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So in the last video, we were talking about the system of labor in the Chesapeake area, surrounding the Chesapeake Bay, in the early English colonies in America. And one thing that seemed a little bit strange there was that even though the first ship with enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia in 1619, slavery wasn't actually the dominant form of labor in Virginia until much later in the late 1600s. In fact, the vast majority of laborers in Virginia were in fact white indentured servants. And these indentured servants would come from England and the planter that they proposed to work for would pay their passage across the Atlantic and in exchange, the servant would agree to work for that planter for a period of three to seven years. And this is an example of what one of these indentures might have looked like. It's in old timey writing, so it's a little hard to see, but here you can see that there's three years is the amount of time that this person promises. And this is from Pennsylvania. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
And these indentured servants would come from England and the planter that they proposed to work for would pay their passage across the Atlantic and in exchange, the servant would agree to work for that planter for a period of three to seven years. And this is an example of what one of these indentures might have looked like. It's in old timey writing, so it's a little hard to see, but here you can see that there's three years is the amount of time that this person promises. And this is from Pennsylvania. It kind of gives you a good sense of how someone would say, alright, I'm gonna work for this person for this long in exchange for my passage and it's a contract. And this was a pretty good deal for planters because for every person that they brought over from England, they got another 50 acres of land, meaning that if you had the money to bring over quite a few servants, you could expand your land holdings very fast. And the other good thing about this, at least in terms of the planters, was that these indentured servants had a pretty high rate of death. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
And this is from Pennsylvania. It kind of gives you a good sense of how someone would say, alright, I'm gonna work for this person for this long in exchange for my passage and it's a contract. And this was a pretty good deal for planters because for every person that they brought over from England, they got another 50 acres of land, meaning that if you had the money to bring over quite a few servants, you could expand your land holdings very fast. And the other good thing about this, at least in terms of the planters, was that these indentured servants had a pretty high rate of death. It was not healthy to live in this swampy area of Virginia. So quite frequently, planters didn't actually have to make good on their promise to set these indentured servants up with some land of their own, some tools to work it, because they didn't survive through their indenture. So if this system of indentured servitude and the headright system that gave planters more land for bringing over more servants was working out so well for them, why did African slavery become the dominant form of labor in Virginia starting about 1700? | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
And the other good thing about this, at least in terms of the planters, was that these indentured servants had a pretty high rate of death. It was not healthy to live in this swampy area of Virginia. So quite frequently, planters didn't actually have to make good on their promise to set these indentured servants up with some land of their own, some tools to work it, because they didn't survive through their indenture. So if this system of indentured servitude and the headright system that gave planters more land for bringing over more servants was working out so well for them, why did African slavery become the dominant form of labor in Virginia starting about 1700? Now when we think about tobacco cultivation and later cotton cultivation in the American South before the Civil War, what we think of is enslaved African laborers. And indeed, by the year 1700, about 15% of the population living in Virginia was enslaved Africans, going from just a handful at the beginning of the century. So what caused this incredible transition in not only labor but also racism to happen in early America? | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
So if this system of indentured servitude and the headright system that gave planters more land for bringing over more servants was working out so well for them, why did African slavery become the dominant form of labor in Virginia starting about 1700? Now when we think about tobacco cultivation and later cotton cultivation in the American South before the Civil War, what we think of is enslaved African laborers. And indeed, by the year 1700, about 15% of the population living in Virginia was enslaved Africans, going from just a handful at the beginning of the century. So what caused this incredible transition in not only labor but also racism to happen in early America? Well there's one major event that historians tend to point to as a turning point in American slavery, and that is the rebellion led by Nathaniel Bacon in 1676. So let's talk a little bit more about that. So to understand Bacon's Rebellion, we have to backtrack a little bit and talk about the development of political power and tobacco in Virginia. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
So what caused this incredible transition in not only labor but also racism to happen in early America? Well there's one major event that historians tend to point to as a turning point in American slavery, and that is the rebellion led by Nathaniel Bacon in 1676. So let's talk a little bit more about that. So to understand Bacon's Rebellion, we have to backtrack a little bit and talk about the development of political power and tobacco in Virginia. So in 1619, the Virginia Company established the first government in Virginia. It was called the House of Burgesses. And this is really important because it is, in effect, the first, at least semi-democratic form of government in the New World. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
So to understand Bacon's Rebellion, we have to backtrack a little bit and talk about the development of political power and tobacco in Virginia. So in 1619, the Virginia Company established the first government in Virginia. It was called the House of Burgesses. And this is really important because it is, in effect, the first, at least semi-democratic form of government in the New World. I mean, in a way, it's kind of like a parliament that was set up for Virginia so that they could debate local issues. And it's going to be the House of Burgesses and its later Virginia House of Delegates that ends up leading the charge for the American Revolution more than a century later than this. But as we think about the way that political power was distributed in Virginia, you can guess who might have a lot of say in the House of Burgesses, and these are the tobacco planters. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
And this is really important because it is, in effect, the first, at least semi-democratic form of government in the New World. I mean, in a way, it's kind of like a parliament that was set up for Virginia so that they could debate local issues. And it's going to be the House of Burgesses and its later Virginia House of Delegates that ends up leading the charge for the American Revolution more than a century later than this. But as we think about the way that political power was distributed in Virginia, you can guess who might have a lot of say in the House of Burgesses, and these are the tobacco planters. So the government of Virginia, although it is a democracy of these landowning men, has still got most of the power at the very top. Because as we talked about in the last video, the power system in Virginia looks like a handful of planters at the top, a very small number of free, white farmers who had their own land, but nothing like the gigantic tracts of tobacco plantations that the planters had. Then a whole lot of white indentured servants who have very little political power since they are at basically the mercy of the planters. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
But as we think about the way that political power was distributed in Virginia, you can guess who might have a lot of say in the House of Burgesses, and these are the tobacco planters. So the government of Virginia, although it is a democracy of these landowning men, has still got most of the power at the very top. Because as we talked about in the last video, the power system in Virginia looks like a handful of planters at the top, a very small number of free, white farmers who had their own land, but nothing like the gigantic tracts of tobacco plantations that the planters had. Then a whole lot of white indentured servants who have very little political power since they are at basically the mercy of the planters. And then just a tiny handful of black slaves. And in this time period, white indentured servants and black slaves, black free people, also a tiny number, didn't have that much difference when it came to political rights. In fact, white indentured servants frequently complained that they felt that slaves were treated better than them, which may have been the case because they were worth more. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
