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Turning Points in American History
TURNING POINTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY~THE GREAT COURSES~ Product 9781598037500
25 pages, Audio CD
Published January 1, 2011
About the author
Edward T. O'Donnell
24 books14 followersEdward T. O’Donnell is an Associate Professor of History at Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Holy Cross College and his Ph.D. in American History from Columbia University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 13, 2020
Second experiment with a great courses lecture. Used the guidebook and transcript as much as the lecture, hence adding here. Prof. Edward is a good storyteller and covers all these turning points in nice bite-sized lectures, without compromising on context or detail. Good lecture to pick inf you want a refresher.
List of turning points (in case anyone is curious):
1. 1617: The Great Epidemic
2. 1619: Land of the Free? Slavery Begins
3. 1636: Freedom of Worship - Roger Williams
4. 1654: Yearning to Breathe Free - Immigration
5. 1676: Near Disaster - King Philip's War
6. 1735: Freedom of the Press - The Zenger Trial
7. 1773: Liberty! The Boston Tea Party
8. 1776: We're Outta Here - Declaring Independence
9. 1777: Game Changer - The Battle of Saratoga
10. 1786: Toward a Constitution - Shay's Rebellion
11. 1789: Samuel Slater - The Industrial Revolution
12. 1800: Peaceful Transfer - The Election of 1800
13. 1803: Supreme Authority - Marbury v. Madison
14. 1807: On the Move - Transportation Revolution
15. 1816: One Man, One Vote - Expanding Suffrage
16. 1821: Reborn - The Second Great Awakening
17. 1831: The Righteous Crusade - Abolition
18: 1844: What's New? The Communication Revolution
19. 1845: The Ultimate American Game - Baseball
20. 1846: Land and Gold - The Mexican War
21. 1862: Go West, Young Man! The Homestead Act
22. 1862: Terrible Reality - The Battle of Antietam
23. 1868: Equal Protection - The 14th Amendment
24. 1872: Open Spaces - The National Parks
25. 1873: Bloody Sunday - Ending Reconstruction
26. 1876: How the West Was Won and Lost - Custer
27. 1886: The First Red Scare - Haymarket
28. 1898: The End of Isolation - War with Spain
29. 1900: The Promised Land - The Great Migration
30. 1901: That Damned Cowboy! Theodore Roosevelt
31. 1903: The Second Transportation Revolution
32. 1909: The Scourge of the South - Hookworm
33. 1917: Votes for Women! The 19th Amendment
34. 1919: Strikes and Bombs - The Year of Upheaval
35. 1933: Bold Experimentation - The New Deal
36. 1939: Einstein's Letter - The Manhattan Project
37. 1942: Surprise - The Battle of Midway
38. 1945: The Land of Lawns - Suburbanization
39. 1948: The Berlin Airlift and the Cold War
40. 1950: Tuning In - The Birth of Television
41. 1960: The Power to Choose - The Pill
42. 1963: Showdown in Birmingham - Civil Rights
43. 1968: Losing Vietnam - The Tet Offensive
44. 1969: Disaster - The Birth of Environmentalism
45. 1974: An Age of Crisis - Watergate
46. 1975: The Digital Age - The Personal Computer
47. 1989: Collapse - The End of the Cold War
48. 2001: The Age of Terror - The 9/11 Attacks
Each of these lectures should ideally be a starting point to explore more about these pivotal events. Don't leave it at the lectures...
List of turning points (in case anyone is curious):
1. 1617: The Great Epidemic
2. 1619: Land of the Free? Slavery Begins
3. 1636: Freedom of Worship - Roger Williams
4. 1654: Yearning to Breathe Free - Immigration
5. 1676: Near Disaster - King Philip's War
6. 1735: Freedom of the Press - The Zenger Trial
7. 1773: Liberty! The Boston Tea Party
8. 1776: We're Outta Here - Declaring Independence
9. 1777: Game Changer - The Battle of Saratoga
10. 1786: Toward a Constitution - Shay's Rebellion
11. 1789: Samuel Slater - The Industrial Revolution
12. 1800: Peaceful Transfer - The Election of 1800
13. 1803: Supreme Authority - Marbury v. Madison
14. 1807: On the Move - Transportation Revolution
15. 1816: One Man, One Vote - Expanding Suffrage
16. 1821: Reborn - The Second Great Awakening
17. 1831: The Righteous Crusade - Abolition
18: 1844: What's New? The Communication Revolution
19. 1845: The Ultimate American Game - Baseball
20. 1846: Land and Gold - The Mexican War
21. 1862: Go West, Young Man! The Homestead Act
22. 1862: Terrible Reality - The Battle of Antietam
23. 1868: Equal Protection - The 14th Amendment
24. 1872: Open Spaces - The National Parks
25. 1873: Bloody Sunday - Ending Reconstruction
26. 1876: How the West Was Won and Lost - Custer
27. 1886: The First Red Scare - Haymarket
28. 1898: The End of Isolation - War with Spain
29. 1900: The Promised Land - The Great Migration
30. 1901: That Damned Cowboy! Theodore Roosevelt
31. 1903: The Second Transportation Revolution
32. 1909: The Scourge of the South - Hookworm
33. 1917: Votes for Women! The 19th Amendment
34. 1919: Strikes and Bombs - The Year of Upheaval
35. 1933: Bold Experimentation - The New Deal
36. 1939: Einstein's Letter - The Manhattan Project
37. 1942: Surprise - The Battle of Midway
38. 1945: The Land of Lawns - Suburbanization
39. 1948: The Berlin Airlift and the Cold War
40. 1950: Tuning In - The Birth of Television
41. 1960: The Power to Choose - The Pill
42. 1963: Showdown in Birmingham - Civil Rights
43. 1968: Losing Vietnam - The Tet Offensive
44. 1969: Disaster - The Birth of Environmentalism
45. 1974: An Age of Crisis - Watergate
46. 1975: The Digital Age - The Personal Computer
47. 1989: Collapse - The End of the Cold War
48. 2001: The Age of Terror - The 9/11 Attacks
Each of these lectures should ideally be a starting point to explore more about these pivotal events. Don't leave it at the lectures...
