The States (2007)
The States is a 2007 American documentary television series about the history of each state in the United States of America, narrated by Edward Herrmann. The show documents each of the 50 states in the union. The show begins with an introduction to the five states to be documented within the episode. Each state's segment begins with the narrator giving a clue as to what that state might be, and then revealing the answer. There is then a billboard that pops up showing the state nickname, motto, population, population ranking within the union, date the state entered the union, and state flag. During interviews with historians or notable people from a state, the state's quarter is shown. Since the series was produced in 2007, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii are shown with their flags. Those quarters were released in 2008 The show then highlights the history of the state itself, including notable events that have happened there, and highlights other noteworthy things in that state. In 2010 a sister presentation and then series, How the States Got Their Shapes was aired.
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The States
2007Seasons & Episode
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and subsequent major tremors along the San Andreas Fault prompted California scientists to explore ways to predict the next "big one. "England's first attempt to colonize the New World in 1585 at Roanoke ended in the mysterious disappearance of the entire expedition. Pro- and anti-slavery factions battled for statehood in 1850s Kansas, propelling America toward the Civil War. The first act of open rebellion in America's Revolutionary War took place at Fort William and Mary when the British stronghold was raided for weapons and munitions. When Virginia joined the Confederacy in 1861, Union loyalists in the western portion of the state rebelled, forming their own state government, but not without a struggle.
Travel back to the origins of New York City at New Amsterdam, the 16th century Dutch merchant colony. Discover how French Acadians fled Canada in 1873 to settle in Louisiana, developing the "Cajun" subculture. The Oregon Trail opened in 1843, bringing half a million settlers to the west. Visit Los Alamos Laboratories in New Mexico's remote high desert, the birthplace of the atomic bomb, and where today research continues to advance science. Finally, learn how two friends from Vermont opened an ice cream shop in 1977 and would go on to become America's most famous entrepreneurs.
Michigan's logging industry helped build fortunes, but over-harvesting also threatened the environment. Davy Crocket, the coonskin-capped congressman from Tennessee, became more legend than reality thanks to 19th century political campaigns. Originally disdained as a food fit only for servants, lobsters are now a delicacy fueling Maine's fishing industries. Riverboat traffic and trailheads to Santa Fe and Oregon made Missouri the "Gateway to the West." The discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 created a rush of prospectors who displaced Indians from sacred land that they'd been promised for eternity.
Stone Mountain, Georgia, a monument to three heroes of the Confederacy, dwarfs Mt. Rushmore. The Denver Mint in Colorado, which produces the most coins in the world, started out during Colorado's gold and silver boom of the 1860s as a private bank. Wisconsin's Great Lakes are littered with sunken ships, but the cold, fresh waters keep aging vessels intact. One hundred, sixty acres of free land made available by The Homestead Act of 1862 drew settlers to Nebraska's plains. Maryland soil helped found the District of Columbia, but the District's Federal status denies it any state's rights of its own.
The States is a 2007 American documentary television series about the history of each state in the United States of America, narrated by Edward Herrmann. The show documents each of the 50 states in the union. The show begins with an introduction to the five states to be documented within the episode. Each state's segment begins with the narrator giving a clue as to what that state might be, and then revealing the answer. There is then a billboard that pops up showing the state nickname, motto, population, population ranking within the union, date the state entered the union, and state flag. During interviews with historians or notable people from a state, the state's quarter is shown. Since the series was produced in 2007, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii are shown with their flags. Those quarters were released in 2008 The show then highlights the history of the state itself, including notable events that have happened there, and highlights other noteworthy things in that state. In 2010 a sister presentation and then series, How the States Got Their Shapes was aired.