually democratic for the time period, as well as a policy of excluding Native Americans from their societies.