February 20, 2021
These 48 lectures constitute a fairly detailed tour through all the groundbreaking moments in the fascinating story of the greatest sociopolitical and civilizational experiment throughout human history, i.e., the United States.
Clocking in at over 24 hours of playing time, this was the longest course I have undertaken in recent years, and among the two or three longest I have ever undertaken. Took me over 10 months to complete along with the supplementary study of the subject material and, well, leisurely pauses to assimilate the information-dense contents. But, in the end, I found it to be entirely worth the time commitment it demands.
Professor O'Donnell not only has a brilliant grasp of the subject matter but is also visibly enthused while talking about it and that goes a long way in keeping the student engaged throughout the course.
A must-read/study/listen for anyone who wishes to build an understanding that runs deeper than the globally pervasive stereotypes and sweeping narratives surrounding the USA.
--
Spanning the arrival of the first English colonists to the chaos of the Civil War to the birth of the computer age and beyond, this lecture series is a captivating and comprehensive study of those particular moments in the story of America, after which the nation would never be the same again.
Among the great turning points that one gets to investigate in depth are:
the trial of John Peter Zenger (1735), which popularized the idea that freedom of the press is essential to liberty; the battle of Antietam (1862), which eliminated the possibility of England and France intervening on behalf of the Confederacy; and the Watergate scandal (1974), which signaled a heightened level of public distrust toward elected officials; the Transportation Revolution (1807); the Industrial Revolution (1789); ending Reconstruction (1873); the Suffragettes (1917); Teddy Roosevelt (1901); the Battle of Midway (1942); the Berlin Airlift (1948); the Pill (1960); you name it and it's there.
Clocking in at over 24 hours of playing time, this was the longest course I have undertaken in recent years, and among the two or three longest I have ever undertaken. Took me over 10 months to complete along with the supplementary study of the subject material and, well, leisurely pauses to assimilate the information-dense contents. But, in the end, I found it to be entirely worth the time commitment it demands.
Professor O'Donnell not only has a brilliant grasp of the subject matter but is also visibly enthused while talking about it and that goes a long way in keeping the student engaged throughout the course.
A must-read/study/listen for anyone who wishes to build an understanding that runs deeper than the globally pervasive stereotypes and sweeping narratives surrounding the USA.
--
Spanning the arrival of the first English colonists to the chaos of the Civil War to the birth of the computer age and beyond, this lecture series is a captivating and comprehensive study of those particular moments in the story of America, after which the nation would never be the same again.
Among the great turning points that one gets to investigate in depth are:
the trial of John Peter Zenger (1735), which popularized the idea that freedom of the press is essential to liberty; the battle of Antietam (1862), which eliminated the possibility of England and France intervening on behalf of the Confederacy; and the Watergate scandal (1974), which signaled a heightened level of public distrust toward elected officials; the Transportation Revolution (1807); the Industrial Revolution (1789); ending Reconstruction (1873); the Suffragettes (1917); Teddy Roosevelt (1901); the Battle of Midway (1942); the Berlin Airlift (1948); the Pill (1960); you name it and it's there.
October 1, 2020
This is a course that I wanted to like more than I actually did. That isn't to say that this is a terrible course, but considering that it took 24 hours of listening time, it was not nearly as good as I would have wanted it to be. And it's not always easy to figure out why, except that the author's politics and personal views intrude on this book frequently, and in ways that assume a certain progressive mindset and a strong bias towards leftism. Even this is not as bad as it could be because the author recognizes that history is the subject of conflict, including ideological conflict, and he does not believe in some sort of inevitability about leftism and progress, recognizing that there are factors that lead to dramatic shifts in opinion and that history is full of individual choices, made by famous and obscure people, that have complex consequences. And so while this book explores incidents of various kinds of history, including military, economic, social, political, and technological history, from a point of view that has clear biases, there is also a sense that the author wants the listener to take responsibility for their view of history, which is likely to be more complex than the author's own views.
