
S1:E44 1969 Disaster - The Birth of Environmentalism
A disastrous oil spill in Santa Barbara; a dramatic fire on Ohio's Cuyahoga River in 1969; the modern environmental movement in America; the subsequent wave of legislation; a cleaner environment; improved public efforts to curb pollution nationwide.

The North American continent is never the same after the Great Epidemic of 1617; it wipes out nearly 90 percent of Native Americans and allows British colonization to proceed virtually unchallenged; the defining characteristics of a turning point.
S1:E1 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
How and why does a democratic America become a slaveholding society; exploring this paradox from its origins in 1619; slaves arrive at Jamestown; the influence of Bacon's Rebellion in 1676; the expansion of slavery throughout the South in the 1800s.
S1:E2 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
Roger Williams's efforts to establish freedom of religion, a somewhat forgotten story from early colonial America; religious life in the early Massachusetts settlements; Williams's controversial ideas; his influence on religious freedom in America.
S1:E3 • Jun 17, 2011 • 32m
A symbolic expression of the idea that all are welcome in America takes place in 1654; the Dutch West India Company allows Jews from Brazil to settle in New Amsterdam; a gateway to understanding immigration as a central theme in American history.
S1:E4 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
In terms of per capita civilian losses, King Philip's War (1675 - 1676) is one of the deadliest; this war is critical in shattering the relationship between colonists and Native Americans; uniting the British colonies in a shared American identity.
S1:E5 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
The idea of a free press becomes a central principle of American democracy; the 1735 arrest and trial of New York printer John Peter Zenger; it radically changes the political culture of the colonies; shaping the language of the Bill of Rights.
S1:E6 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
Leaping forward in time to the 1770s; the turning points in the American Revolution; in the first of these lectures, Professor O'Donnell makes the powerful case that the Boston Tea Party of 1773 is the real spark that ignites the American Revolution.
S1:E7 • Jun 17, 2011 • 29m
The creation of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 is an important turning point in American history; why the colonies decide to separate from Great Britain; the Declaration evolves from little significance into a central American document.
S1:E8 • Jun 17, 2011 • 33m
The historic 1777 Battle of Saratoga between the American colonists and the British; a turning point in the American Revolution; it persuades France to join the colonial cause; it convinces the colonists that they can defeat the British Empire.
S1:E9 • Jun 17, 2011 • 33m
Knowing who is Daniel Shays; what political and economic dilemmas lead to this famous farmer's rebellion of 1786; this event paves the way for a reconsideration of the Articles of Confederation; the creation of the U. S. Constitution.
S1:E10 • Jun 17, 2011 • 32m
Remembering Samuel Slater as an important figure in U. S. history; his introduction of the cotton mill technology in 1789 unleashes the Industrial Revolution; this turning point; the many ways it reshapes virtually every aspect of American society.
S1:E11 • Jun 17, 2011 • 32m
A murky presidential election in U.S. history; the election of 1800; a struggle between Republicans and Federalists; a tie vote between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr; the first peaceful transfer of power between political rivals in modern history.
S1:E12 • Jun 17, 2011 • 29m
Marbury v Madison establishes the principle of judicial review; a landmark case in constitutional history; the dispute that leads to this case; the Supreme Court's role; how John Marshall crafts his decision; this principle influences the nation.
S1:E13 • Jun 17, 2011 • 28m
Robert Fulton's steamboat trip up the Hudson River in 1807; a revolution in American transportation; three innovations in transportation; steamboats, canals and railroads; helping Americans overcome obstacles; changes in politics and society.
S1:E14 • Jun 17, 2011 • 33m
Early 19th-century Americans expand the definition of democracy by dropping most restrictions on voting for white men; this turning point leads to major changes; the rise of mass politics; the use of ballots; the potential for political corruption.
S1:E15 • Jun 17, 2011 • 29m
The Second Great Awakening; the powerful evangelical revival movement started in 1821 by the preacher Charles Grandison Finney; the democratization of religion; the rise of social reform movements (specifically, the temperance movement).
S1:E16 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
William Lloyd Garrison's entry into abolitionism; Nat Turner's violent slave rebellion; 1831 a pivotal year in the conflict over slavery; the abolitionist crusade makes slavery the key question in American politics from the 1830s until the Civil War.
S1:E17 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
The communication revolution; how widespread literacy and an expansive post office network aid advances in communication; three key technological breakthroughs at the heart of the revolution; its effects on politics, economics and society.
S1:E18 • Jun 17, 2011 • 32m
The year 1845; the birth of the quintessential American sport, baseball; its origins; how it evolves from a gentlemen's sport into a professional enterprise; what makes it the nation's ultimate game; how it both reflects and shapes American culture.
S1:E19 • Jun 17, 2011 • 32m
The underlying roots of the Mexican-American War; controversy surrounding newly acquired territories; how the discovery of gold in 1848 forces Congress to confront once again the contentious issue of slavery; answers these and questions.
S1:E20 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
O'Donnell dispels myths about one of the federal government's most extraordinary programs; the Homestead Act of 1862; sparking the largest wave of migration in U. S. history; the birth of the American West as a central aspect of America's identity.
S1:E21 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
The Battle of Antietam in 1862; this Union victory underscores the need for capable military leadership; allowing Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, diminished chances of foreign support for the Confederacy; the arrival of modern war.
S1:E22 • Jun 17, 2011 • 29m
Many legal scholars argue that the 14th Amendment, which promises equal protection under the laws, is the most important addition to the Constitution after the Bill of Rights; how this amendment is ratified in 1868; its turbulent history.
