The Civil War Part 2: Crash Course US History #21

In which John Green teaches you how the Civil War played a large part in making the United States the country that it is today. He covers some of the key ways in which Abraham Lincoln influenced the outcome of the war, and how the lack of foreign intervention also helped the Union win the war. John also covers the technology that made the Civil War different than previous wars. New weapons helped to influence the outcomes of battles, but photography influenced how the public at large perceived the war. In addition, John gets into the long-term effects of the war, including the federalization and unification of the United States. All this plus homesteading, land grant universities, railroads, federal currency, and taxes.

Learn more about the Civil War, Frederick Douglass, and more in Crash Course Black American History:

Chapters:
Introduction 00:00
Did Lincoln Free the Slaves? 0:59
How Some Slaves Freed Themselves 1:55
Why Lincoln Signed the Emancipation Proclamation 2:41
The Gettysburg Address 4:20
The First Modern War 5:01
Mystery Document 6:04
Matthew Brady - Civil War Photographer 6:26
A New Nation 7:01
The Homestead Act, Morrill Land Grant Act, and Pacific Railway Act 8:16
Financing the Civil War 8:54
Post-War Industrialization 9:37
Credits 10:21

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[crashcourse]

The point of the mystery document is to introduce a primary document into the proceedings. Often the best way to study an event is to examine the experience of the people who lived through that event. -stan

[woahxitsamanda]

Why are there no knock-knock jokes about america? Because, freedom rings.

[rsnba]

Thank you CrashCourse! After two hours worth of videos, I got a 95 on my AP US-History exam!

[seroccoprime]

Lincoln also ordered the Union Army to protect freed slaves, made sure they treated freed slaves as equals while in the Union Army, and encouraged the border states to free their slaves.

There were two constants in Lincoln. The first is that he hated slavery and wanted it gone, and the second is that he did not want his country to collapse. When it was collapsing, he used that as the perfect avenue to abolish slavery by pushing through the Thirteenth Amendment.

Dude was honestly kinda brilliant.

[dropUrPeaches]

On meeting her, Lincoln said to Harriet Beecher Stowe, 'So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.' ...Just throwing out random trivia.

[grappler]

Say what you want about Lincoln, but he freed more slaves than every single one of our founding fathers who wrote the constitution that said all men are created equal. If our founding fathers had stopped slavery when they should have there would not have been a civil war. At least Lincoln had the balls to get it started and was against slavery from the very first time he saw a slave when he was a boy.

[hannahfannah]

If John Green could be my history teacher, I would love history class. He makes it so interesting & easy to understand!

I am actually so happy that we are having intelligent debates on youtube. Stay awesome crash course comment section

[Ace-kirr]

Lady Gaga ruling North Korea would've been amazing tbh

[spidergumdrop]

Is John Green missing a tooth on his bottom row? I keep thinking that I'm catching a glimpse, but no concrete evidence.

[Telmach]

I honestly would like to see a crash course Asian history. China, India, Korea, Japan, and Singapore have been glossed over a bit by the series thus far. We've already gotten a fairly thorough coverage of western history. As an added bonus imagine how hilarious John's pronunciations will be, I rest my case.

[SuperHamsterhuey]

Was that Conan O' Brian and Stephen Colbert in the thought bubble?

[UberMan]

That soldier shooting the Slave Law at 2:08 is one of the most badass things I've ever seen a cartoon character do.

[jennamarcus]

These videos are great. They really give a lot of context, cover many angles, and make you think. I feel like I'm gaining a deeper and more in depth understanding of history - and the present day- by watching these. Thanks John and the Crash Course team for this incredible resource.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

Not at all surprised that Lincoln had a portrait of Stephen Colbert in the White House. US History obviously would never have happened without him.

[musickatie]

I had to rewind because I got distracted by Conan's string dance

[knightni]

Gotta love Union soldier Conan O'Brien 1:58

[meldicey]

Did anyone else notice the captions at 8:26 - 8:34 ?

[RiderofRiddermark]

"Britain will never support or even recognise our nation the way it is. We should have freed the slaves and then fired on Fort Sumter."
- James Longstreet

[geekgod]

Anyone else notice Lincoln has a bottle of Jack Daniels with a straw when rocking in his chair?