This particular professor has taken 24 hours to list 48 events that he views as turning points in American history, and it is worthwhile to discuss these incidents. What qualifies as a turning point. Here we go: 1617: The Great Epidemic in Massachusetts, 1619: Slavery and Democracy begin in Virginia, 1636: Freedom of worship in Rhode Island, 1654: Immigration, 1676: King Philip's War, 1735: Freedom of the Press in the Zenger trial, 1773: Boston Tea Party, 1776: Declaration of Independence, 1777: Saragota, 1786: Shay's Rebellion, 1789: Industrial Revolution, 1800: Peaceful turnover of power, 1803: Marbury vs. Madison, 1807: Transportation Revolution, 1816: Expanding suffrage, 1821: Second Great Awakening, 1831: Abolition, 1844: Telegraph, 1845: Baseball, 1846: Mexican-American War, 1862: Homestead Act, Antietam, 1868: 14th Amendment, 1872: National Parks, 1873: End of Reconstruction, 1876: Custer, 1886: Haymarket, 1898: Spanish-American War, 1900: The Great Migration, 1901: Theodore Roosevelt, 1903: Automobiles and Airplanes, 1909: Hookworm elimination, 1917: 19th Amendment, 1919: Upheaval, 1933: New Deal, 1939: Manhattan Project, 1942: Midway, 1945: Suburbanization, 1948: Berlin Airlift/Cold War, 1950: Television, 1960: The Pill, 1963: Civil Rights movement, 1968: Tet Offensive, 1969: Birth of Environmentalism, 1974: Watergate, 1975: Personal Computer, 1989: End of the Cold War, 2001: 9/11. Would everyone agree that these are more turning points than other events not included? Not necessarily. Are the author's opinions ones I endorse? Most definitely not always. But even if I would disagree with some of these choices they are all thought provoking and that is enough for me to at least respect it.
If one wanted to view this course badly because of the author's own ideological commitments, it would be easy to do so. The last lecture of the course features the author talking at considerable length about his own personal fondness for New York (which is another reason not to like this book very much), and earlier in the lectures, he talks about his chummy relationship with radical black professors who were involved in cheering on the 1619 project and doing the "academic" work for it. The teacher may think of this as a good thing, but I do not. Still, the professor's general interest in ordinary people and in the importance of choice in history is enough to make this a class that has some moments of genuine interest, even if it is not as good as one would want. One might have to pick and choose among the lectures here to find the ones of interest, but there is enough detail as well as consistency of approach to make that a worthwhile task, even if the whole 24 hours of the course is somewhat tedious.
This particular professor has taken 24 hours to list 48 events that he views as turning points in American history, and it is worthwhile to discuss these incidents. What qualifies as a turning point. Here we go: 1617: The Great Epidemic in Massachusetts, 1619: Slavery and Democracy begin in Virginia, 1636: Freedom of worship in Rhode Island, 1654: Immigration, 1676: King Philip's War, 1735: Freedom of the Press in the Zenger trial, 1773: Boston Tea Party, 1776: Declaration of Independence, 1777: Saragota, 1786: Shay's Rebellion, 1789: Industrial Revolution, 1800: Peaceful turnover of power, 1803: Marbury vs. Madison, 1807: Transportation Revolution, 1816: Expanding suffrage, 1821: Second Great Awakening, 1831: Abolition, 1844: Telegraph, 1845: Baseball, 1846: Mexican-American War, 1862: Homestead Act, Antietam, 1868: 14th Amendment, 1872: National Parks, 1873: End of Reconstruction, 1876: Custer, 1886: Haymarket, 1898: Spanish-American War, 1900: The Great Migration, 1901: Theodore Roosevelt, 1903: Automobiles and Airplanes, 1909: Hookworm elimination, 1917: 19th Amendment, 1919: Upheaval, 1933: New Deal, 1939: Manhattan Project, 1942: Midway, 1945: Suburbanization, 1948: Berlin Airlift/Cold War, 1950: Television, 1960: The Pill, 1963: Civil Rights movement, 1968: Tet Offensive, 1969: Birth of Environmentalism, 1974: Watergate, 1975: Personal Computer, 1989: End of the Cold War, 2001: 9/11. Would everyone agree that these are more turning points than other events not included? Not necessarily. Are the author's opinions ones I endorse? Most definitely not always. But even if I would disagree with some of these choices they are all thought provoking and that is enough for me to at least respect it.
If one wanted to view this course badly because of the author's own ideological commitments, it would be easy to do so. The last lecture of the course features the author talking at considerable length about his own personal fondness for New York (which is another reason not to like this book very much), and earlier in the lectures, he talks about his chummy relationship with radical black professors who were involved in cheering on the 1619 project and doing the "academic" work for it. The teacher may think of this as a good thing, but I do not. Still, the professor's general interest in ordinary people and in the importance of choice in history is enough to make this a class that has some moments of genuine interest, even if it is not as good as one would want. One might have to pick and choose among the lectures here to find the ones of interest, but there is enough detail as well as consistency of approach to make that a worthwhile task, even if the whole 24 hours of the course is somewhat tedious.
October 24, 2020
Turning Points in American History by Edward T. O’Donnell
This is a lecture theory on American history from the first settlers to 9/11. The lectures are organized by “turning points,” or events considered to have outsized impacts in shaping American history. The author argues that history is not predetermined; it is driven by unexpected events and key players’ choices. Therefore, the theme is that American histories can be understood by examining these turning points and their influences long after they happen.
