48
Lectures
30
minutes/lecture
1.
Prelude to War
This introductory lecture explains the sectional controversies and clashes that set the stage for secession and war.
1.
Prelude to War
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25.
Grant at Chattanooga
With all eyes on Chattanooga, both armies experienced command problems. Grant, named overall Union commander in the West in mid-October, took charge personally. Bragg meanwhile conducted an increasingly ineffective siege.
25.
Grant at Chattanooga
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2.
The Election of 1860
The presidential canvass of 1860 was the most important in U.S. history. It resulted in Abraham Lincoln's election as the first Republican to occupy the White House and brought sectional tensions to a head.
2.
The Election of 1860
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26.
The Diplomatic Front
Both Lincoln and Davis cast anxious eyes toward Europe, thinking of the decisive French aid to the colonies during the American Revolution. Why, despite several flare-ups with England and France, did the Lincoln administration finally prevail in the diplomatic arena?
26.
The Diplomatic Front
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3.
The Lower South Secedes
Beginning with South Carolina in December 1860, all of the Lower South states seceded by the first week of February 1861. They sent delegates to a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, that established the Confederate States of America.
3.
The Lower South Secedes
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27.
African Americans in Wartime, I
During the conflict, thousands of slaves made their way to Union lines. Approximately 500,000, roughly one-seventh of all enslaved black people in the CSA, passed from Confederate to Union control. Their plight was often hard and uncertain. Nearly 180,000 black men, most of them former slaves, wore Union blue. The "U.S. Colored Troops" faced obstacles and injustices, yet their solid service made a strong case for full citizenship.
27.
African Americans in Wartime, I
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4.
The Crisis at Fort Sumter
From February through April 1861, the United States and the Confederacy eyed each other warily and vied for the support of eight slave states that remained in the Union. As various compromise proposals fell short, United States-held Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor came to be a flash point.
4.
The Crisis at Fort Sumter
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28.
African Americans in Wartime, II
In the North, blacks were at the center of a debate over war aims. The 13th Amendment and various other new laws marked progress toward fairer treatment. Slave labor vastly aided Southern mobilization and the CSA's economy. There were no major slave revolts, but black and white Southerners found their social and economic relations changing amid the dislocations of war.
28.
African Americans in Wartime, II
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5.
The Opposing Sides, I
Was the South fated to lose, as many people think? If the Confederate States of America could have won, when did it come closest to doing so? As fighting began, each side had important advantages. We will take a close look at these.
5.
The Opposing Sides, I
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29.
Wartime Reconstruction
Even as war raged, Lincoln and Congress debated what would happen after it was won. In December 1863, Lincoln offered a simple, lenient reconstruction plan. Radical Republicans in Congress objected and offered their own blueprint. The debate was continuing even as an assassin cut short Lincoln's part in it.
29.
Wartime Reconstruction
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6.
The Opposing Sides, II
Did the Confederacy have better generals? Which side had the edge in strategic and political leadership? What were the attitudes of England and France toward the conflict? Which side marshaled its resources and exploited its advantages more effectively?
6.
The Opposing Sides, II
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30.
The Naval War
The U.S. Navy played a major, often overlooked, role in defeating the CSA. Starting the war with just 42 ships, the Navy would have nearly 700 by 1865. Northern naval strategy focused on supporting ground operations along Southern rivers and coasts, and above all, on the blockade. With nothing like the North's industrial base, how did the Confederate Navy perform?
30.
The Naval War
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7.
The Common Soldier
Why did young men join the colors of the North or the South? What made them bear the war's awful dangers and hardships? What was it like to be a soldier in the ranks?
7.
The Common Soldier
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31.
The River War and Confederate Commerce Raiders
The war in the West gave a key role to the U.S. Navy, which built special craft for river duty. Meanwhile, Southern commerce raiders like the C.S.S. Alabama became legendary. How much did they aid the CSA's war effort?
31.
The River War and Confederate Commerce Raiders
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8.
First Manassas or Bull Run
Following the Upper South's secession and the move of the Confederate capital to Richmond, Virginia, both sides geared up for war. Learn the details of General Winfield Scott's brilliant "Anaconda Plan" and the factors that led to the Battle of First Manassas or Bull Run (July 21, 1861), the first big clash of the war.
8.
First Manassas or Bull Run
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32.
