The American Story: A Narrative History of the United States

Dr. Mitton concludes this series with several questions: Is the United States an Empire? Is it is possible for a republican empire to be benevolent? Finally, how do the decisions of average American consumers both demand and support global empire?

How did the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1967 lay the groundwork for the age of terrorism? Dr. Mitton takes us right up to our own day in this episode.

What political & economic elements led to the Reagan Revolution? Did Ronald Reagan win the Cold War? And how conservative was Reagan really? Dr. Mitton takes us through the recent past.

Taking lessons from Nixon and the concept of the Imperial Presidency, Dr. Mitton asks the question "Are the American people fit for world leadership? And does the world need a leader at all?"

Was the Civil Rights Era in the U.S. a response to the geopolitical forces of the Cold War? Can the LBJ's Great Society be understood in the context of international affairs? And how can we explain the evolution of the American political parties, and their reversal of historical positions in the middle of the Twentieth Century?

This episode begins a thematic approach to 20th century history as Dr. Mitton explores the emergence of the American superpower and the simultaneous development of the social welfare democratic state. -- And why these two themes are mutually reinforcing.

What specific United States policy was Japan responding to when they attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941? How did the Depression lead directly to World War II? And why, after half a century as the largest economy on earth, did the U.S. finally decide to take up the mantle of world leadership in 1941?

Two themes dominate 20th Century world history: The emergence of the United States as a global superpower, and the simultaneous emergence of the modern Social Welfare State. This episode examines the roots of both in the Great Depression. Was the depression inevitable? Was it a result of gross mis-management of the economy, or a natural by-product of laissez-faire capitalism...or both?

The U.S. has officially declared war just five times; yet American troops have been involved in hostile incursions on foreign soil a total of 272 times! In this episode Dr. Mitton begins a discussion of American in the world. Woodrow Wilson understood that, as the largest economy on the planet, United States had responsibilities in the global community. But the horror of World War I disabused most modernists of the ideological notions of a global order based on self-interested nation states. - Join the discussion of the ideas that shaped a generation...and likely led directly to the most destructive conflict in the history of humankind: World War II.

Despite the fact that no mention of political parties can be found in the Constitution, bitter partisan divides have characterized U.S. politics since George Washington's administration. In this episode Dr. Mitton first explores the unique qualities of the American political system that guarantee an acrimonious two-party system. Then he guides us through the issues that divided the country and characterized the first partisan battles of the 1790s. -- Issues and principles which are remarkably similar to those we still fight about today.

Prof. Mitton discusses how Jim Crow laws were actually a progressive policy response to conditions in the South. And we begin a thematic approach to 20th Century American history with a brief outline of how we got from a deeply racist progressive Democrat in the White House (Woodrow Wilson) to a progressive African-American Democrat President just a century later.

Was the American West built by rugged individualism or by massive Federal intervention? Much of today's partisan battles are rooted in the stories both sides tell about the history of this era of American history. But the truth often lies outside either party's interpretation of events. For instance, can you tell the story of how the settlement of the West by Anglo-Americans led to the passage of the 16th Amendment establishing the income tax? What is the connection between the Transcontinental Railroad and the cultural breakthrough of womens' suffrage? Join Dr. Heath Mitton as he explores these and other lasting impacts of the Progressive Era.

Following the Civil War American's attention turned to the "civilizing" and "reclamation" of the arid West. How the trans-continental railroad and the gold rush of 1849 laid the groundwork for the rise of Western political power and set the stage for a century of contradictory anti-Federal political animus in Western states.

Beginning with Emancipation and the Election of 1864 through the end of the Civil War and the period known as Reconstruction. Why did the American North not offer a "Marshall Plan" of sorts for the American South? How did the Secretary of War's decision to barricade himself in his office lead to the impeachment of Andrew Johnson? Dr. Mitton explores the decisions that shaped the end of slavery and war in the U.S.

Professor Heath Mitton takes us to the brink of Civil War with an exploration of American politics in the 1850s. How did the "slave power" of the American South come to the point that they valued the institution of slavery over the benefits of Union? Are there parallels in ideology in contemporary U.S. politics?