In the early 1900s, President Theodore Roosevelt's progressive legislation, dubbed the Square Deal, aimed to limit the power of corporations, protect consumers, and conserve natural resources. The Square Deal drastically changed the United States – and still impacts our lives today.

It began as a protest against the Conscription Act of 1863 – but quickly descended into the bloodiest race riot in US history. So why did New York’s White working class kill at least 120 people during the New York Draft Riots?

Andrew Carnegie immigrates to the United States with his parents and starts working at age 12. He finds a patron in railroad executive Tom Scott who teaches him about the business.

Around 11 million undocumented immigrants currently live in the United States, and the question of what to do about them has sparked years of fierce debate. Some argue that these immigrants work hard and make positive contributions to the economy, while others argue that they burden taxpayers and create unwanted competition for jobs. In 2013, the Senate passed a comprehensive bill that included giving undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship,...

This program explores our history and culture during the early 20th century, when a wave of reforms changed our political system and attempted to remedy the social and economic inequities arising from industrialization and urbanization. Progressive President Theodore Roosevelt helped set the tone of the era by supporting regulation of industry, initiating government reforms, and promoting conservation of public lands. The Progressive Era altered the...

Theo Wilson time travels to 1889 to the bucolic river shores of Johnstown, Pennsylvania where the biggest flood in U.S. history is about to be unleashed. Wilson finds himself dissecting the disaster, along the way discovering how filthy rich steel barons cut corners on maintenance of a nearby dam and laid the groundwork for this epic flood—all because they wanted to fish.

In 1873, Mark Twain co-authored a satirical novel entitled The Gilded Age. The process of gilding involves applying a thin layer of gold to an object to make it appear more valuable. Historians adopted Twain's title to describe a period of American history characterized by prosperity and industrialization that thinly disguised blatant corruption in politics and business. This program explores many facets of the Gilded Age, including industrialization...

In this episode, Theo Wilson goes back to the mid-1800s where he finds a young man named Jesse James on the path toward becoming America's most infamous outlaw. Wilson separates myth from reality in Jesse James' career, and charts how a thirst for fame, riches, and revenge led James toward his fated murder by a member of his own gang.

Theo Wilson time travels to 1865 and immerses himself in the events that lead John Wilkes Booth to hatch a plan to kill President Abraham Lincoln. Wilson uncovers a series of surprising moments, from a sibling rivalry to Booth's first encounter with Lincoln, which sharpened Booth's hatred for the president and led to him to murder Lincoln just when the United States of America needed the 16th President most. Featuring insights from leading historians....

Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. and is governed by federal law but its people are unable to vote in Presidential elections. Why does this US Commonwealth remain stuck in constitutional limbo?