Turning Points in American History

These 48 lectures are your chance to relive the most groundbreaking moments in the fascinating story of the United States. They offer you a different perspective on the sweeping narrative of U.S. history. Spanning the arrival of the first English colonists to the chaos of the Civil War to the birth of the computer age and beyond, this lecture series is a captivating and comprehensive tour of those particular moments in the story of America, after which the nation would never be the same again. Taking a chronological approach, Professor O'Donnell gives you new ways to understand American history and to appreciate it as a grand narrative pinpointed with key moments that changed things forever. Each lecture focuses on a single turning point, explaining the conditions that led up to it, immersing you in the experience of the event itself, and exploring its immediate and long-term ramifications. Among the great turning points you'll investigate in depth are the trial of John Peter Zenger (1735), which popularized the ideas that freedom of the press is essential to liberty; the battle of Antietam (1862), which eliminated the possibility of England and France intervening on behalf of the Confederacy; and the Watergate scandal (1974), which signaled a heightened level of public distrust toward elected officials. Along the way, Professor O'Donnell often dispels some intriguing myths and half-truths about American history and provides an honest, unabashed look at the subject matter. These lectures are packed with unfamiliar anecdotes, stories, and side notes that just may change your views on the grand narrative of American history.

All Lectures:
1. 1617 The Great Epidemic
2. 1619 Land of the Free? Slavery Begins
3. 1636 Freedom of Worship-Roger Williams
4. 1654 Yearning to Breathe Free-Immigration
5. 1676 Near Disaster-King Philip's War
6. 1735 Freedom of the Press-The Zenger Trial
7. 1773 Liberty! The Boston Tea Party
8. 1776 We're Outta Here-Declaring Independence
9. 1777 Game Changer-The Battle of Saratoga
10. 1786 Toward a Constitution-Shays's Rebellion
11. 1789 Samuel Slater-The Industrial Revolution
12. 1800 Peaceful Transfer-The Election of 1800
13. 1803 Supreme Authority-Marbury v. Madison
14. 1807 On the Move-Transportation Revolution
15. 1816 One Man, One Vote-Expanding Suffrage
16. 1821 Reborn-The Second Great Awakening
17. 1831 The Righteous Crusade-Abolition
18. 1844 What's New? The Communication Revolution
19. 1845 The Ultimate American Game-Baseball
20. 1846 Land and Gold-The Mexican War
21. 1862 Go West, Young Man! The Homestead Act
22. 1862 Terrible Reality-The Battle of Antietam
23. 1868 Equal Protection-The 14th Amendment
24. 1872 Open Spaces-The National Parks
25. 1873 Bloody Sunday-Ending Reconstruction
26. 1876 How the West Was Won and Lost-Custer
27. 1886 The First Red Scare-Haymarket
28. 1898 The End of Isolation-War with Spain
29. 1900 The Promised Land-The Great Migration
30. 1901 That Damned Cowboy! Theodore Roosevelt
31. 1903 The Second Transportation Revolution
32. 1909 The Scourge of the South-Hookworm
33. 1917 Votes for Women! The 19th Amendment
34. 1919 Strikes and Bombs-The Year of Upheaval