Many important historical events were not included, such as the Constitution and the civil rights act. Perhaps these are not considered as “unexpected events.” Therefore, the precursors of some of the developments (the Shays’ rebellion, the civil rights movement of 1963) were included instead. On the other hand, Perl Harbor should be more surprising than the battle of Midway. Yet the latter was included to represent World War II. Some other “surprising” and important events not included are the Cuban missile crisis and the Reagan revolution.
In several cases, the real stories are a long process but represented by an event. Several significant wars (the Independence War, the Civil War, World War II, the Vietnam War) are represented by notable (or “turning point” battles, while some other wars (the American-Mexico War, the American-Spanish War) were recounted as wars. The relatively long history of the Jim Crow period was represented by its beginning, the Bloody Sunday.
The narrative also does not include the History of American humanity. The emergence of American thinkers, philosophers, and writers also greatly impacted society and should have been included in a historical recount.
The book has 48 lectures organized in chronological order. They can also be viewed as several threads.
Establish of the country: first settlers (1617), Boston Tea Party (1773), Declaring independence (1776), Independence War (captured by the Battle of Saratoga)(1777), Shays’ Rebellion (1786), Election of 1800, Judicial review (1803)
Westward expansion and war on Indians: King Philip’s ward (1676), The Mexican war (1846), The Homestead Act (1862), The national parks (1872), Battel of Little Big Horn (1876), The great migration (1900)
Racial issues: Arrive of slaves (1619), the righteous crusade and abolition (1831), Civil war (captured by the Battle of Antietam) (1862), The 14th Amendment (1868), End of reconstruction (1873), Civil rights movement (1963)
Governance and politics: Haymarket and the first red scare (1886), Theodore Roosevelt (1901), the New Deal (1933), Watergate (1974)
International relationship: War with Span (1898), Manhattan Project (1939), World war II (captured by the battle of Midway) (1942), Berlin airlift and the cold war (1948), Vietnam war (captured by the Tet offensive) (1968), End of the cold war (1989), 9/11 attacks (2001)
Economic and technological advances: Samuel Slater and the industrial revolution (1789), Transportation revolution (1807), Communication revolution (1844), Second transportation revolution (1903), Hookworm and public health transformation (1909), Television (1950), personal computer (1975)
Social changes: Roger Williams and freedom of worship (1636), Zenger Trial and freedom of the press (1735), Expanding suffrage (1816), Evangelical revival (1821), Rise of baseball (1845), 19th Amendment and women’s voting rights (1917), Labor movement (1919), Suburbanization (1945), Birth control pills (1960)
This is a lecture theory on American history from the first settlers to 9/11. The lectures are organized by “turning points,” or events considered to have outsized impacts in shaping American history. The author argues that history is not predetermined; it is driven by unexpected events and key players’ choices. Therefore, the theme is that American histories can be understood by examining these turning points and their influences long after they happen.
Many important historical events were not included, such as the Constitution and the civil rights act. Perhaps these are not considered as “unexpected events.” Therefore, the precursors of some of the developments (the Shays’ rebellion, the civil rights movement of 1963) were included instead. On the other hand, Perl Harbor should be more surprising than the battle of Midway. Yet the latter was included to represent World War II. Some other “surprising” and important events not included are the Cuban missile crisis and the Reagan revolution.
In several cases, the real stories are a long process but represented by an event. Several significant wars (the Independence War, the Civil War, World War II, the Vietnam War) are represented by notable (or “turning point” battles, while some other wars (the American-Mexico War, the American-Spanish War) were recounted as wars. The relatively long history of the Jim Crow period was represented by its beginning, the Bloody Sunday.
The narrative also does not include the History of American humanity. The emergence of American thinkers, philosophers, and writers also greatly impacted society and should have been included in a historical recount.
The book has 48 lectures organized in chronological order. They can also be viewed as several threads.
