What were the causes and effects of the Mexican-American War? In this video, Kim discusses how Manifest Destiny and the annexation of Texas brought on the war, as well as how the war affected US politics and the existing residents of the Mexican Cession.
Material Type: Lesson
The Middle colonies consisted of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware. Located in the middle of the Atlantic seaboard, their economies combined the industry of the North with the agriculture of the South. They were unusual, however, for their degree of religious toleration and their wide range of ethnic diversity.
Material Type: Lesson
In the late nineteenth century, sociologists misused Darwin's theory of evolution to justify racism. KA's historian Kim and biologist Emily discuss how evolution really works and how sociologists in the Gilded Age misunderstood its application to human society.
Material Type: Lesson
Does "survival of the fittest" apply to human culture? Kim and Emily continue their discussion of the theory of evolution and how Gilded Age sociologists mistakenly applied it to race and class.
Material Type: Lesson
In 1820, James Monroe articulated the US foreign policy goal of ending European colonization in the Americas.
Material Type: Lesson
In the Treaty of Versailles, the Allies punished Germany for the war. Created by Sal Khan.
Material Type: Lesson
In the late 1500s and early 1600s, the United Kingdom cast its gaze westward and joined the quest for American colonies. In this video, Kim discusses the motivations for English colonization, including competition with Catholic nations for riches and souls, and the development of 'joint-stock' companies.
Material Type: Lesson
What was life like in North America before Europeans arrived? In this video, Kim explores how different environmental factors in North America shaped a variety of Native American societies.
Material Type: Lesson
In the late 1400s, several developments in Europe paved the way for European exploration in the Americas. In this video, Kim discusses how Portugal led the charge with new navigation technology, and how the unification of Spain set the stage for Columbus's voyage in 1492.
Material Type: Lesson
Federal troops left the South after the Compromise of 1877, ending Reconstruction. The Supreme Court ruled that segregation did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment in the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896.
Material Type: Lesson
In the period after the Civil War in the American South, when Southern society reorganized to account for the end of slavery. In this video, Kim discusses how many Southern governments passed laws preventing African Americans from voting, among other things, which prompted Congress to pass the Fourteenth Amendment.
Material Type: Lesson
During Reconstruction, federal troops attempted to enforce the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments in the South.
Material Type: Lesson
The Cold War was a period of increased tensions and competition for global influence between the United States that lasted from approximately 1945 until 1991. Tensions increased in the aftermath of World War II when the United States dropped the atom bomb and Russian forces took over Eastern Europe. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union never directly attacked one another, but instead fought proxy wars in order to repel or spread communism, respectively.
Material Type: Lesson
When the Great Powers sat down to iron out peace after World War I, they sought vengeance rather than a peaceful world. Created by Sal Khan.
Material Type: Lesson
Timothy O’Sullivan, A Harvest of Death, 1863, albumen print, 17.2 × 22.5 cm, illustration in Alexander Gardner’s Photographic Sketchbook of the War, 1866 (Library of Congress) A conversation between Dr. Kimberly Kutz Elliott and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Steven Zucker, Smarthistory, and Kimberly Kutz.
Material Type: Lesson
Plessy v. Ferguson was an 1896 Supreme Court case concerning whether "separate but equal" railway cars for black and white Americans violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In this video, Kim discusses the case with scholars Jamal Greene and Earl Maltz.
Material Type: Lesson
Although the New England colonies differed from the Chesapeake colonies in their economies and environments, both regions shared forms of government that were unusually democratic for the time period, as well as a policy of excluding Native Americans from their societies.
Material Type: Lesson
The early twentieth century saw a huge number of Progressive reform movements, which aimed to improve labor, sanitation, conservation, voting rights, and morality. With so many different avenues of reform, how can we define who the Progressives really were? In this video, Kim compares the goals and effects of the Progressive reform movement.
Material Type: Lesson
How and why did the Northern and Southern parts of the United States begin to develop distinctive regional attitudes about the institution of slavery? In this video, Kim discusses how the economic systems and ideas of each region evolved over time, leading to two very different societies.
Material Type: Lesson
Changes in work, geography, and economics influenced the emergence of the Second Great Awakening. In this video Kim explores some of the social and economic factors in the early nineteenth century that may have led to the religious revival.
Material Type: Lesson