Women at War, I
How did Northern women experience the war? Wartime urgencies provided increased opportunities for middle-class women to enter the public sphere as nurses, clerks, or agents of benevolent organizations. The experiences of poor white women and black women—whether as farmwives, widows, or factory workers—are less well understood.
32.
Women at War, I
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9.
Contending for the Border States
The loyalty of slaveholding states Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware was an object of intense competition in the summer and autumn of 1861. What, in the end, kept those states in the Union?
9.
Contending for the Border States
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33.
Women at War, II
The war changed women's lives in ways dramatic and subtle, lasting and temporary. Although anxiety, grief, and hardship were felt on both sides, women in the CSA suffered most directly from the war. To black women, the war brought emancipation and the opportunity to solidify marriage and family ties. The front drew more women than might seem likely.
33.
Women at War, II
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10.
Early Union Triumphs in the West
Most people looked to Virginia to be the critical military arena, but many leaders on both sides believed the war would be decided in the vast area between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River.
10.
Early Union Triumphs in the West
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34.
Stalemate in 1864
Named general-in-chief in March 1864, Grant hoped to apply enough pressure across the board to crush the Confederacy. The most important actions would be led by Sherman in Georgia and Grant himself in Virginia.
34.
Stalemate in 1864
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11.
Shiloh and Corinth
Early 1862 saw breathtaking Union successes in the West. Ulysses S. Grant took Forts Henry and Donelson and moved south up the Tennessee River, while Don Carlos Buell marched from Nashville. Aiming to crush Grant before Buell arrived, A. S. Johnston struck the unwary Federals near Shiloh Church on April 6, 1862.
11.
Shiloh and Corinth
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35.
Sherman versus Johnston in Georgia
Moving south from Chattanooga, Sherman intended to use his large armies to outmaneuver Johnston, who fell back while looking for a chance to counterpunch. By early July, the sparring armies had settled into a siege.
35.
Sherman versus Johnston in Georgia
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12.
The Peninsula Campaign
Nine months of relative quiet following First Manassas ended when George B. McClellan started a slow Union drive up the Virginia Peninsula toward Richmond in April. By the end of May 1862, Union forces menaced Richmond from two directions and Confederate prospects looked bleak.
12.
The Peninsula Campaign
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36.
The Wilderness to Spotsylvania
In many ways the war's pre-eminent confrontation, the Overland Campaign brought together each side's greatest captain in a novel and relentless combat. The prominence of Grant and Lee ensured that their contest would deeply affect civilian morale. The armies would battle fiercely and almost continuously from early May to mid-June.
36.
The Wilderness to Spotsylvania
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13.
The Seven Days' Battles
As Stonewall Jackson marched and fought in the Shenandoah Valley, Joseph E. Johnston attacked McClellan at Seven Pines or Fair Oaks (May 31, 1862). When Johnston was wounded, Robert E. Lee took command. In the Seven Days' Battles (June 25–July 1), he seized the initiative and pressed the Federals south to the James. Lee had saved Richmond and offset Union success in the West.
13.
The Seven Days' Battles
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37.
Cold Harbor to Petersburg
After Spotsylvania (May 8–21), Lee entrenched at Cold Harbor, Virginia. On June 3, Grant launched a futile and costly frontal assault. On June 12, he began one of the most impressive movements of the war, nearly taking Petersburg on June 15. By June 19, however, the opportunity had passed. Grant began a siege.
37.
Cold Harbor to Petersburg
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14.
The Kentucky Campaign of 1862
The Confederacy faced a difficult strategic situation in July 1862. Jefferson Davis and his generals responded by sending armies into Kentucky and Maryland in the most impressive Confederate strategic offensive of the war. Operations in Kentucky between August and October 1862 culminated in a confused battle at Perryville (October 8).
14.
The Kentucky Campaign of 1862
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38.
The Confederate Home Front, I
The war caused the CSA enormous strains, hardships, and dislocations. Eschewing formal party politics, the CSA's founders hoped to return to a Revolutionary-era ideal. But bitter divisions arose, and the political scene often seemed chaotic and a drag on the war effort. Although most Confederates remained committed to beating the Yankees, economic woes made many doubt their ability to continue the war.
38.
The Confederate Home Front, I
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15.
Antietam
After besting John Pope at Second Manassas in late August, Lee marched north into Maryland. Lincoln reluctantly returned command to McClellan, whose pursuit of Lee culminated at Antietam on September 17, the bloodiest day in American history. What happened on that battlefield? What did it mean?
