LibGuides: American History, Expansion & Reform: Media

Featured Streaming Media

Try these videos to get started. Must access on campus or login with your COM account for off campus access.

Want more on finding media? Try Articles & Media.

19th Century Reforms (14:14) In which John Green teaches you about various reform movements in the 19th century United States. From Utopian societies to the Second Great Awakening to the Abolition movement, American society was undergoing great changes in the first half of the 19th century. Attempts at idealized societies popped up (and universally failed) at Utopia, OH, New Harmony, IN, Modern Times, NY, and many other places around the country. These utopians had a problem with mainstream society, and their answer was to withdraw into their own little worlds. Others didn't like the society they saw, and decided to try to change it. Relatively new protestant denominations like the Methodists and Baptists reached out to "the unchurched" during the Second Great Awakening, and membership in evangelical sects of Christianity rose quickly. At the same time, Abolitionist societies were trying to free the slaves. Americans of the 19th century had looked at the world they were living in, and decided to change it.
Across the Plains - Oregon Trail (28:07) This program follows the first leg of the journey along the Trail, from Independence, Missouri, to Fort Laramie, in what is now Wyoming. In addition to explaining landmarks along this route, the program covers the problems of camping in the wilderness, the perils of accidents, and encounters with Native American tribespeople.
The American Industrial Revolution (30:00) Viewers learn about the establishment of the transcontinental railroad and its role in industrial growth, including the rise of the steel industry led by Andrew Carnegie. The emergence of John D. Rockefeller’s oil empire as a major economic driver is also highlighted. Further subjects include the great inventors, such as George Eastman, Alexander Graham Bell, and Thomas Edison; westward expansion and the Homestead Act of 1862; the waves of immigration that occurred after 1870; and environmental issues that developed in the wake of American industrialization
Beginnings - Oregon Trail (28:53) This program puts the Trail in historical perspective, relating the events that led up to it and explaining its role in American history. Topics covered include Lewis and Clark and the Astorians; the first emigrants and the Great Migration; the reasons why so many went west; and the beginnings and preparations for a typical journey.
Coast to Coast: America's First Transcontinental Railroad (02:33) Before there were viral videos and trending hashtags, the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 was one of the first mass media events in US history. Behind the glitzy headlines of that historic day - there’s a darker story to be told.
Found Voices: The Slave Narratives (21:00) In this profoundly moving program, Ted Koppel of ABC News presents the African-American slave experience in the voices of those who knew it firsthand. Thanks to tapes—now digitally remastered—from a project undertaken during the 1930s and 40s by John Henry Falke and others, 101-year-old Fountain Hughes, who was born in 1848, and other ex-slaves give their recollections of life before Emancipation and during Reconstruction.
Gold Rush (44:05) When gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, California, in 1848, some 300,000 people from the rest of the United States and abroad flooded the region to try to strike it rich. Using re-creations, archival photos, and interviews with noted historians, this program examines the quest for wealth as well as the far-reaching impact the Gold Rush had on the nation’s economic, geographic, and psychic landscape.
Series: Ken Burn's The West
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (02:35) The Lincoln Douglas Debates of 1858 were some of the most controversial in US history. Having deepened the divide between North and South – they helped bring the nation to war.
Manifest Destiny (21:46) In the first half of the 19th century, Americans pushed westward across the Appalachians, the Mississippi River, and the Rocky Mountains, en route to the Pacific Ocean. The frontier experience shaped the American character. At the same time, land hunger, gold fever, and the pursuit of "Manifest Destiny" resulted in the removal of many American Indian nations, acquisition of vast swaths of Mexico through the Mexican-American War, and a painful debate over the expansion of slavery.
The Presidents: 1849-1865 (45:00) This program examines the most turbulent period in all of U.S. history: when the volatile issues of states rights and slavery propelled the nation into all-out civil war. The video highlights the rough-hewn style of Zachary Taylor, the compromising weaknesses of Millard Fillmore and Franklin Pierce, the near-treasonous administration of James Buchanan, and the presidency of Abraham Lincoln—America’s first war president and the savior of the republic. A&E.
Series: The West - A Film by Stephen Ives The series portrays the impact the onrushing white settlers, adventurers, and exploiters had on Native Americans and the land. Packed with vivid imagery and personalities, The West reveals the triumph and tragedy of America's drive to become a continental nation. Presented and executive produced by Ken Burns. PBS. 9-part series, 59–86 minutes each.
Shaker Town: A More Perfect Order (57:00) Centered on faith, hard work, and the early stirrings of racial and sexual equality, the Shaker lifestyle was in many ways ahead of its time. This program uses extensive archival footage integrated with reenactments and scholarly interviews to illustrate the Shakers’ ordered, highly idealistic society.
The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: Revolution (1:34:57) The first installment in Ken Burns’s remarkable documentary on the women’s suffrage movement, this program depicts the early years of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. With the help of rarely seen archival materials and voice-over portrayals by well-known actors, viewers learn how the ideas of both women came to maturity and how they became allies in the struggle for women’s rights. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
To Conquer or Redeem: Manifest Destiny (1:29:47) DESCRIPTION With the closing of the American West, Manifest Destiny was in need of new direction. The section “New Frontiers” considers implications of Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier Thesis as it scrutinizes U.S. history from the end of the Gilded Age to the brink of the Spanish-American War. “An Empire of Liberty” takes a step back to assess aspects of Manifest Destiny from its birth during the pre-Revolutionary era through Reconstruction. And “Benevolent Assimilation” provides an in-depth look at the Spanish-American War, the Philippines Insurrection, the annexations of Puerto Rico and Hawaii, and U.S. intervention in China during the Boxer Rebellion to illustrate how expanded economic influence, military might, and presidential powers contributed to U.S. imperialism during the administrations of Presidents McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Historians H. W. Brands, Walter LaFeber, Kristin Hoganson, John Lawrence Tone, Eric Love, Paul Kramer, David Hendrickson, and Amy Greenberg are featured. Produced by Lucasfilm Ltd.
The Underground Railroad (02:13) A sprawling network of secret routes, pathways and safe houses, the Underground Railroad helped countless enslaved people escape to freedom in the 18th and 19th centuries.

More Media

In addition to streaming media, we have DVDs, images, audio and more media.