Establish of the country: first settlers (1617), Boston Tea Party (1773), Declaring independence (1776), Independence War (captured by the Battle of Saratoga)(1777), Shays’ Rebellion (1786), Election of 1800, Judicial review (1803)
Westward expansion and war on Indians: King Philip’s ward (1676), The Mexican war (1846), The Homestead Act (1862), The national parks (1872), Battel of Little Big Horn (1876), The great migration (1900)
Racial issues: Arrive of slaves (1619), the righteous crusade and abolition (1831), Civil war (captured by the Battle of Antietam) (1862), The 14th Amendment (1868), End of reconstruction (1873), Civil rights movement (1963)
Governance and politics: Haymarket and the first red scare (1886), Theodore Roosevelt (1901), the New Deal (1933), Watergate (1974)
International relationship: War with Span (1898), Manhattan Project (1939), World war II (captured by the battle of Midway) (1942), Berlin airlift and the cold war (1948), Vietnam war (captured by the Tet offensive) (1968), End of the cold war (1989), 9/11 attacks (2001)
Economic and technological advances: Samuel Slater and the industrial revolution (1789), Transportation revolution (1807), Communication revolution (1844), Second transportation revolution (1903), Hookworm and public health transformation (1909), Television (1950), personal computer (1975)
Social changes: Roger Williams and freedom of worship (1636), Zenger Trial and freedom of the press (1735), Expanding suffrage (1816), Evangelical revival (1821), Rise of baseball (1845), 19th Amendment and women’s voting rights (1917), Labor movement (1919), Suburbanization (1945), Birth control pills (1960)
October 17, 2019
Very good study. Nice, 30 minute bites of history. The professor, O'Donnell, is well-versed and succinct. Even though it is dealing with large ideas, O'Donnell is able to break things down to the necessary parts to help you understand the topic while still giving interesting data and statistics. It was a 24 hour lecture series with 48 separate topics, listed below:
1. 1617: The Great Epidemic
2. 1619: Land of the Free? Slavery Begins
3. 1636: Freedom of Worship - Roger Williams
4. 1654: Yearning to Breathe Free - Immigration
5. 1676: Near Disaster - King Philip's War
6. 1735: Freedom of the Press - The Zenger Trial
7. 1773: Liberty! The Boston Tea Party
8. 1776: We're Outta Here - Declaring Independence
9. 1777: Game Changer - The Battle of Saratoga
10. 1786: Toward a Constitution - Shay's Rebellion
11. 1789: Samuel Slater - The Industrial Revolution
12. 1800: Peaceful Transfer - The Election of 1800
13. 1803: Supreme Authority - Marbury v. Madison
14. 1807: On the Move - Transportation Revolution
15. 1816: One Man, One Vote - Expanding Suffrage
16. 1821: Reborn - The Second Great Awakening
17. 1831: The Righteous Crusade - Abolition
18: 1844: What's New? The Communication Revolution
19. 1845: The Ultimate American Game - Baseball
20. 1846: Land and Gold - The Mexican War
21. 1862: Go West, Young Man! The Homestead Act
22. 1862: Terrible Reality - The Battle of Antietam
23. 1868: Equal Protection - The 14th Amendment
24. 1872: Open Spaces - The National Parks
25. 1873: Bloody Sunday - Ending Reconstruction
26. 1876: How the West Was Won and Lost - Custer
27. 1886: The First Red Scare - Haymarket
28. 1898: The End of Isolation - War with Spain
29. 1900: The Promised Land - The Great Migration
30. 1901: That Damned Cowboy! Theodore Roosevelt
31. 1903: The Second Transportation Revolution
32. 1909: The Scourge of the South - Hookworm
33. 1917: Votes for Women! The 19th Amendment
34. 1919: Strikes and Bombs - The Year of Upheaval
35. 1933: Bold Experimentation - The New Deal
36. 1939: Einstein's Letter - The Manhattan Project
37. 1942: Surprise - The Battle of Midway
38. 1945: The Land of Lawns - Suburbanization
39. 1948: The Berlin Airlift and the Cold War
40. 1950: Tuning In - The Birth of Television
41. 1960: The Power to Choose - The Pill
42. 1963: Showdown in Birmingham - Civil Rights
43. 1968: Losing Vietnam - The Tet Offensive
44. 1969: Disaster - The Birth of Environmentalism
45. 1974: An Age of Crisis - Watergate
46. 1975: The Digital Age - The Personal Computer
47. 1989: Collapse - The End of the Cold War
48. 2001: The Age of Terror - The 9/11 Attacks
1. 1617: The Great Epidemic
2. 1619: Land of the Free? Slavery Begins
3. 1636: Freedom of Worship - Roger Williams
4. 1654: Yearning to Breathe Free - Immigration
5. 1676: Near Disaster - King Philip's War
6. 1735: Freedom of the Press - The Zenger Trial
7. 1773: Liberty! The Boston Tea Party
8. 1776: We're Outta Here - Declaring Independence
9. 1777: Game Changer - The Battle of Saratoga
10. 1786: Toward a Constitution - Shay's Rebellion
11. 1789: Samuel Slater - The Industrial Revolution
12. 1800: Peaceful Transfer - The Election of 1800
13. 1803: Supreme Authority - Marbury v. Madison
14. 1807: On the Move - Transportation Revolution
15. 1816: One Man, One Vote - Expanding Suffrage
16. 1821: Reborn - The Second Great Awakening
17. 1831: The Righteous Crusade - Abolition
18: 1844: What's New? The Communication Revolution
19. 1845: The Ultimate American Game - Baseball
20. 1846: Land and Gold - The Mexican War
21. 1862: Go West, Young Man! The Homestead Act
22. 1862: Terrible Reality - The Battle of Antietam
23. 1868: Equal Protection - The 14th Amendment
24. 1872: Open Spaces - The National Parks
25. 1873: Bloody Sunday - Ending Reconstruction
26. 1876: How the West Was Won and Lost - Custer
27. 1886: The First Red Scare - Haymarket
28. 1898: The End of Isolation - War with Spain
29. 1900: The Promised Land - The Great Migration
30. 1901: That Damned Cowboy! Theodore Roosevelt
31. 1903: The Second Transportation Revolution
32. 1909: The Scourge of the South - Hookworm
33. 1917: Votes for Women! The 19th Amendment
34. 1919: Strikes and Bombs - The Year of Upheaval
35. 1933: Bold Experimentation - The New Deal
36. 1939: Einstein's Letter - The Manhattan Project
37. 1942: Surprise - The Battle of Midway
