Let’s talk about identifying with the bad guy a little more – Beau of the Fifth Column

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

Frederick Douglass: Crash Course Black American History #17

Clint Smith teaches you about one of the most famous writers, orators, and advocates of the 19th century, Frederick Douglass. Douglass was born in slavery, escaped to the North, and became one of the most influential people of his time. Douglass wrote about the experience of slavery in a way that captured the attention of

The Dred Scott Decision: Crash Course Black American History #16

In this video, we’ll learn about the US Supreme Court decision in Scott vs Sanford, handed down in 1857. The case ultimately rejected the idea that Black people could be citizens of the United States, and this helped entrench the institution of slavery, denied a host of rights to a huge number of people (both

California recall candidate Larry Elder says it could be argued that slave owners were owed reparations after the Civil War

On a July episode of Prager University’s “The Candace Owens Show,” Owens said the US was one of the first countries to abolish the slave trade. Her guest, Larry Elder, said because slavery was legal and their “property” had been taken, slave owners could be owed reparations. Elder said the compensation UK slaveowners received for

The Election of 1860 & the Road to Disunion: Crash Course US History #18

In which John Green teaches you about the election of 1860. As you may remember from last week, things were not great at this time in US history. The tensions between the North and South were rising, ultimately due to the single issue of slavery. The North wanted to abolish slavery, and the South wanted

Thomas Jefferson & His Democracy: Crash Course US History #10

In which John Green teaches you about founding father and third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson is a somewhat controversial figure in American history, largely because he, like pretty much all humans, was a big bundle of contradictions. Jefferson was a slave-owner who couldn’t decide if he liked slavery. He advocated for

Who Won the American Revolution?: Crash Course US History #7

In which John Green teaches you about the American Revolution. And the Revolutionary War. I know we’ve labored the point here, but they weren’t the same thing. In any case, John will teach you about the major battles of the war, and discuss the strategies on both sides. Everyone is familiar with how this war

Women’s Experience Under Slavery: Crash Course Black American History #11

Slavery was inherently cruel and unjust, and it was cruel and unjust to different people in different ways. Today, Clint Smith teaches you about the experience of enslaved women, and how their experience of slavery was different than men. Women had a unique vantage point to understand slavery, and were particularly vulnerable to some terrible

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793: Crash Course Black American History #10

One of the ways that the US Constitution baked the institution of slavery into the very core of the new United States was through the fugitive slave clause. The clause required that people who escaped slavery be returned to their enslavers. In parts of the US that didn’t want slavery, the clause sometimes went unenforced.