15.
Antietam
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39.
The Confederate Home Front, II
In addition to slaves who fled to Union lines, many Southern whites became refugees as they fled from Union armies. Among those who did not become refugees, increasing hardship and a demanding central government caused distress and anger as the war progressed. Did the resulting internal dissension kill the Confederacy?
39.
The Confederate Home Front, II
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16.
The Background to Emancipation
Despite slavery's role in causing the conflict, for at least the first year it remained in the background. As long as restoring the Union remained the sole war aim, there was remarkable unity among Northerners. But what type of Union were they fighting for?
16.
The Background to Emancipation
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40.
The Northern Home Front, I
Although the war did not bring severe dislocations to the North, it did produce a political sea change. The Republicans became the majority party, but bad war news and the unpopularity of some of their policies led to crises.
40.
The Northern Home Front, I
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17.
Emancipation Completed
Lincoln came to see emancipation as necessary to victory. But he understood that he lacked the authority to end slavery in loyal areas, and his famous proclamation deliberately casts emancipation as a war measure. What did most Northerners think of it?
17.
Emancipation Completed
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41.
The Northern Home Front, II
Unlike the Confederacy, the North was able to produce both guns and butter in abundance. With no Southern presence in Congress, the Republicans started the nation down an economic path it would follow for several decades.
41.
The Northern Home Front, II
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18.
Filling the Ranks
How many men served during the war? How were they recruited? How good were the United States and the CSA at putting their military-age men under arms?
18.
Filling the Ranks
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42.
Prisoners of War
Few aspects of the conflict were as emotionally charged, with both sides hurling charges of negligence and atrocities. More than 400,000 men were captured. Early in the war most were quickly paroled or exchanged. Later, this system broke down, and prisoners suffered.
42.
Prisoners of War
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19.
Sinews of War—Finance and Supply
War spending went on at an unprecedented scale. Both sides sold bonds, levied taxes, and printed paper money. Despite its weak economy, the Con-federacy never lost a battle because its armies ran out of ordnance.
19.
Sinews of War—Finance and Supply
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43.
Mobile Bay and Atlanta
In the summer of 1864, Lincoln needed victories. The first break came in August, at Mobile Bay, Alabama, when Admiral David G. Farragut closed the CSA's last major port on the Gulf. Far more important news soon followed from Atlanta: Sherman had at last taken the city (September 1–2).
43.
Mobile Bay and Atlanta
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20.
The War in the West, Winter 1862–63
While McClellan sat north of the Potomac, Buell slowly followed Bragg's retreat into Tennessee. Lincoln, eager for good war news, named Ambrose E. Burnside to take over the Army of the Potomac and William S. Rosecrans to tackle Bragg. In December, Rosecrans moved, and Grant began his long campaign against Vicksburg.
20.
The War in the West, Winter 1862–63
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44.
Petersburg, the Crater, and the Valley
While events unfolded at Atlanta, Grant and Lee confronted each other along an elaborately entrenched front from Richmond to Petersburg. In mid-June, Lee detached a corps under Jubal Early to operate in the Shenandoah Valley and Maryland. Between September 19 and October 19, Philip H. Sheridan won three victories over Early and laid waste to much of the lower Valley.
44.
Petersburg, the Crater, and the Valley
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21.
The War in Virginia, Winter and Spring 1862–63
In Virginia, the Union army suffered two setbacks along the Rappahannock. Lee threw back Burnside's costly frontal assaults at Fredericksburg on December 13. The talented, ambitious Joseph Hooker soon took command. He planned a brilliant offensive that began well at the end of April 1863, but Lee and Jackson had other plans.
21.
The War in Virginia, Winter and Spring 1862–63
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45.
The Final Campaigns
After Atlanta fell, Hood tried to draw Sherman northward. Sherman followed briefly before deciding to cut loose from his supply lines on his famous March to the Sea, implementing the "strategy of exhaustion" in the Confederate interior.
45.
The Final Campaigns
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22.
Gettysburg
Gettysburg is often described as the turning point of the war. It took place against a background of uncertainty and unrest in the North and was the result of a major strategic debate in the South. Why did Lee go north? Was his strategic thinking sound? What swung the three-day battle's outcome? How did people on either side view Gettysburg?
22.
Gettysburg
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46.