Then a whole lot of white indentured servants who have very little political power since they are at basically the mercy of the planters. And then just a tiny handful of black slaves. And in this time period, white indentured servants and black slaves, black free people, also a tiny number, didn't have that much difference when it came to political rights. In fact, white indentured servants frequently complained that they felt that slaves were treated better than them, which may have been the case because they were worth more. Remember, they were worth hundreds of pounds, whereas white indentured servants cost just a couple of pounds to come over, frequently died, so they were less of an investment than slaves. The other important factor here is just what it takes to grow tobacco. Tobacco is a labor-intensive crop, we know, but it's also kind of a crop that is extremely hard on the soil. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
In fact, white indentured servants frequently complained that they felt that slaves were treated better than them, which may have been the case because they were worth more. Remember, they were worth hundreds of pounds, whereas white indentured servants cost just a couple of pounds to come over, frequently died, so they were less of an investment than slaves. The other important factor here is just what it takes to grow tobacco. Tobacco is a labor-intensive crop, we know, but it's also kind of a crop that is extremely hard on the soil. It depletes the soil fast, which means that there is a constant need for new soil. And when you're coming from the coast, there's our Atlantic Ocean over here, and this is Virginia, and our Jamestown colony along the river, James. More and more planters, as they come over, remember we have this headright system, we have a system that says that if indentured servants finish out the terms of their indenture, they get land of their own, means there is constant pressure to add more and more land so you can farm more and more tobacco. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
Tobacco is a labor-intensive crop, we know, but it's also kind of a crop that is extremely hard on the soil. It depletes the soil fast, which means that there is a constant need for new soil. And when you're coming from the coast, there's our Atlantic Ocean over here, and this is Virginia, and our Jamestown colony along the river, James. More and more planters, as they come over, remember we have this headright system, we have a system that says that if indentured servants finish out the terms of their indenture, they get land of their own, means there is constant pressure to add more and more land so you can farm more and more tobacco. You start going farther and farther into the interior. So what does this mean? It means that land becomes relatively scarce pretty fast, and it also means that as white settlers continue to move west toward the Appalachian Mountains, which are over here, I hope you enjoy this beautiful map. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
More and more planters, as they come over, remember we have this headright system, we have a system that says that if indentured servants finish out the terms of their indenture, they get land of their own, means there is constant pressure to add more and more land so you can farm more and more tobacco. You start going farther and farther into the interior. So what does this mean? It means that land becomes relatively scarce pretty fast, and it also means that as white settlers continue to move west toward the Appalachian Mountains, which are over here, I hope you enjoy this beautiful map. It's certainly a work of art. They are running up against more and more anger and conflict with Native Americans who are living in the coast and the Appalachian Mountains. And now it's definitely in the interest of the House of Burgesses, the government here at Jamestown, to make sure that there's as little conflict with Native Americans as possible. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
It means that land becomes relatively scarce pretty fast, and it also means that as white settlers continue to move west toward the Appalachian Mountains, which are over here, I hope you enjoy this beautiful map. It's certainly a work of art. They are running up against more and more anger and conflict with Native Americans who are living in the coast and the Appalachian Mountains. And now it's definitely in the interest of the House of Burgesses, the government here at Jamestown, to make sure that there's as little conflict with Native Americans as possible. Remember we had these wars of extinction with the Powhatans. It wasn't a fun time for anyone, and so the House of Burgesses, which is now somewhat responsible to the King of England since he acquired it from the Virginia Company as a royal colony in 1624, they have a relatively friendly attitude toward the Native Americans. They're hoping to avoid conflict, and so their governor, Governor William Barclay, Barclay, spelled Berkeley but pronounced Barkley, I don't know why, he refuses to take on another war of extinction against the Native Americans, which makes a lot of white servants and white freemen pretty angry. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
And now it's definitely in the interest of the House of Burgesses, the government here at Jamestown, to make sure that there's as little conflict with Native Americans as possible. Remember we had these wars of extinction with the Powhatans. It wasn't a fun time for anyone, and so the House of Burgesses, which is now somewhat responsible to the King of England since he acquired it from the Virginia Company as a royal colony in 1624, they have a relatively friendly attitude toward the Native Americans. They're hoping to avoid conflict, and so their governor, Governor William Barclay, Barclay, spelled Berkeley but pronounced Barkley, I don't know why, he refuses to take on another war of extinction against the Native Americans, which makes a lot of white servants and white freemen pretty angry. It's the late 1600s now, and more and more of these indentured servants are living to finish out their terms of indenture. They've now built up some immunity to these diseases that have killed so many other people in Virginia, and they're finding it really hard to make a living because the planters don't want to give quite so many rights, quite so many perks to people who live out their indentures. Remember this was a good deal for planters when these white servants never actually survived to make good on the promises of land, and now that they are, the planters don't want to extend them things like a promise of land because land is already scarce. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
They're hoping to avoid conflict, and so their governor, Governor William Barclay, Barclay, spelled Berkeley but pronounced Barkley, I don't know why, he refuses to take on another war of extinction against the Native Americans, which makes a lot of white servants and white freemen pretty angry. It's the late 1600s now, and more and more of these indentured servants are living to finish out their terms of indenture. They've now built up some immunity to these diseases that have killed so many other people in Virginia, and they're finding it really hard to make a living because the planters don't want to give quite so many rights, quite so many perks to people who live out their indentures. Remember this was a good deal for planters when these white servants never actually survived to make good on the promises of land, and now that they are, the planters don't want to extend them things like a promise of land because land is already scarce. So when servants are finishing up their indentures, they're finding it difficult to make a living. They often have to continue to work for the planter they had been indentured to for very small wages. They don't have land of their own. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
Remember this was a good deal for planters when these white servants never actually survived to make good on the promises of land, and now that they are, the planters don't want to extend them things like a promise of land because land is already scarce. So when servants are finishing up their indentures, they're finding it difficult to make a living. They often have to continue to work for the planter they had been indentured to for very small wages. They don't have land of their own. They can't get started, and this is a world composed almost entirely of men, so they can't even find women to marry, and I think if there's anything we've learned from US history, it's that you never want a whole lot of unemployed, angry, young men hanging about because young men with a lot of time on their hands get up to trouble, and one young man in particular was this fellow here, Nathaniel Bacon, who was incensed at Governor Barclay's refusal to take a harsher stance against the Native Americans on the West where all of these white farmers wished that they could settle, and so he gets up a militia full of young white men and also African American men to actually go after the Native Americans. So this is a biracial raid force for Native Americans, and they raid Native American villages and kill many Native Americans living in the area, and Governor Barclay wants them to stop, and instead of stopping, they march to Jamestown, the capital of Virginia, and set it on fire. So this is a group of landless white men, landless African American men, who have rebelled against the government of Virginia. | Jamestown - Bacon's Rebellion (2).mp3 |
