Historical Educational Gift Ideas

The history channel put together an amazing documentary on the history of the United States.  What makes this  documentary different, is that the History Channel gives us a view into the past with reenactments than showing pictures or photographs.  This educational piece will keep you on your toes learning something you may have not known from the first settlers, or it could open your mind up to the grand innovation of our country which got us off our feet.   We first saw this powerful series on the history channel, and today it can be found for free on You tube.  I guarantee after viewing it, you will want to have a copy for yourselves and give it as a gift for your family.  It makes a great gift for friends and relatives (that are impossible to buy for), and it does a great job of educating our youth, but at the same time it is entertaining for adults.

Episode 1: Rebels

How did it America get its name? Get to know the men and women who traveled across the ocean to settle in America.

Episode 3: Westward
How many pounds of gold were discovered in California during the Gold Rush? Discover what it took for America's borders to spread "from sea to shining sea."

Episode 4: Division

America becomes a nation at the moment a revolution in commerce and industry sweeps across the western world.  This vast new country, experiences a rapid change--in trade, transport and manufacturing.   The construction of the Erie Canal, New York booms, and the American industrial revolution takes off.  The issue is slavery takes precedence.  Abraham Lincoln sets the stage for war.

Episode 5: Civil War

The Civil War rages and the death toll soars like never before seen on American soil.  The rail network, the telegram, supply lines, medicine and the media all advance like never before.  America poised to explode into the 20th century as a global superpower.

Episode 6: Heartland

In 1869, the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of America, more than 2,000 miles apart, are linked by continuous metal rails which alters the entire ecology of the continent.  Lumber was driven down the rivers to build the new homes and cities of the Midwest, where grass houses were the norm.  The cowboy drives cattle thousands of miles to bring food to the East. Barbed wire was invented, and steel wire transforms the plains by parcel up the land.  The heartland is transformed--not by the gun, but by railroad, fence and plough.

Episode 7: Cities

Between 1880 and 1930, nearly 24 million new immigrants arrive in America.   Cities like New York and Chicago expand with the new immigrants, and a new kind of building, the sky scraper, is made possible by steel.  Powered by steel and electricity, the new York begins to be transformed into a city defined by mass transportation, stunning skylines, electric light...and the innovative, industrious American spirit.

Episode 8: BOOM

Oil production doubles overnight and prices plummet from $2 to 3 cents a barrel. Henry Ford brings the motor car to the masses, and in 1900, there are 8,000 cars in the country. By 1930, there are over 20 million. As the population becomes more mobile, the entire shape of America changes. .

Episode 9: BUST

In October 1929, the economic boom of the 1920s ends with a crash on Wall Street. Between 1929 and 1932, $2 billion in deposits evaporate. Years of intensive ploughing and severe drought dry out the land.

Episode 10: WWII

It is 1939, and while war breaks out in Europe, America remains mired in a 10-year Depression. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brings America into another world war.   The nation taps into vast manufacturing reserves that have been idle for 10 years: factories, electrical plants, railroads.  The might of America's strategy and supplies turns the tide of war.

Episode 11: Superpower

World War II transforms America into a global superpower. Fueled by technology, the economy booms, and a new age of consumerism is born. More than a million acres of land each year to build new suburbs.  The first man walks on the moon-and plants the American flag there.

Episode 12: Millennium

America booms in both population and prosperity. The "baby boomers" become the next generation to reinvent the country. Powerful new technologies sweep the nation. Television brings the world into Americans' living rooms, changing lives and values in unexpected ways.  A piece of plastic-the credit card-shapes the decade and spurs spending. The biggest technological advances change the globe such as the personal computer and the Internet. Just like the telegraph and railroad before them, these new breakthroughs transform America.  As the nation launches into the 21st century, what does the future hold?