Petersburg to Appomattox
By March 1865, the Federals had restricted Lee's supply lines and forced him to extend his lines. Lee failed to break the siege and headed west. Grant blocked the way at Appomattox, where Lee surrendered his 28,000 starving men on April 9. CSA forces elsewhere quickly surrendered.
46.
Petersburg to Appomattox
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23.
Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and Tullahoma
In mid-April, Grant boldly ordered the Navy to run past Vicksburg's guns, ferried his troops across the south of the city, marched inland to seize Jackson, Mississippi, and then besieged Vicksburg. With skillful marching, Rosecrans pinned Bragg in Chattanooga.
23.
Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and Tullahoma
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47.
Closing Scenes and Reckonings
Lincoln's assassination has given rise to much speculation. What does the best evidence suggest? Lincoln was among the last casualties in a war whose staggering human and material toll can never be known. Taking everything into account, why did the South lose and the North win?
47.
Closing Scenes and Reckonings
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24.
A Season of Uncertainty, Summer and Fall 1863
Although the Union seemed poised for knockout blows both east and west, Meade would not force a full-blown battle, and Grant found himself without a major goal after Vicksburg. Rosecrans ably maneuvered Bragg out of Chattanooga and into north Georgia in early September. Reinforced, Bragg struck back at Chickamauga (September 19–20), the CSA's only major tactical victory in the West.
24.
A Season of Uncertainty, Summer and Fall 1863
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48.
Remembering the War
How did participants remember and interpret the conflict in the decades after Appomattox? How do modern Americans view the people and events of 1861–65? What are the types of understanding at which one can arrive?
48.
Remembering the War
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24
Lectures
30
minutes/lecture
1.
Religious Toleration in Colonial America?
Learn 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.
1.
Religious Toleration in Colonial America?
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13.
Myths about American Isolation and Empire
Was 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.
13.
Myths about American Isolation and Empire
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2.
Neither American nor Revolutionary?
Continue 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.
2.
Neither American nor Revolutionary?
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14.
Early Progressives Were Not Liberals
Many 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.
14.
Early Progressives Were Not Liberals
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3.
The Constitution Did Not Create a Democracy
Gain 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.
3.
The Constitution Did Not Create a Democracy
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15.
Woodrow Wilson and the Rating of Presidents
How, 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.
15.
Woodrow Wilson and the Rating of Presidents
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4.
Washington—Failures and Real Accomplishments
Set 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.
4.
Washington—Failures and Real Accomplishments
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16.
The Roaring Twenties Reconsidered
Were 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.
16.
The Roaring Twenties Reconsidered
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5.
Confusions about Jefferson and Hamilton
Jefferson 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.
5.
Confusions about Jefferson and Hamilton
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17.
Hoover and the Great Depression Revisited
Herbert 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.
17.
Hoover and the Great Depression Revisited
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6.
Andrew Jackson—An Odd Symbol of Democracy
Andrew 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.
6.
Andrew Jackson—An Odd Symbol of Democracy
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18.
What Did Roosevelt’s New Deal Really Do?
FDR 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.
18.
What Did Roosevelt’s New Deal Really Do?
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7.
The Second Great Awakening—Enduring Impacts
Grasp 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.
7.
The Second Great Awakening—Enduring Impacts
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19.
World War II Misconceptions and Myths
Is 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.
19.
World War II Misconceptions and Myths
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8.
Did Slavery Really Cause the Civil War?
By 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.
8.
Did Slavery Really Cause the Civil War?
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20.
Was the Cold War Inevitable?
Professor 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.
20.
Was the Cold War Inevitable?
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9.
The Civil War’s Actual Turning Points
Discover 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.
9.
The Civil War’s Actual Turning Points
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21.
The Real Blunders of the Vietnam War
Why 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.
21.
The Real Blunders of the Vietnam War
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10.
The Myth of Laissez-Faire
The 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.
10.
The Myth of Laissez-Faire
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22.
Myths about American Wars
Vietnam 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.
22.
Myths about American Wars
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11.
Misconceptions about the Original Populists
Is 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.
11.
Misconceptions about the Original Populists
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23.
Who Matters in American History?
Who 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.
23.
Who Matters in American History?
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12.
Labor in America—A Strange History
Although 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.
12.
Labor in America—A Strange History
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24.
History Did Not Begin with Us
Conclude 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
24.
History Did Not Begin with Us
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