When we think about European exploration in the Americas, we tend to start at 1492 with Christopher Columbus showing up at the island of Hispaniola. But in this video, I want to take a step back a few decades and talk about the conditions that led to Christopher Columbus's voyage in the first place. What was he doing there? So let's zoom in a little bit and take a look at what the world would have looked like to someone in Western Europe around the year 1450. So to a European, this would have been about the extent of the known world. Now, they wouldn't have had anything like the level of this detail, but they certainly knew that there were very good things to be had in India and China and the Middle East, excellent trade goods like silk and spices, and they knew there was quite a lot of world outside of Europe and Africa, but they didn't think that there was much out there. They expected there would be some small islands on the range of Iceland, perhaps, but they had no conception that there were two gigantic continents on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
So let's zoom in a little bit and take a look at what the world would have looked like to someone in Western Europe around the year 1450. So to a European, this would have been about the extent of the known world. Now, they wouldn't have had anything like the level of this detail, but they certainly knew that there were very good things to be had in India and China and the Middle East, excellent trade goods like silk and spices, and they knew there was quite a lot of world outside of Europe and Africa, but they didn't think that there was much out there. They expected there would be some small islands on the range of Iceland, perhaps, but they had no conception that there were two gigantic continents on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. It's a frequent misconception that people in this time period thought that the world was flat. Learned people of the era knew that the world was round. In fact, they had known so since the time of the Greeks. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
They expected there would be some small islands on the range of Iceland, perhaps, but they had no conception that there were two gigantic continents on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. It's a frequent misconception that people in this time period thought that the world was flat. Learned people of the era knew that the world was round. In fact, they had known so since the time of the Greeks. What they did know was that the world was pretty large. In fact, they correctly estimated that the circumference of the globe is about 25,000 miles, and so they knew that given the shipping technology that they had, it would be impossible to go west and arrive at the east while still having enough food and water to supply your crew. Now, why would anyone have dreamt of going west to get east when they could have simply gone east to get east? | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
In fact, they had known so since the time of the Greeks. What they did know was that the world was pretty large. In fact, they correctly estimated that the circumference of the globe is about 25,000 miles, and so they knew that given the shipping technology that they had, it would be impossible to go west and arrive at the east while still having enough food and water to supply your crew. Now, why would anyone have dreamt of going west to get east when they could have simply gone east to get east? Well, the answer is that the overland route was long and it was expensive because the Middle East and North Africa and even parts of Spain were controlled by Muslim empires like the Ottomans and the Moors. And so any time trade came from the east, China, India, Middle East itself, it went through a series of traders and a series of empires along the way picking up taxes and markups, which meant that by the time a good reached Western Europe, it was pricey indeed. And since Muslim traders were in control of the Mediterranean here and at the east, taking a ship through there caused pretty much the same problem. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
Now, why would anyone have dreamt of going west to get east when they could have simply gone east to get east? Well, the answer is that the overland route was long and it was expensive because the Middle East and North Africa and even parts of Spain were controlled by Muslim empires like the Ottomans and the Moors. And so any time trade came from the east, China, India, Middle East itself, it went through a series of traders and a series of empires along the way picking up taxes and markups, which meant that by the time a good reached Western Europe, it was pricey indeed. And since Muslim traders were in control of the Mediterranean here and at the east, taking a ship through there caused pretty much the same problem. So why not go around the coast of Africa? Well, that was certainly something that Europeans were keen to do. The only problem is that the wind goes in the wrong direction and it's very treacherous sailing around the tip of Africa to come up into the Indian Ocean. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
And since Muslim traders were in control of the Mediterranean here and at the east, taking a ship through there caused pretty much the same problem. So why not go around the coast of Africa? Well, that was certainly something that Europeans were keen to do. The only problem is that the wind goes in the wrong direction and it's very treacherous sailing around the tip of Africa to come up into the Indian Ocean. So what changed? How did this overland trade route become an oversea trade route? Well, for that, we have to look a little bit closer at the Iberian Peninsula. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
The only problem is that the wind goes in the wrong direction and it's very treacherous sailing around the tip of Africa to come up into the Indian Ocean. So what changed? How did this overland trade route become an oversea trade route? Well, for that, we have to look a little bit closer at the Iberian Peninsula. So this landmass here is the Iberian Peninsula. And at the time, the Iberian Peninsula was controlled by a number of different groups. The southern part was under Muslim control of the Moors, as they were called, or Moroccan Muslims. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
Well, for that, we have to look a little bit closer at the Iberian Peninsula. So this landmass here is the Iberian Peninsula. And at the time, the Iberian Peninsula was controlled by a number of different groups. The southern part was under Muslim control of the Moors, as they were called, or Moroccan Muslims. And they called this area Al-Andalus. We're talking about this area here. And the Spanish called it Granada. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
The southern part was under Muslim control of the Moors, as they were called, or Moroccan Muslims. And they called this area Al-Andalus. We're talking about this area here. And the Spanish called it Granada. The western part here was under the control of Portugal, as it is today. Portugal. The eastern part, this area here, is the Kingdom of Aragon. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
And the Spanish called it Granada. The western part here was under the control of Portugal, as it is today. Portugal. The eastern part, this area here, is the Kingdom of Aragon. And then the central part here was Kingdom of Castile. So as far as Europeans were concerned, this was kind of the end of the world. This was as far southwest as you could go on the European continent, and heaven knows what was out here. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
The eastern part, this area here, is the Kingdom of Aragon. And then the central part here was Kingdom of Castile. So as far as Europeans were concerned, this was kind of the end of the world. This was as far southwest as you could go on the European continent, and heaven knows what was out here. Until in the early 1400s, Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator began investing in navigation. And one of the important discoveries made by the Portuguese was a new kind of ship, and this ship was called the Caravelle. So what's cool about the Caravelle is that Caravelles are ocean-worthy, they're also very easy to maneuver, and they can sail into the wind. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