38. 1945: The Land of Lawns - Suburbanization
39. 1948: The Berlin Airlift and the Cold War
40. 1950: Tuning In - The Birth of Television
41. 1960: The Power to Choose - The Pill
42. 1963: Showdown in Birmingham - Civil Rights
43. 1968: Losing Vietnam - The Tet Offensive
44. 1969: Disaster - The Birth of Environmentalism
45. 1974: An Age of Crisis - Watergate
46. 1975: The Digital Age - The Personal Computer
47. 1989: Collapse - The End of the Cold War
48. 2001: The Age of Terror - The 9/11 Attacks
November 12, 2022
Really 4.5 stars. Every American should read as a review of the historical events that have formed our nation. I remember learning of these events as a high school and college student in depth. These lectures have a good enough amount of detail to remind one of the events that will pique further study if interested. They don’t contain too much detail…if they did the book would be way too long and need to be split into several different books/courses. My takeaways… issues such as slavery and discrimination have had severely detrimental effects. The founding fathers didn’t take the time to squelch slavery and now 300+ years later we are still dealing with the aftermath of letting slavery take a prominent role/conflict in our early history. I think our society has so much hatred between the different racial groups and had our forefathers always treated EVERYONE respectfully, we may not have these problems still today! Each generation should solve problems as they arise and not just pass them on to following generations.
May 31, 2018
4.5 stars
Thoroughly entertaining--what a great mix of events to explore! I half-expected these lectures to consist of lists of military battles and such, but they ended up being a marvelous mix of medical, social, technological, military, political, and entertainment industry happenings. I almost started listening again once I finished it. During just a few lectures I wish he would have presented the other side of the social perspective more, but I found the vast majority of the lectures to be very well-balanced, informative, and enlightening.
The next time I listen to these lectures, however, I think I'll take it leisurely--I'll just listen to one lecture, then take a break and read a book that correlates to the subject, then continue to the next lecture. Once again, while listening to this series, I kept contemplating which unread books (already on my shelf) I was now going to move to the top of my TBR pile. So many!
Thoroughly entertaining--what a great mix of events to explore! I half-expected these lectures to consist of lists of military battles and such, but they ended up being a marvelous mix of medical, social, technological, military, political, and entertainment industry happenings. I almost started listening again once I finished it. During just a few lectures I wish he would have presented the other side of the social perspective more, but I found the vast majority of the lectures to be very well-balanced, informative, and enlightening.
The next time I listen to these lectures, however, I think I'll take it leisurely--I'll just listen to one lecture, then take a break and read a book that correlates to the subject, then continue to the next lecture. Once again, while listening to this series, I kept contemplating which unread books (already on my shelf) I was now going to move to the top of my TBR pile. So many!
December 18, 2021
Thoroughly enjoyed with premise of this work that history is about surprises and choices. Who would have thought the first turning point in American History occurred in 1617 - the beginning of the epidemic brought by European traders and settlers that wiped out a huge percentage of Native Peoples on the North American continent? Who would have included Hookworm as a topic? Or, the invention of the television? Or "the pill"? O'Donnell does an excellent job of setting up the premises that underlie his 48-lectures, admits his prejudices, and lays out clearly the objectives of each topic. Each lectures tickles the reader to conduct further research on his/her own to learn more. Excellent!
April 2, 2021
This was an interesting listen. It was easy to see why he chose the events that he did and I agree with most of those choices. I enjoyed the premise that history is almost always a surprise. For example, five years before the end of slavery no one really knew it was going to happen and wouldn't have guessed we were that close to the end.
This was a really enjoyable addition to the Great Courses catalogue. The professor's voice was great for narration and listening at high speed as opposed to some other narrators in books and audio things.
This was a really enjoyable addition to the Great Courses catalogue. The professor's voice was great for narration and listening at high speed as opposed to some other narrators in books and audio things.
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August 23, 2019Within the first disc the author repeatedly refers to native Americans as "Indians," describes slaveholder rape of enslaved women as "relationships," and references the Bible and religious beliefs in explanation (if not outright defense) of unspeakably un-Godlike behaviors and "morals." Had to check the copyright several times to confirm 2011 and not 1911. The other 23 discs are headed back to the library untouched. I need a bath after this poop puddle.
May 22, 2017
A fascinating lens through which to examine American history. The lecturer often starts with a memorable story and frequently calls back to previous lectures, which really helps with retention. He's good about discussing the meta level, too, which provides some interesting insight into historical analysis.
January 29, 2023
These 48 lectures are a good walk through US history. Edward O'Donnell tries hard to keep his political views out of the lectures and does a very good job of it with few slips. I recommend this book for people who want a survey of US history.
