Donald L. Miller and Louis P. Masur trace the American impulse to reform from 1800 to 1848. They look at the development of political parties, including the Democrats and the Whigs; reform associations and movements, including changes in attitudes toward education, alcohol, and punishment of criminals; women's rights efforts; the fervor of the Second Great Awakening; and the continuing debate over slavery.

Donald L. Miller and Louis P. Masur follow the growth of American capitalism and industry from 1776 to 1861. They look at Samuel Slater's introduction of factories to the U.S.; the textile factory community of Lowell; transportation development and the creation of the Erie Canal; and the growth of Chicago, including quality of life and pollution issues it faced and its integration into the country's rail system.

Donald L. Miller, with Virginia Scharff, Louis P. Masur, and Pauline Maier, follows the new United States from 1776 to 1826, examining the development of the new country's government, from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution.

Donald L. Miller, with Pauline Maier and Waldo E. Martin, Jr., follow American history from the end of the French and Indian War through the American Revolution. On the way, they look at taxation and the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Continental Congresses, the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Thomas Paine's Common Sense and its effects, the Declaration of Independence, and the war itself.

Richard Miller reads two 1922 San Francisco Chronicle articles on the public reaction to and perception of flappers.

In 12 short video clips, scholar J. Douglas Smith analyzes cartoons on massive resistance, a 1950s campaign led by Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr., to resist desegregation following Brown v. Board of Education.

In 16 short video clips, scholar Chandra Manning looks at the song "John Brown's Body," the events it relates to, and its evolution over time.

In 11 short video clips, scholar Chandra Manning demonstrates scholarly analysis of letters by Civil War soldiers.

In 12 short video clips, University of Maryland professor Whitman Ridgway demonstrates scholarly analysis of the Bill of Rights.

In 20 short video clips, George Mason University professor Rosemarie Zagarri demonstrates scholarly analysis of the Declaration of Independence.