This was as far southwest as you could go on the European continent, and heaven knows what was out here. Until in the early 1400s, Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator began investing in navigation. And one of the important discoveries made by the Portuguese was a new kind of ship, and this ship was called the Caravelle. So what's cool about the Caravelle is that Caravelles are ocean-worthy, they're also very easy to maneuver, and they can sail into the wind. So that means that the problems of sailing around Africa begin to get a little bit easier. And so in this early era of the 1400s, the Portuguese began expanding their exploration farther and farther down the coast of Africa. And they come across these islands now that they don't have to hug the coast, the Canary Islands. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
So what's cool about the Caravelle is that Caravelles are ocean-worthy, they're also very easy to maneuver, and they can sail into the wind. So that means that the problems of sailing around Africa begin to get a little bit easier. And so in this early era of the 1400s, the Portuguese began expanding their exploration farther and farther down the coast of Africa. And they come across these islands now that they don't have to hug the coast, the Canary Islands. And farther west, this is so small you can barely see it here, Madeira, and the Azores. And they quickly discover that these islands are ideal places to grow cash crops, specifically sugar. They also discover that some of the people who live on these islands, in fact the Canary Islands had a native population called the Guanche, they immediately attempted to enslave these native people and then quickly discovered that they would die of disease. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
And they come across these islands now that they don't have to hug the coast, the Canary Islands. And farther west, this is so small you can barely see it here, Madeira, and the Azores. And they quickly discover that these islands are ideal places to grow cash crops, specifically sugar. They also discover that some of the people who live on these islands, in fact the Canary Islands had a native population called the Guanche, they immediately attempted to enslave these native people and then quickly discovered that they would die of disease. And we'll talk more about why native people seemed to be so susceptible to European diseases a little bit later. So now they have great places to grow sugar, but they don't have a workforce. Well, they're discovering another workforce along the coast of Africa as they begin to set up, this is the Portuguese we're talking about here, trading posts on the west coast of Africa where they're purchasing slaves from African traders or Arab traders who had a long history of trading slaves from the interior of Africa out to its coast. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
They also discover that some of the people who live on these islands, in fact the Canary Islands had a native population called the Guanche, they immediately attempted to enslave these native people and then quickly discovered that they would die of disease. And we'll talk more about why native people seemed to be so susceptible to European diseases a little bit later. So now they have great places to grow sugar, but they don't have a workforce. Well, they're discovering another workforce along the coast of Africa as they begin to set up, this is the Portuguese we're talking about here, trading posts on the west coast of Africa where they're purchasing slaves from African traders or Arab traders who had a long history of trading slaves from the interior of Africa out to its coast. So in the early 1400s, Portugal is doing very well for itself. It seems that they're leading this colonial game. They've pretty much invented the plantation system and they're getting quite wealthy off of it. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
Well, they're discovering another workforce along the coast of Africa as they begin to set up, this is the Portuguese we're talking about here, trading posts on the west coast of Africa where they're purchasing slaves from African traders or Arab traders who had a long history of trading slaves from the interior of Africa out to its coast. So in the early 1400s, Portugal is doing very well for itself. It seems that they're leading this colonial game. They've pretty much invented the plantation system and they're getting quite wealthy off of it. So the eyes of Europe turn to Portugal and they think, all right, how can we replicate their success? Meanwhile, back on the Iberian Peninsula, there's a political and religious shakeup. So the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon are united when Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, and I recognize that my Spanish pronunciation is terrible, they get married in 1469 and unite their two kingdoms into what becomes the kingdom of Spain. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
They've pretty much invented the plantation system and they're getting quite wealthy off of it. So the eyes of Europe turn to Portugal and they think, all right, how can we replicate their success? Meanwhile, back on the Iberian Peninsula, there's a political and religious shakeup. So the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon are united when Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, and I recognize that my Spanish pronunciation is terrible, they get married in 1469 and unite their two kingdoms into what becomes the kingdom of Spain. So what had been Castile and Aragon becomes Spain. And then united, these two Catholic monarchs turn their attentions to what's called the Reconquista, so reconquering the territories that had been controlled by Muslims for Christians. So I would call this kind of an extension of crusader thinking. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
So the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon are united when Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, and I recognize that my Spanish pronunciation is terrible, they get married in 1469 and unite their two kingdoms into what becomes the kingdom of Spain. So what had been Castile and Aragon becomes Spain. And then united, these two Catholic monarchs turn their attentions to what's called the Reconquista, so reconquering the territories that had been controlled by Muslims for Christians. So I would call this kind of an extension of crusader thinking. And Ferdinand and Isabella complete the Reconquista, expelling the Moors from the territory that is today Spain in 1492. So now we've reached 1492 and we've got a will, that is a desire for luxury goods. We also have a little bit of good old fashioned nationalism here. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
So I would call this kind of an extension of crusader thinking. And Ferdinand and Isabella complete the Reconquista, expelling the Moors from the territory that is today Spain in 1492. So now we've reached 1492 and we've got a will, that is a desire for luxury goods. We also have a little bit of good old fashioned nationalism here. Spain's closest neighbor is Portugal, who are currently very powerful and wealthy, so they've got perhaps some rivalry in their hearts. And we've got a way, which is the caravel that is making more and more ocean sailing possible. And into this exciting moment steps Christopher Columbus, and we'll talk more about him in the next video. | Origins of European exploration in the Americas (2).mp3 |
And just to briefly recap, Antietam was the single bloodiest day in American history. Over 4,000 people died. And Antietam was a signature victory in the Civil War for the North, for Abraham Lincoln and the forces of the United States. And one thing that was really important about Antietam was that Lincoln had been waiting for a Union victory so that he could proclaim the Emancipation Proclamation, which was intended to be a real morale blow to the South and also a signal to both enslaved people in the South, Northern Republicans who were strongly in favor of abolition, the end of slavery, and also the world, especially Europe, that the Civil War had become a fight to end slavery, not just a fight to keep the Union together. And I mentioned in the last video that there were two reasons why Antietam was so important, the first being that it led to the Emancipation Proclamation. The second reason was slightly related to that. The eyes of the world were really on the United States and on the Civil War at this time, and many people in Europe were trying to decide whether they should intervene in the American Civil War. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
And one thing that was really important about Antietam was that Lincoln had been waiting for a Union victory so that he could proclaim the Emancipation Proclamation, which was intended to be a real morale blow to the South and also a signal to both enslaved people in the South, Northern Republicans who were strongly in favor of abolition, the end of slavery, and also the world, especially Europe, that the Civil War had become a fight to end slavery, not just a fight to keep the Union together. And I mentioned in the last video that there were two reasons why Antietam was so important, the first being that it led to the Emancipation Proclamation. The second reason was slightly related to that. The eyes of the world were really on the United States and on the Civil War at this time, and many people in Europe were trying to decide whether they should intervene in the American Civil War. Now, why would they do this? Well, I think the most important reason that they would do this is because the South of the United States supplied 75% of the world's cotton at the beginning of the Civil War. And so to major industrialized nations, especially the United Kingdom, cotton was the source of their prosperity. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