August 18, 2023
I learned so much about things I hadn’t heard of and refreshed many things learned in high school. I liked the professor’s lecture style—he presented objectives and then explained those objectives. I will look for another course from him
January 9, 2024
This was an interesting mix of content. Some of it I found more interesting than others, but I think it's useful to think about what all has been integral to the culture and just what American is. I never feel like I know as much about our history as I would like - so this was a good overview. Still, I probably enjoyed more the more detailed content version such as the one on the American Civil War.
September 16, 2018
Excellent review of US history but a little dry ...
December 16, 2018
I've listened to these lectures again and again--outstanding!
October 30, 2019
Everyone should listen to this! Knowing our American History is important!
November 19, 2019
2011. A. Great Courses. 4.5
April 7, 2020
History with a constant and consistent political screed. Very disappointing.
April 8, 2020
I enjoyed this so much - each of the topics was high level enough and very interesting - will try another at some point.
July 13, 2021
Loved this one! So much interesting history, and the professor is great!
May 31, 2016
“It is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department [the judicial branch] to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases must, of necessity, expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the Courts must decide on the operation of each.” Marbury v. Madison
48 lectures 30 minutes each
1 1617 The Great Epidemic
2 1619 Land of the Free? Slavery Begins
3 1636 Freedom of Worship—Roger Williams
4 1654 Yearning to Breathe Free—Immigration
5 1676 Near Disaster—King Philip's War
6 1735 Freedom of the Press—The Zenger Trial
7 1773 Liberty! The Boston Tea Party
8 1776 We're Outta Here—Declaring Independence
9 1777 Game Changer—The Battle of Saratoga
10 1786 Toward a Constitution—Shays's Rebellion
11 1789 Samuel Slater—The Industrial Revolution
12 1800 Peaceful Transfer—The Election of 1800
13 1803 Supreme Authority—Marbury v. Madison
14 1807 On the Move—Transportation Revolution
15 1816 One Man, One Vote—Expanding Suffrage
16 1821 Reborn—The Second Great Awakening
17 1831 The Righteous Crusade—Abolition
18 1844 What's New? The Communication Revolution
19 1845 The Ultimate American Game—Baseball
20 1846 Land and Gold—The Mexican War
21 1862 Go West, Young Man! The Homestead Act
22 1862 Terrible Reality—The Battle of Antietam
23 1868 Equal Protection—The 14th Amendment
24 1872 Open Spaces—The National Parks
25 1873 Bloody Sunday—Ending Reconstruction
26 1876 How the West Was Won and Lost—Custer
27 1886 The First Red Scare—Haymarket
28 1898 The End of Isolation—War with Spain
29 1900 The Promised Land—The Great Migration
30 1901 That Damned Cowboy! Theodore Roosevelt
31 1903 The Second Transportation Revolution
32 1909 The Scourge of the South—Hookworm
33 1917 Votes for Women! The 19th Amendment
34 1919 Strikes and Bombs—The Year of Upheaval
35 1933 Bold Experimentation—The New Deal
36 1939 Einstein's Letter—The Manhattan Project
37 1942 Surprise—The Battle of Midway
38 1945 The Land of Lawns—Suburbanization
39 1948 The Berlin Airlift and the Cold War
40 1950 Tuning In—The Birth of Television
41 1960 The Power to Choose—The Pill
42 1963 Showdown in Birmingham—Civil Rights
43 1968 Losing Vietnam—The Tet Offensive
44 1969 Disaster—The Birth of Environmentalism
45 1974 An Age of Crisis—Watergate
46 1975 The Digital Age—The Personal Computer
47 1989 Collapse—The End of the Cold War
48 2001 The Age of Terror—The 9/11 Attacks
This was one of my favorite great courses. I have taken quite a lot and the reason I enjoyed this one so much was that Professor O’Donnell took portions of history that may not be taught in history books but they really influenced how America lives and loves.
My favorite chapters were on baseball and The Pill. I had no idea that Abner Doubleday had little to do with baseball but lucked into being recognized because of a campaign to bring the Hall of Fame to Cooperstown, New York, which was his hometown.
The chapter on The Pill was amazing because it was a catholic doctor who was its biggest supporter. He wanted women to have the option of having children they could afford versus unlimited children. The Pill was originally used for other purposes like heavy periods or painful menstruation.
There are several other lectures that were just as good. The first chapter discusses Champlain coming to New England twenty years before the Pilgrims but discovering too many native peoples already living there, so they left. They also left diseases that decimated the Native population so that when the Pilgrims arrived the cities were abandoned and they were able to move right in.
I learned a lot from this course and it was refreshing and new for the most part. I was very impressed with the professor. I highly recommend this course.
