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American (U.S.) History

What started out as 13 colonies evolved in just a few centuries into the most powerful nation in the world. The story of the United States of America—the subject of these engaging courses—is, without a doubt, one of the most unforgettable dramas in modern history.

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Save Up To $470	American Civil War Professor Gary W. Gallagher Many TV shows have dealt with the American Civil War, but not one offers the combination of crisp, comprehensive narrative and in-depth analysis that you will find in this course. In 48 masterful lectures, leading Civil War historian Professor Gary W. Gallagher explains both the strategy and battles of the war as well as its effects on all Americans. You'll learn how armies were recruited, equipped, and trained. You'll learn about the hard lot of prisoners. And you'll hear how soldiers on both sides dealt with the rigors of camp life, campaigns, and the terror of combat.
	History of the United States, 2nd Edition Various Professors This sweeping, 84-lecture series features three award-winning professors sharing their insights into this nation's past in their own areas of special interest, from European settlement and the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, 19th-century industrialization, world wars, and today's outlook. You will gain a lucid picture of the factors that enabled the United States to become the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful democratic republic in history.
	America and the New Global Economy Professor Timothy Taylor Join expert economist and award-winning Professor Timothy Taylor as he takes you through the last 50 years of world economic history. In the 36 lectures of America and the New Global Economy, travel beyond the economy of the United States and explore the recent history of economies in countries and regions such as China, India, the Middle East, and Latin America. Study international perspectives on the new global economy, focus on important economic issues ranging from international labor flows to population growth, and develop a deeper understanding of our increasingly interconnected economic world—and America's role within it.
Save Up To $225	United States and the Middle East: 1914 to 9/11 Professor Salim Yaqub This course is a narrative history of U.S. political involvement in the Middle East, designed to provide you with additional perspective and understanding. Such knowledge is helpful to broaden your ability to place today's headlines into greater context, evaluate what may happen next, and understand those oncoming events when they do occur.
Save Up To $310	Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies Professor Robert J. Allison Deepen your appreciation of the formative era before the birth of America with Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies. In 36 lectures, Professor Robert J. Allison tells the epic story of the events that led from the first permanent settlement at Jamestown to the eve of the Revolutionary War. Along the way, you examine in-depth topics such as the Mayflower Compact, the Pennsylvania Quaker colony, and the French and Indian War; encounter individuals including Captain John Smith, Mary Rowlandson, and Olaudah Equiano; and explore new ideas about society, religion, agriculture, and economics that emerged from this tempestuous, eventful, and formative period in our nation's dramatic history.
	American Revolution Professor Allen C. Guelzo Has there ever been a more unlikely war than the American Revolution? Why did those 13 colonies, with nothing resembling a unified and trained army, and with no navy to speak of, believe they could defeat the most powerful nation on the planet? See how issues such as logistics and the human factor can influence strategy, tactics, and the course of battle, and how happenstance can prove more important than even those factors. The American Revolution offers a fresh perspective on this seminal event in United States history, offering the diverging views of two sides whose common heritage had yielded two very different outlooks.
	American Identity Professor Patrick N. Allitt Historian Patrick N. Allitt investigates the national character by introducing you to notable Americans from Thomas Jefferson to Al Capone, whose lives speak eloquently about qualities that make one truly American. While the course is enjoyable simply as a well-told series of biographies, it does much more, helping you gain a deeper understanding of the trends and ideas that shaped America.
	Great American Bestsellers: The Books That Shaped America Professor Peter Conn There's much more to our nation's best-selling books than the enormous sales figures they rake in. They also provide us with unique ways to appreciate and understand American culture. Great American Bestsellers: The Books That Shaped America is a pointed 24-lecture tour of key best-selling works in the history of U.S. literature and what they reveal about the cultural climate of our nation at particular points in its history. Guided by award-winning Professor Peter Conn, you read between the lines of bestsellers including Common Sense, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Grapes of Wrath, and How to Win Friends and Influence People, as well as recent works by the authors who dominate the modern publishing industry.
Save Up To $155	Abraham Lincoln: In His Own Words Professor David Zarefsky Precisely because Lincoln is a national hero and legend, we have lost sight of some of his depth and complexity. His noble words—the Gettysburg Address especially—have become so familiar that we have almost lost the power truly to hear them. By tracing Lincoln’s path to oratorical greatness, these lectures restore a full sense of his true stature.
	American Ideals: Founding a "Republic of Virtue" Professor Daniel N. Robinson Just which "ideals" were affirmed by the Founders? What lessons of history were closely studied by them? American Ideals: Founding a "Republic of Virtue" is an invitation to enter this part of the American debate regarding human nature and the conditions right for its flourishing. In these carefully crafted lectures, Professor Daniel N. Robinson traces the dominant features of the early American ethos that culminated in declared independence and a constitutional form of government unheralded in political history. This is a fascinating opportunity to trace the manner in which the founding documents of the United States evolved.
	America and the World: A Diplomatic History Professor Mark A. Stoler How did the United States evolve from 13 colonies into the most powerful nation the world has ever known? How did this impressive change come about in less than two centuries? The answers to these questions are at the center of America and the World: A Diplomatic History. Award-winning Professor Mark Stoler shows you how the U.S. rose to the heights of geopolitical strength. Using the lens of foreign policy and diplomacy, get a fresh view of America's shift from the periphery of international politics to its very center and add layers of insight to your knowledge of history.
Save Up To $310	American Mind Professor Allen C. Guelzo America's distinct philosophy stems from a powerful body of thought that extends back to the first European settlers and that was enriched by later generations of American thinkers including Jonathan Edwards, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, William James, and Martin Luther King Jr. Explore the immensely stimulating conversation that made the United States what it is today with The American Mind, 36 lectures that provide you with a broad survey of American intellectual history. In this course, delve into the philosophical underpinnings of our nation and trace ideas in politics, religion, education, philosophy, psychology, anthropology, literature, social theory, and science as they helped build the elaborate structure that became modern America. Taught by distinguished historian and award-winning Professor Allen C. Guelzo, this course takes you to the heart of what it means to think like—and be—an American.
	High School Level—Early American History: Native Americans through the Forty-Niners Professor Linwood Thompson Professor Linwood Thompson offers a fast-paced course loaded with insights and information, and all specially designed for high school age students who think that history is just "a bunch of names and dates." Watch and see for yourself why young people discover in Thompson’s courses a path to learning as a lifetime habit.
	Cycles of American Political Thought Professor Joseph F. Kobylka Examine a broad survey of American intellectual history in the dynamic course, The American Mind. Discover aspects of the elaborate structure that became modern America, tracing ideas in politics, religion, education, philosophy, psychology, anthropology, literature, social theory, and science—proving that Americans have a much richer intellectual tradition than generally imagined. Continue your fascinating study with Cycles of American Political Thought, as it traces the full expanse of American history, showing how the definition of what it means to be an American has changed in response to the times.
	Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the American Constitution Professor Thomas L. Pangle Enhance your understanding and appreciation of how our nation was founded in Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the American Constitution. Professor Thomas L. Pangle reveals the viewpoints from both sides of the argument, and in the process provides you with deep insights into the political philosophies of some of our nation's greatest founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Patrick Henry. You'll discover that beneath the rhetorical flourishes of the longest and most profound civic argument in our nation's history lies a civics lesson that deserves to endure for all time.