The eyes of the world were really on the United States and on the Civil War at this time, and many people in Europe were trying to decide whether they should intervene in the American Civil War. Now, why would they do this? Well, I think the most important reason that they would do this is because the South of the United States supplied 75% of the world's cotton at the beginning of the Civil War. And so to major industrialized nations, especially the United Kingdom, cotton was the source of their prosperity. They based their economy in part around textile mills. This was what England was known for. During the Civil War, the North blockaded the South, which meant that they used the ships of the Navy to prevent supplies from getting in or crops from getting out of the American South. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
And so to major industrialized nations, especially the United Kingdom, cotton was the source of their prosperity. They based their economy in part around textile mills. This was what England was known for. During the Civil War, the North blockaded the South, which meant that they used the ships of the Navy to prevent supplies from getting in or crops from getting out of the American South. So if England can't get their cotton crops, they might be in a whole lot of trouble when it comes to textile manufacturing. And in fact, the Confederacy was counting on having the support of Europe in their rebellion against the United States, partly for this reason. Now, there were other reasons why Europe might have intervened on behalf of the South. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
During the Civil War, the North blockaded the South, which meant that they used the ships of the Navy to prevent supplies from getting in or crops from getting out of the American South. So if England can't get their cotton crops, they might be in a whole lot of trouble when it comes to textile manufacturing. And in fact, the Confederacy was counting on having the support of Europe in their rebellion against the United States, partly for this reason. Now, there were other reasons why Europe might have intervened on behalf of the South. One of these was that Europe was traditionally a highly classed society, and they had a lot of sympathy for the way that the South did things with a wealthy planter class similar to the monarchy or the gentry in Europe, which was in control of poorer whites and enslaved people of African descent. Another reason was that it was to the advantage of Europe not to have such a strong nation as the United States operating in the Americas. Remember that this is the era of imperialism, the very beginning of imperialism, as countries like the United Kingdom and France, Germany, and others in Europe begin to look for colonies abroad. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
Now, there were other reasons why Europe might have intervened on behalf of the South. One of these was that Europe was traditionally a highly classed society, and they had a lot of sympathy for the way that the South did things with a wealthy planter class similar to the monarchy or the gentry in Europe, which was in control of poorer whites and enslaved people of African descent. Another reason was that it was to the advantage of Europe not to have such a strong nation as the United States operating in the Americas. Remember that this is the era of imperialism, the very beginning of imperialism, as countries like the United Kingdom and France, Germany, and others in Europe begin to look for colonies abroad. And the United States had, in 1820, proclaimed the Monroe Doctrine, which said, Europe, keep out of the Americas. We consider this our area of the world. So dividing what had been the United States into two smaller nations would probably have worked out in their favor. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
Remember that this is the era of imperialism, the very beginning of imperialism, as countries like the United Kingdom and France, Germany, and others in Europe begin to look for colonies abroad. And the United States had, in 1820, proclaimed the Monroe Doctrine, which said, Europe, keep out of the Americas. We consider this our area of the world. So dividing what had been the United States into two smaller nations would probably have worked out in their favor. So Europe had the social or cultural reasons to join with the South, and also political or perhaps foreign policy reasons to join with the South. Now, the South was really counting on the intervention of a European nation. They thought certainly the United Kingdom would intercede on their behalf. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
So dividing what had been the United States into two smaller nations would probably have worked out in their favor. So Europe had the social or cultural reasons to join with the South, and also political or perhaps foreign policy reasons to join with the South. Now, the South was really counting on the intervention of a European nation. They thought certainly the United Kingdom would intercede on their behalf. And it looked, especially early in the Civil War, like that might be the case. But when it came down to it, the United Kingdom did not intercede for the South, and there were a few reasons why that happened. One of those reasons was that the South had kind of oversold cotton to England in the years leading up to the Civil War. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
They thought certainly the United Kingdom would intercede on their behalf. And it looked, especially early in the Civil War, like that might be the case. But when it came down to it, the United Kingdom did not intercede for the South, and there were a few reasons why that happened. One of those reasons was that the South had kind of oversold cotton to England in the years leading up to the Civil War. So there was actually a considerable supply on hand, which English merchants had built up before the Civil War, kind of seeing this coming. So the loss of new Southern cotton really didn't turn out to be as big of a problem as many had imagined. And related to that, as the Civil War began to ramp up, both Egypt and India, which were also cotton producers, began to increase their production, understanding that there would be more of a demand coming from England that couldn't be supplied from the American South. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
One of those reasons was that the South had kind of oversold cotton to England in the years leading up to the Civil War. So there was actually a considerable supply on hand, which English merchants had built up before the Civil War, kind of seeing this coming. So the loss of new Southern cotton really didn't turn out to be as big of a problem as many had imagined. And related to that, as the Civil War began to ramp up, both Egypt and India, which were also cotton producers, began to increase their production, understanding that there would be more of a demand coming from England that couldn't be supplied from the American South. So it's interesting to note that it's partly in response to the American Civil War and the northern blockade of Southern ships that Egypt and India become the world suppliers of cotton that they will be for the rest of the 19th century. The other reason that England doesn't aid the South is more of a cultural reason, which I think is very interesting, which is that the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, which we'll talk about more in other videos, was read really widely in England. It was a very popular novel there. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
And related to that, as the Civil War began to ramp up, both Egypt and India, which were also cotton producers, began to increase their production, understanding that there would be more of a demand coming from England that couldn't be supplied from the American South. So it's interesting to note that it's partly in response to the American Civil War and the northern blockade of Southern ships that Egypt and India become the world suppliers of cotton that they will be for the rest of the 19th century. The other reason that England doesn't aid the South is more of a cultural reason, which I think is very interesting, which is that the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, which we'll talk about more in other videos, was read really widely in England. It was a very popular novel there. The stage shows of Uncle Tom's Cabin were quite common. And this novel, which in the United States had helped to propel the Civil War by showing northerners how barbaric and institution slavery was, also came over to England. And because the Battle of the Antietam allowed Lincoln to make the Emancipation Proclamation to the citizens of England, this meant now that the North was an army of liberation, that they had the choice of siding with either Southern slaveholders who had been demonized in Uncle Tom's Cabin or with northerners who were fighting against those slaveholders. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
