American History Series

1. The New World. The history of this hemisphere is traced from 10,000 BC to 1600 in two sections. 1) The Pre-Columbian period, before 1492 and the arrival of the Europeans. This includes a survey of the Indian cultures of North America, and a sense of the civilizations of the Mayans, the Aztecs, and the Incas. 2) The Portuguese and Spanish exploration and exploitation of the Americas from 1492 to 1600. This includes the slave trade and a background of the history of Africa, including the different cultures.

2. The Early Colonies. This period covers 1586 to 1660. The video covers the development of the English and Dutch colonies along the Atlantic seaboard and mentions French settlements along the St Lawrence River. Parallel developments in England and Europe are sketched, with an emphasis on religious persecution and the Puritans. [Completed in 2003 as Animated Atlas: The Early Colonies.]

3. The Later Colonies. This period covers 1660 to 1763. The video covers the maturation of the English colonies and the parallel deveolpment of the French settlements in the interior, culminating in the French and Indian War of 1756-1763.

4. The Revolutionary War. This 20 minute tape covers 1763 to 1783. After a short summary of colonial conditions and aspirations from 1763 to 1773, the Revolutionary War begins with Lexington and Concord and the siege of Boston in 1775, through the siege of Yorktown in 1781. Geography and maps are used to illustrate the overall strategies of both sides, as well as map enactments of the battles. Some live footage of contemporary recreations is included. [Completed in 1999 as Animated Atlas: The Revolutionary War.]

5. Birth of a Nation. This covers 1783 to 1828. Some sense of the Constitution and structure of the new government is visualized with conceptual animation. The major world events of the time, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era, are sketched as background. This will help explain the Louisiana purchase. The expansion into the Ohio valley and the formation of the states east of the Mississippi are shown. The War of 1812 is related as a burlesque of the Revolutionary War. The revolutions in South America and Mexico are sketched.

6. Expansion West and the Mexican War. This 30 minute tape reviews the role of Spain in the Americas and the Latin Wars of Independence. The Texas Revolution of 1835-56 is covered, and the build up to the Mexican war, which is covered in detail. The conclusion shows the final southwest states. [ Completed in 2000 as Animated Atlas: Expansion West and The Mexican War.]

7. The Civil War. This tape covers 1850 to 1865. After a short summary of the causes of the war and the preliminary struggles of the 1850s, the war itself is covered in map animation which emphasizes overall strategy and the war in Virginia. The story ends with the assassination of Lincoln.

8. Reconstruction and Growth. This covers 1865 to 1910. Here map animation has a new task: to sketch the rapidly growing infrastructure of the country after the Civil War. We will attempt to illustrate the growth of cities such as Boston, New York, Chicago, and others. As background, the rise of European Imperialism is sketched, as well as the expansion eastward of Russia, the breakup of China, and the entrance of Japan as an industrial power. The Spanish war is glimpsed. The American story concludes with Teddy Roosevelt and the national park system.

9. World War I. 28 minutes. The causes of the war, rooted in imperialism, are summarized, after a brief sketch of European geography. The strategy and course of the war are illustrated with map animation and some archival footage. The results of this war, particularly the political geography changes, are delineated. [Completed in 2001 as Animated Atlas: Overview of World War I.]

10. World War II. This tape covers 1920 to 1945. The rise of communism in Russia and fascism in Europe is glimpsed. Map animation will here be challenged to reduce World War II to manageable length by emphasizing overall strategy, which is a complex but amazing story. The emergence of the United States as the leading world power will be seen.

11. The Cold War and After. The breakdown of imperialism following World War II is shown in wars of liberation and the emergence of new nations in Africa and Asia. The US agenda in this third world struggle is seen as the containment of the USSR. The Korean war and the Vietnam war are briefly sketched. The US wins the Cold War in the middle 1980s. The first ten years of American world "rule" by means of economic development and occasional police actions is sketched.