Constitutional Compromises: Crash Course Government and Politics #5

In which Craig Benzine teaches you about the compromises met in ratifying the U.S. Constitution. The United State’s didn’t always have its current system of government. Actually, this is it’s second attempt. Craig will delve into the failures (and few successes) of the Articles of Confederation, tell you how delegates settled on a two-house system

The Constitution, the Articles, and Federalism: Crash Course US History #8

In which John Green teaches you about the United States Constitution. During and after the American Revolutionary War, the government of the new country operated under the Articles of Confederation. While these Articles got the young nation through its war with England, they weren’t of much use when it came to running a country. So,

Taxes & Smuggling – Prelude to Revolution: Crash Course US History #6

In which John Green teaches you about the roots of the American Revolution. The Revolution did not start on July 4, 1776. The Revolutionary War didn’t start on July 4 either. (as you remember, I’m sure, the Revolution and the Revolutionary War are not the same thing) The shooting started on April 19, 1775, at

The Seven Years War and the Great Awakening: Crash Course US History #5

In which John Green teaches you about the beginnings of the American Revolution in a video titled The Seven Years War. Confusing? Maybe. John argues that the Seven Years War, which is often called the French and Indian War in the US, laid a lot of the groundwork for the Revolution. More confusing? Why does

The Quakers, the Dutch, and the Ladies: Crash Course US History #4

In which John Green teaches you about some of the colonies that were not in Virginia or Massachussetts. Old New York was once New Amsterdam. Why they changed it, I can say; ENGLISH people just liked it better that way, and when the English took New Amsterdam in 1643, that’s just what they did. Before

The Natives and the English – Crash Course US History #3

In which John Green teaches you about relations between the early English colonists and the native people the encountered in the New World. In short, these relations were poor. As soon as they arrived, the English were in conflict with the native people. At Jamestown, Captain John Smith briefly managed to get the colony on

When is Thanksgiving? Colonizing America: Crash Course US History #2

In which John Green teaches you about the (English) colonies in what is now the United States. He covers the first permanent English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the various theocracies in Massachusetts, the feudal kingdom in Maryland, and even a bit about the spooky lost colony at Roanoke Island. What were the English doing in

The American Revolution: Crash Course Black American History #8

When we talk about the American Revolution and Revolutionary War, the discussion often involves lofty ideals like liberty, and freedom, and justice. The Declaration of Independence even opens with the idea that “all men are created equal.” But it turns out, the war wasn’t being fought on behalf of “all men.” The war was mainly

If One Finger Brought Oil – Things Fall Apart Part 1: Crash Course Literature 208

In which John Green teaches you about Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel, Things Fall Apart. You’ll learn about Igboland, a region in modern day Nigeria, prior to the arrival of the British Empire. Achebe tells the story of Okonkwo, an Igbo villager who has worked his way up from life as a sharecropped and become a

Phillis Wheatley: Crash Course Black American History #7

Despite all the hardship of being a Black person in Colonial America, some Black people were able to defy the harsh conditions and create art. Today we’re learning about a teenager who attained literacy and wrote poems that reached a large slice of the population and helped changed the ways that white Colonists thought about