It was a very popular novel there. The stage shows of Uncle Tom's Cabin were quite common. And this novel, which in the United States had helped to propel the Civil War by showing northerners how barbaric and institution slavery was, also came over to England. And because the Battle of the Antietam allowed Lincoln to make the Emancipation Proclamation to the citizens of England, this meant now that the North was an army of liberation, that they had the choice of siding with either Southern slaveholders who had been demonized in Uncle Tom's Cabin or with northerners who were fighting against those slaveholders. So because of the Emancipation Proclamation and because of these other side issues about the supply of cotton, Antietam really marks the moment when it becomes clear that there is not going to be any European help for the South. And that's really important because think of the American movement for independence. The reason that the United States won, or at least one reason that the United States won, was because of the intervention of France. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
And because the Battle of the Antietam allowed Lincoln to make the Emancipation Proclamation to the citizens of England, this meant now that the North was an army of liberation, that they had the choice of siding with either Southern slaveholders who had been demonized in Uncle Tom's Cabin or with northerners who were fighting against those slaveholders. So because of the Emancipation Proclamation and because of these other side issues about the supply of cotton, Antietam really marks the moment when it becomes clear that there is not going to be any European help for the South. And that's really important because think of the American movement for independence. The reason that the United States won, or at least one reason that the United States won, was because of the intervention of France. The South knew that they needed the help of Europe if they were going to succeed. Had England interceded, it's highly likely that the South may have won the American Civil War and it would have been a separate nation. After the Battle of Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation, it became clear that if the South was going to win its independence from the North, it would be doing it on its own. | Antietam part 2 (2).mp3 |
Well the Articles of Confederation were the first loose set of rules to govern these 13 states, but they were a mess. Essentially they allowed the states to be kind of their own little sovereign islands. So it was not a united nation, it was like an archipelago of islands. And the reason they were a mess, a couple of things. One, when they tried to repay the Revolutionary War soldiers, Congress in Washington with very little power had to go to the states and say, please give us some money so we can repay the soldiers. A lot of the states said, no thank you, we're not going to do that. Then if you had a river that rolled through several different states and you wanted to have a trade agreement with the Spanish, for example, to use that river and trade along it, then the government didn't have one way to negotiate with the Spanish. | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And the reason they were a mess, a couple of things. One, when they tried to repay the Revolutionary War soldiers, Congress in Washington with very little power had to go to the states and say, please give us some money so we can repay the soldiers. A lot of the states said, no thank you, we're not going to do that. Then if you had a river that rolled through several different states and you wanted to have a trade agreement with the Spanish, for example, to use that river and trade along it, then the government didn't have one way to negotiate with the Spanish. Individual states had to do it and individual states had different interests. Some wanted to trade with the Spanish, some didn't want to trade at all. And so you had to, how do you get those states to agree on something? | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
Then if you had a river that rolled through several different states and you wanted to have a trade agreement with the Spanish, for example, to use that river and trade along it, then the government didn't have one way to negotiate with the Spanish. Individual states had to do it and individual states had different interests. Some wanted to trade with the Spanish, some didn't want to trade at all. And so you had to, how do you get those states to agree on something? There was also not universal coinage. The states all made their own money indifferently. Well states might print a bunch of money in order to pay off some debts and then the money in one state is worth less than the money in another. | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And so you had to, how do you get those states to agree on something? There was also not universal coinage. The states all made their own money indifferently. Well states might print a bunch of money in order to pay off some debts and then the money in one state is worth less than the money in another. Who regulates all of that? So commerce and industry and self-defense, there was no way to raise an army and pay for it. So the nation was crumbling before they got to Philadelphia in 1787. | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
Well states might print a bunch of money in order to pay off some debts and then the money in one state is worth less than the money in another. Who regulates all of that? So commerce and industry and self-defense, there was no way to raise an army and pay for it. So the nation was crumbling before they got to Philadelphia in 1787. And to your point, in most countries the parts of the country are called things like provinces, but ours are states because they viewed themselves as individual countries. Absolutely. And because, of course, the Articles of Confederation had been formed in the wake of this fear and the experience of the fear of a monarchy. | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
So the nation was crumbling before they got to Philadelphia in 1787. And to your point, in most countries the parts of the country are called things like provinces, but ours are states because they viewed themselves as individual countries. Absolutely. And because, of course, the Articles of Confederation had been formed in the wake of this fear and the experience of the fear of a monarchy. So they wanted personal liberty and get the monarchy and national control, throw it all away because they believed that once you consolidate control in a national government of any kind, that it would trample liberty. And so after having fought a revolution for the purposes of liberating the people, you're not going to design a government that then stomps down on that liberty. So they created something that gave the states lots of flexibility and then that flexibility allowed everybody to go off in their different directions. | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And because, of course, the Articles of Confederation had been formed in the wake of this fear and the experience of the fear of a monarchy. So they wanted personal liberty and get the monarchy and national control, throw it all away because they believed that once you consolidate control in a national government of any kind, that it would trample liberty. And so after having fought a revolution for the purposes of liberating the people, you're not going to design a government that then stomps down on that liberty. So they created something that gave the states lots of flexibility and then that flexibility allowed everybody to go off in their different directions. The Articles of Confederation may be too much independence for the individual states. So it seems like there was a consensus to fix it. What was the central debate when they decided to fix it? | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
So they created something that gave the states lots of flexibility and then that flexibility allowed everybody to go off in their different directions. The Articles of Confederation may be too much independence for the individual states. So it seems like there was a consensus to fix it. What was the central debate when they decided to fix it? Well there was a consensus it had to be fixed. But when they got to Philadelphia, first of all, Rhode Island was invited and said no thank you. So 12 of the 13 states showed up. | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
What was the central debate when they decided to fix it? Well there was a consensus it had to be fixed. But when they got to Philadelphia, first of all, Rhode Island was invited and said no thank you. So 12 of the 13 states showed up. And they knew they wanted to centralize things. But what did that mean? And did it mean one president or a council of presidents? | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