S1:E23 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
In the 1870s, amid the wave of American industrialization, a movement to preserve large sections of wilderness as national parks; the political struggle to protect the nation's natural wonders in places such as Yosemite Valley and Yellowstone.
S1:E24 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
The complexities of Reconstruction; the period's bloodiest incident, the Colfax Massacre of 1873; this period is the turning point of the counter-revolutionary period of Reconstruction; how it paves the way for the rise of the Jim Crow South.
S1:E25 • Jun 17, 2011 • 29m
The 1876's Battle of Little Big Horn, one of the most devastating defeats; despite a Sioux and Cheyenne warrior victory, it marks the beginning of the end of Native American military resistance and much of the traditional Native American way of life.
S1:E26 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
The 1886 Haymarket bombing of a Chicago workers' rally; the state of Gilded Age America in the 1880s; how the American labor movement emerges; the events of this attack; the event's impact on the rapidly industrializing nation and its politics.
S1:E27 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
American isolationist foreign policy ends with the Spanish-American War; this event is spurred by lurid journalism and political pressure; it changes a nation committed to isolationism into an imperial power; a more aggressive role in world affairs.
S1:E28 • Jun 17, 2011 • 28m
Around 7 million African Americans move into northern cities; a flourishing of African American culture that brings the Harlem Renaissance; activist organizations fighting for civil rights; the effects of the Great Migration of the early 1900s.
S1:E29 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
The presidency of Theodore Roosevelt leaves a powerful mark on the office; more importantly, bringing the ideals of the emerging Progressive movement to the national stage; among the ones to explore ar trust busting, labor rights and conservation.
S1:E30 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
Automobiles and airplanes usher in a new era in American transport; the context of the year 1903, when the Ford Motor Company makes automobiles affordable and accessible; the Wright brothers and their successful flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
S1:E31 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
The hookworm parasite causes a debilitating disease that affects millions of Americans; it is destroyed through the efforts of the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission and other public health initiatives; helping transform life in the American South.
S1:E32 • Jun 17, 2011 • 32m
After decades of struggle, a group of radical women decide to picket the White House to claim the right to vote; many protests later, American women finally win the right to vote; the origins of the suffrage movement; its impact on American politics.
S1:E33 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
Why 1919 is a chaotic year in American history; investigating three events that lead to the Red Scare; a series of massive labor strikes; growing fears about the international spread of Russian Communism; a surge of anarchist bombings and race riots.
S1:E34 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
During his first 100 days, President Franklin Roosevelt sets out on a massive project of legislative activity and policymaking to save the nation from the worst ravages of the Great Depression; the role of government in the American economy.
S1:E35 • Jun 17, 2011 • 29m
The origins of the atomic bomb go back to 1939, when scientists and military leaders undertake an operation to create the world's first successful atomic weapon before the Nazis; how the Manhattan Project begins; the bombing of two Japanese cities.
S1:E36 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
The most critical battle in World War II; The Battle of the Bulge; D-Day; O'Donnell makes the case for the Battle of Midway; it ends major Japanese offensive operations in the Pacific; allowing America to focus on defeating Nazi Germany.
S1:E37 • Jun 17, 2011 • 29m
An overlooked turning point in American history, post-World War II; suburbanization; the origins of the idea; early versions of suburbanization; the initiatives that lead to the extraordinary housing boom; the Henry Ford of middle-class housing.
S1:E38 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
The year 1948 signals the dawn of the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union; spurring a dramatic militarization of the United States; a culture of fear over Communist spies and nuclear war; the nation's pledge to internationalism.
S1:E39 • Jun 17, 2011 • 34m
Television is thought to be just a fad; by the 1950s, it explodes into a pervasive cultural force; the power to help politicians win elections, support national sports franchises; bring war into people's living rooms; shared national experiences.
S1:E40 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
The historical significance of the birth control pill in American society; the central role played by women in its development and subsequent FDA approval in 1960; the heated public debate that emerges over the ethics and morality of the pill.
S1:E41 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
The year 1963 is critical in the civil rights movement; the status of African Americans in the early 1950s; the early stages of this struggle; the protests that rock Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963; the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
S1:E42 • Jun 17, 2011 • 27m
Why America gets involved in the affairs of Vietnam and eventually commits to military escalation in the mid-1960s; after a huge buildup, the United States suddenly pulls out; the 1968 Tet Offensive is the turning point of this controversial war.
S1:E43 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
A disastrous oil spill in Santa Barbara; a dramatic fire on Ohio's Cuyahoga River in 1969; the modern environmental movement in America; the subsequent wave of legislation; a cleaner environment; improved public efforts to curb pollution nationwide.
S1:E44 • Jun 17, 2011 • 32m
The Watergate scandal of 1974 is one of the most notorious examples of political corruption; paranoia, political intrigue and investigative reporting from this event; it forever shakes the confidence of the American people in their political leaders.
S1:E45 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
The world's first personal computers revolutionize America's social, political and cultural landscape; the three stages of this turning point; the hobbyist phase, the mass production phase and the user-friendly phase; these machines in 21st century.
S1:E46 • Jun 17, 2011 • 31m
Going back to Nov. 9, 1989, when the whole world watches as the Berlin Wall falls; bringing the cold war and later the Soviet Union itself, to an end; this epic moment changes the landscape of Europe; ripple effects on American life and politics.
S1:E47 • Jun 17, 2011 • 30m
The terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the dawn of the age of terror; the implications of this recent turning point may not be clear for years to come; Professor O'Donnell helps put this traumatic event in a larger national and even international context.
S1:E48 • Jun 17, 2011 • 33m