48 lectures 30 minutes each
1 1617 The Great Epidemic
2 1619 Land of the Free? Slavery Begins
3 1636 Freedom of Worship—Roger Williams
4 1654 Yearning to Breathe Free—Immigration
5 1676 Near Disaster—King Philip's War
6 1735 Freedom of the Press—The Zenger Trial
7 1773 Liberty! The Boston Tea Party
8 1776 We're Outta Here—Declaring Independence
9 1777 Game Changer—The Battle of Saratoga
10 1786 Toward a Constitution—Shays's Rebellion
11 1789 Samuel Slater—The Industrial Revolution
12 1800 Peaceful Transfer—The Election of 1800
13 1803 Supreme Authority—Marbury v. Madison
14 1807 On the Move—Transportation Revolution
15 1816 One Man, One Vote—Expanding Suffrage
16 1821 Reborn—The Second Great Awakening
17 1831 The Righteous Crusade—Abolition
18 1844 What's New? The Communication Revolution
19 1845 The Ultimate American Game—Baseball
20 1846 Land and Gold—The Mexican War
21 1862 Go West, Young Man! The Homestead Act
22 1862 Terrible Reality—The Battle of Antietam
23 1868 Equal Protection—The 14th Amendment
24 1872 Open Spaces—The National Parks
25 1873 Bloody Sunday—Ending Reconstruction
26 1876 How the West Was Won and Lost—Custer
27 1886 The First Red Scare—Haymarket
28 1898 The End of Isolation—War with Spain
29 1900 The Promised Land—The Great Migration
30 1901 That Damned Cowboy! Theodore Roosevelt
31 1903 The Second Transportation Revolution
32 1909 The Scourge of the South—Hookworm
33 1917 Votes for Women! The 19th Amendment
34 1919 Strikes and Bombs—The Year of Upheaval
35 1933 Bold Experimentation—The New Deal
36 1939 Einstein's Letter—The Manhattan Project
37 1942 Surprise—The Battle of Midway
38 1945 The Land of Lawns—Suburbanization
39 1948 The Berlin Airlift and the Cold War
40 1950 Tuning In—The Birth of Television
41 1960 The Power to Choose—The Pill
42 1963 Showdown in Birmingham—Civil Rights
43 1968 Losing Vietnam—The Tet Offensive
44 1969 Disaster—The Birth of Environmentalism
45 1974 An Age of Crisis—Watergate
46 1975 The Digital Age—The Personal Computer
47 1989 Collapse—The End of the Cold War
48 2001 The Age of Terror—The 9/11 Attacks
This was one of my favorite great courses. I have taken quite a lot and the reason I enjoyed this one so much was that Professor O’Donnell took portions of history that may not be taught in history books but they really influenced how America lives and loves.
My favorite chapters were on baseball and The Pill. I had no idea that Abner Doubleday had little to do with baseball but lucked into being recognized because of a campaign to bring the Hall of Fame to Cooperstown, New York, which was his hometown.
The chapter on The Pill was amazing because it was a catholic doctor who was its biggest supporter. He wanted women to have the option of having children they could afford versus unlimited children. The Pill was originally used for other purposes like heavy periods or painful menstruation.
There are several other lectures that were just as good. The first chapter discusses Champlain coming to New England twenty years before the Pilgrims but discovering too many native peoples already living there, so they left. They also left diseases that decimated the Native population so that when the Pilgrims arrived the cities were abandoned and they were able to move right in.
I learned a lot from this course and it was refreshing and new for the most part. I was very impressed with the professor. I highly recommend this course.
January 29, 2012
This is a series of 48 half hour lectures from the Great Books Course. I enjoyed it very much, liked the lecturer, and think this is a fun and effective approach to history, especially for people who have an overall picture of American history. Although I enjoyed all the topics, what I found most fun were the lectures on topics that I have lived through - e.g. Watergate, the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of the Cold War, development of the pill, the Tet Offensive.
The series is perfect for listening to in the car - either on a trip or just around town.
The series is perfect for listening to in the car - either on a trip or just around town.
May 29, 2016
This is the course book accompanying the Teaching Company course of the same name.
It was well prepared and presented. Unlike many other teaching company courses good use was made of visual and audio support by the lecturer and preparer Prof. O'Donnell.
He well choose the events, turning points, and presented enlightening explanations and pretty much validating his choices - from a pre Pilgrim plague among the indians to the pill to 9- 11.
Well worth the time. 48 chapters and lectures - each about 30 minutes.
It was well prepared and presented. Unlike many other teaching company courses good use was made of visual and audio support by the lecturer and preparer Prof. O'Donnell.
He well choose the events, turning points, and presented enlightening explanations and pretty much validating his choices - from a pre Pilgrim plague among the indians to the pill to 9- 11.
Well worth the time. 48 chapters and lectures - each about 30 minutes.
November 10, 2016
The lecturer is a history professor that reviews about 48 turning points in American history, with some topics that you would not expect. This course does cover early religion, slavery, the 13th -15th amendments, automobile and so forth. The lecturer made most of the topics interesting even with the topics themselves, though not as interesting by their very nature.
August 28, 2014
I listened to the book on tape. If you like American history, you will enjoy this 4 volume summary of major turning points in American history.
December 6, 2013
Excellent Lecture Series. 48 30 odd minute lectures on Key Turning Points in American History from Pilgrims to 9/11.
March 21, 2014
I loved this. Read like a series of short stories, but filled in so many things I did not know in American history, in the context of things that I did know. Fascinating!
April 16, 2014
some very interesting sections - especially about early American history, slavery, and the constitution.
format is perfect for short lectures as you walk to work etc.
format is perfect for short lectures as you walk to work etc.
September 9, 2015
If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would. Just plain fun and interesting.
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