So 12 of the 13 states showed up. And they knew they wanted to centralize things. But what did that mean? And did it mean one president or a council of presidents? Did it mean a strong Congress? How strong? Could they tell states what to do? | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And did it mean one president or a council of presidents? Did it mean a strong Congress? How strong? Could they tell states what to do? Well if they did that, then they were acting just like George III had acted. So they had to iron out all of these issues to bring enough central control and enough quick movement of government that it could address national problems, but not so much that it trampled and stomped on that liberty. And that was the constant debate, constantly trying to figure out how to keep the balance between giving enough national power but enough liberty. | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
Could they tell states what to do? Well if they did that, then they were acting just like George III had acted. So they had to iron out all of these issues to bring enough central control and enough quick movement of government that it could address national problems, but not so much that it trampled and stomped on that liberty. And that was the constant debate, constantly trying to figure out how to keep the balance between giving enough national power but enough liberty. And that, some of the biggest fights included fights over slavery, North versus South, fights over big states versus small states. Who has representation in this national government and how do you figure that out? And then of course the question of do we want a president? | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And that was the constant debate, constantly trying to figure out how to keep the balance between giving enough national power but enough liberty. And that, some of the biggest fights included fights over slavery, North versus South, fights over big states versus small states. Who has representation in this national government and how do you figure that out? And then of course the question of do we want a president? Will it be a single person? And how the dickens do we elect that person, which led us to the electoral college, which has had some bumpy history. And where do you think we ended up if on a scale of zero to ten, if zero was a complete you know independent states and ten is a federal government that just controls everything, where do you think the U.S. Constitution ended up relative to the Articles of Confederation? | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And then of course the question of do we want a president? Will it be a single person? And how the dickens do we elect that person, which led us to the electoral college, which has had some bumpy history. And where do you think we ended up if on a scale of zero to ten, if zero was a complete you know independent states and ten is a federal government that just controls everything, where do you think the U.S. Constitution ended up relative to the Articles of Confederation? Well in September of 1787, when it gets, September 17th, 1787, when the new constitution gets voted on, it is a stronger national document that has basically three main parts. One, the people are at the heart and center of it. It is the people who are the representatives or at the center of the Republican government. | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And where do you think we ended up if on a scale of zero to ten, if zero was a complete you know independent states and ten is a federal government that just controls everything, where do you think the U.S. Constitution ended up relative to the Articles of Confederation? Well in September of 1787, when it gets, September 17th, 1787, when the new constitution gets voted on, it is a stronger national document that has basically three main parts. One, the people are at the heart and center of it. It is the people who are the representatives or at the center of the Republican government. The second thing is that the national government can tell states what to do in some instances. Those instances are circumscribed, but it can happen. The states have to fall in line. | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
It is the people who are the representatives or at the center of the Republican government. The second thing is that the national government can tell states what to do in some instances. Those instances are circumscribed, but it can happen. The states have to fall in line. That was very new. And there is this thing called a presidency, which is created single person, created really in the mold of George Washington. So it is a nationalized government, but with a strong attention to this question of protecting liberty through a balance of power system so that both the national government has checks and balances and also the relationship between the federal government and the state government has a number of checks and balances. | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
The states have to fall in line. That was very new. And there is this thing called a presidency, which is created single person, created really in the mold of George Washington. So it is a nationalized government, but with a strong attention to this question of protecting liberty through a balance of power system so that both the national government has checks and balances and also the relationship between the federal government and the state government has a number of checks and balances. So even though they went in a more centralized direction, they were constantly attentive to this idea of liberty, keeping it free in the states and not messing with them too much in their effort to get some kind of centralized control. So it sounds like they might have gone from a one or two at the Articles of Confederation to maybe a seven, six. Well they went, I think they went from a one or two to maybe a five or a six, which has now moved over time closer to maybe an eight or nine. | What was the Articles of Confederation US Government and Civics Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And he is heading the Communist Party there. Cuba is now a communist nation right off of the coast of the United States. This is the middle of the Cold War. The United States believes in a strategy of containment. Does not like this. So in 1961, the United States, the CIA, the Kennedy administration, they try using Cuban exiles, people who had left Cuba, they try to support them to enter and invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. But the whole effort wasn't planned properly. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
The United States believes in a strategy of containment. Does not like this. So in 1961, the United States, the CIA, the Kennedy administration, they try using Cuban exiles, people who had left Cuba, they try to support them to enter and invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. But the whole effort wasn't planned properly. The support for the Cuban exiles, the counter revolutionaries, those that were trying to oust Castro, it was kind of this half-hearted effort. And it was this big failure. So the Bay of Pigs invasion was a failure in 1961. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
But the whole effort wasn't planned properly. The support for the Cuban exiles, the counter revolutionaries, those that were trying to oust Castro, it was kind of this half-hearted effort. And it was this big failure. So the Bay of Pigs invasion was a failure in 1961. And it made John F. Kennedy seem a little bit weak. It made the CIA seem it didn't make anyone on the American side look all that competent because of that failure. On top of that, we're in the middle of the Cold War. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
So the Bay of Pigs invasion was a failure in 1961. And it made John F. Kennedy seem a little bit weak. It made the CIA seem it didn't make anyone on the American side look all that competent because of that failure. On top of that, we're in the middle of the Cold War. Remember this. And at the same time, if you go to what the US was doing around the Soviet Union, it started placing missiles starting in the late 50s all the way into 1961 and 1962. It started placing medium-ranged ballistic missiles in Turkey and in Italy. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
On top of that, we're in the middle of the Cold War. Remember this. And at the same time, if you go to what the US was doing around the Soviet Union, it started placing missiles starting in the late 50s all the way into 1961 and 1962. It started placing medium-ranged ballistic missiles in Turkey and in Italy. These are where they were located. And the significance of that is that now these missiles could reach the major population centers of the Soviet Union in really a matter of minutes, in 10 to 20 minutes. I think 16 minutes was how long most of these stay airborne. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
It started placing medium-ranged ballistic missiles in Turkey and in Italy. These are where they were located. And the significance of that is that now these missiles could reach the major population centers of the Soviet Union in really a matter of minutes, in 10 to 20 minutes. I think 16 minutes was how long most of these stay airborne. And in a situation where both sides have nuclear weapons, there was this kind of notion of, well, maybe if you were able to get to the other guy faster, they wouldn't be able to retaliate. And maybe you wouldn't have that mutually assured destruction. So there's this whole idea that you want to get your missiles as close as possible so that they could reach the population centers, the strategic centers of your opponent, as quickly as possible. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
