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HISTORY PODCASTS

INTRO TO US HISTORY US HISTORY SINCE 1945 AYN RAND  MILTON FRIEDMAN 

DOWNLOAD COURSE SYLLABUS ACCESS POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS

Introduction to the History of the United States, 1865-2005, is the basic introductory class for 20th century American history at UC Berkeley, making these lectures a good starting point for those interested in modern U.S. history. There are 39 lectures of about 50 minutes each. With an enrollment that usually tops 500 students, "History 7b," as Cal students call the course, is the history department’s largest class and one of the largest at the university. It is a pre-requisite for several different majors, including history, political science, and mass communications.

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It also fulfills the university’s American Cultures requirement. For this reason, I emphasize the historical experience of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and Native Americans as well as how ideas about race have been constructed and used throughout history.

The course is geared to non-majors and assumes little prior knowledge of American history. For this reason, I keep the lectures basic and also try to cover a little bit of everything over the 40-odd sessions. As I tell my students, view this class as a survey and overview, rather than the last word! My hope is that a topic I cover briefly will capture your interest, inspiring you to more in-depth learning and understanding.

These lectures are not edited, revised, peer reviewed, or even rehearsed – what you are hearing is the raw version delivered in real-time, for the first time. Click here for an "errata" file of known errors.


  1. History 7b 01 – Introductory Lecture Jennifer Burns 50:07
  2. History 7b 02 – Civil War and Its Aftermath Jennifer Burns 51:23
  3. History 7b 03 – Reconstruction Jennifer Burns 51:48
  4. History 7b 04 – Conquest of the West Jennifer Burns 48:00
  5. History 7b 05 – Settling of the West Jennifer Burns 50:42
  6. History 7b 06 – Economics of Industrialization Jennifer Burns 50:37
  7. History 7b 07 – The New South Jennifer Burns 50:40
  8. History 7b 08 – Gilded Age Politics Jennifer Burns 51:22
  9. History 7b 09 – Workers and Unions Jennifer Burns 51:40
  10. History 7b 10 – Immigrant Culture Jennifer Burns 49:50
  11. History 7b 11 – The Meaning of Whiteness Jennifer Burns 50:24
  12. History 7b 12 – Social Thought in the Gilded Age Jennifer Burns 49:27
  13. History 7b 13 – Progressivism Jennifer Burns 47:28
  14. History 7b 14 – Victorian Women Jennifer Burns 51:04
  15. History 7b 15 – The Spanish-American War Jennifer Burns 49:43
  16. History 7b 16 – The Election of 1912 Jennifer Burns 50:22
  17. History 7b 18 – The Great War Jennifer Burns 49:22
  18. History 7b 19 – 1920s: The Scopes Trial Jennifer Burns 45:11
  19. History 7b 20 – 1920s: The Jazz Age Jennifer Burns 48:10
  20. History 7b 21 – The Great Crash and Depression Jennifer Burns 50:06
  21. History 7b 22 – The New Deal Jennifer Burns 50:45
  22. History 7b 23 – WWII: The War Economy Jennifer Burns 47:54
  23. Lecture 24: Bush and Clinton Part I Jennifer Burns 48:20
  24. Lecture 25: Concluding Lecture Jennifer Burns 49:42
  25. History 7b 26 – The Postwar Order Emerges Jennifer Burns 50:27
  26. History 7b 27 – The Cold War: Domestic Front Jennifer Burns 51:15
  27. History 7b 28 – In the Shadow of the Bomb Jennifer Burns 50:59
  28. History 7b 29 – Civil Rights: Building a Movement Jennifer Burns 52:00
  29. History 7b 30 – Civil Rights: Reconstruction Redux Jennifer Burns 49:10
  30. History 7b 31 – Barry Goldwater and the Right Jennifer Burns 49:40
  31. History 7b 32 – 1960s: From Reform to Revolution Jennifer Burns 48:48
  32. History 7b 33 – Feminism and Antifeminism Jennifer Burns 47:35
  33. History 7b 34 – The Vietnam War Jennifer Burns 50:59
  34. History 7b 35 – The Rise and Fall of Richard Nixon Jennifer Burns 51:14
  35. History 7b 36 – Iranian Hostage Crisis Jennifer Burns 51:33
  36. History 7b 37 – Rise of the Religious Right Jennifer Burns 51:12
  37. History 7b 39 – Conclusion: 9/11 and Beyond Jennifer Burns 45:06