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Social Studies Videos 51 videos

GED Social Studies 1.1 Civics and Government
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GED Social Studies 1.1 Civics and Government

John Hawkins
255 Views

John Hawkins was may have been the most interesting man in the world. He doesn’t always hijack ships, but when he does... he prefers for them to...

Betty Friedan
650 Views

Betty Frieden was one of the leading influences (arguably the starting one) in women's rights. She argued for gender equality everywhere— from th...

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The Salem Witch Trials 10340 Views


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Description:

It's the year 1692 in colonial New England—Salem, to be precise. In a courtroom, someone is being accused of witchcraft. Totally crazy, right? We agree, but the Salem Witch Trials really did happen. Before everyone came to their senses, 19 people were hanged and 2 dogs were killed, and Arthur Miller had the tragic subject for one of his most famous plays.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:00

Unit 2: The Loneliest Unit Since the Unit 1.

00:15

So… how was our country as we know it today… born?

00:20

Do we have one of those “chicken and egg” paradoxes on our hands?

00:32

Was America left in a basket on someone’s front door step?

00:36

Or did it result from a couple of other countries… gettin’ busy?

00:41

Okay, so maybe it’s not that simple.

00:45

However, there were a number of formative characters and events that certainly helped

00:54

shape our nation. You’ve got the Puritans, whose religious

00:59

beliefs might be considered extreme by our standards…

01:04

… but their uncompromising devotion to those beliefs paved the way for our modern spiritual

01:09

society. The Salem witch trials may seem outrageous

01:13

to us… …but it wasn’t that long ago that we dealt

01:19

with McCarthyism in this country…

01:22

…and many others have been unfairly persecuted since.

01:27

Like those poor Olsen twins. Even the way we get information has undergone

01:36

a considerable makeover.

01:38

We live in a time where media rules the day…

01:44

…but that media got its start several hundred years ago with the advent of the modern printing

01:59

press. Things have changed since then…

02:02

…but if not for those first newspapers, we wouldn’t have “I Can Has Cheezburger”

02:08

today… Without revivalism and the Great Awakening…

02:12

…we might not have separation of church and state.

02:19

And without the establishment of those first 13 colonies…

02:23

…well, we never would have been able to add the 37 others, right?

02:27

Interested to find out how America got its start?

02:31

Take a trip with us back through time…

02:33

… and we’ll tell you all about her.

02:36

Ain’t she a cutie?

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