I think 16 minutes was how long most of these stay airborne. And in a situation where both sides have nuclear weapons, there was this kind of notion of, well, maybe if you were able to get to the other guy faster, they wouldn't be able to retaliate. And maybe you wouldn't have that mutually assured destruction. So there's this whole idea that you want to get your missiles as close as possible so that they could reach the population centers, the strategic centers of your opponent, as quickly as possible. And if you look up on the web, you can actually find the actual missile sites and when they were installed and when they became operational. These are the ones that were in Italy, kind of right here near the heel of Italy. So you have this environment. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
So there's this whole idea that you want to get your missiles as close as possible so that they could reach the population centers, the strategic centers of your opponent, as quickly as possible. And if you look up on the web, you can actually find the actual missile sites and when they were installed and when they became operational. These are the ones that were in Italy, kind of right here near the heel of Italy. So you have this environment. The United States was looking a little bit weak after the Bay of Pigs invasion. It looks like they wanted to oust Castro, but they were they did it slightly, or they weren't able to do it. And they weren't able because they were slightly inept. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
So you have this environment. The United States was looking a little bit weak after the Bay of Pigs invasion. It looks like they wanted to oust Castro, but they were they did it slightly, or they weren't able to do it. And they weren't able because they were slightly inept. At the same time, you could imagine that the Soviet Union did not appreciate the United States placing these missiles so close to its population centers, missiles that could reach its population centers very easily. So now we fast forward to October of 1962. And the entire Cuban missile crisis will occur over 13 or 14 days during October of 1962. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And they weren't able because they were slightly inept. At the same time, you could imagine that the Soviet Union did not appreciate the United States placing these missiles so close to its population centers, missiles that could reach its population centers very easily. So now we fast forward to October of 1962. And the entire Cuban missile crisis will occur over 13 or 14 days during October of 1962. So on the 14th of October, we're sending these U-2 spy planes over Cuba. So this right here is a U-2 spy plane. That is a U-2 spy plane. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And the entire Cuban missile crisis will occur over 13 or 14 days during October of 1962. So on the 14th of October, we're sending these U-2 spy planes over Cuba. So this right here is a U-2 spy plane. That is a U-2 spy plane. And it takes pictures that look like this. And then the next day on October 15, you have the CIA analysts. And they're saying, wow, that looks like missiles over there. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
That is a U-2 spy plane. And it takes pictures that look like this. And then the next day on October 15, you have the CIA analysts. And they're saying, wow, that looks like missiles over there. This looks like ballistic missiles that are being set up in Cuba. And so all of a sudden, it looks like the Soviet Union is using Cuba to do the same thing that we used Turkey and Italy for, to set up ballistic missiles really right off of our coast, and ballistic missiles that could now reach any of the strategic population centers, especially on the East Coast or the Midwest of the United States. So by the 16th, so this is literally two days after the pictures were taken. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And they're saying, wow, that looks like missiles over there. This looks like ballistic missiles that are being set up in Cuba. And so all of a sudden, it looks like the Soviet Union is using Cuba to do the same thing that we used Turkey and Italy for, to set up ballistic missiles really right off of our coast, and ballistic missiles that could now reach any of the strategic population centers, especially on the East Coast or the Midwest of the United States. So by the 16th, so this is literally two days after the pictures were taken. The next day, they're analyzing them. They tell the State Department about them. The 16th, they tell Kennedy about them. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
So by the 16th, so this is literally two days after the pictures were taken. The next day, they're analyzing them. They tell the State Department about them. The 16th, they tell Kennedy about them. And Kennedy holds a meeting of the executive committee. And it wasn't called XCOM, just that. But it was really a subset of special advisors, a subset of the National Security Council and other advisors that essentially become the brain trust to figure out what to do about this forming crisis. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
The 16th, they tell Kennedy about them. And Kennedy holds a meeting of the executive committee. And it wasn't called XCOM, just that. But it was really a subset of special advisors, a subset of the National Security Council and other advisors that essentially become the brain trust to figure out what to do about this forming crisis. Because all of a sudden, you have a state that we don't like off of our borders, a communist state, a state aligned with the Soviet Union. All of a sudden, it has nuclear missiles. It looks like these are offensive weapons. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
But it was really a subset of special advisors, a subset of the National Security Council and other advisors that essentially become the brain trust to figure out what to do about this forming crisis. Because all of a sudden, you have a state that we don't like off of our borders, a communist state, a state aligned with the Soviet Union. All of a sudden, it has nuclear missiles. It looks like these are offensive weapons. These are weapons being designed for a first strike capability. Once again, if they're being launched from Cuba, maybe they can obliterate the US before the US even has an opportunity to respond properly. So this really freaks out the Kennedy administration. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
It looks like these are offensive weapons. These are weapons being designed for a first strike capability. Once again, if they're being launched from Cuba, maybe they can obliterate the US before the US even has an opportunity to respond properly. So this really freaks out the Kennedy administration. And so they start to think about what can they do about it. And early on, there's a couple. You could just kind of call and talk to the Soviets about it and say, hey, we don't like that. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
So this really freaks out the Kennedy administration. And so they start to think about what can they do about it. And early on, there's a couple. You could just kind of call and talk to the Soviets about it and say, hey, we don't like that. Why don't you undo your missiles? But they didn't really think that that would have any significant effect on the Soviets, especially because they probably thought that Kennedy was weak at this point. And just to understand who was leading the Soviets at this time, it was Khrushchev. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
You could just kind of call and talk to the Soviets about it and say, hey, we don't like that. Why don't you undo your missiles? But they didn't really think that that would have any significant effect on the Soviets, especially because they probably thought that Kennedy was weak at this point. And just to understand who was leading the Soviets at this time, it was Khrushchev. This is Khrushchev right over here. And he had even made remarks to the effect that he thought that Kennedy was young and maybe naive and maybe too intellectual to really play a good game of chicken here. And so the US kind of felt that it had to look strong here. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And just to understand who was leading the Soviets at this time, it was Khrushchev. This is Khrushchev right over here. And he had even made remarks to the effect that he thought that Kennedy was young and maybe naive and maybe too intellectual to really play a good game of chicken here. And so the US kind of felt that it had to look strong here. And so the real options on the table were maybe blockade Cuba. And so a blockade could be an all-out blockade. So it would be an economic blockade. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And so the US kind of felt that it had to look strong here. And so the real options on the table were maybe blockade Cuba. And so a blockade could be an all-out blockade. So it would be an economic blockade. But that's actually considered an act of war because you're, to a large degree, starving a country. Another option for the United States, because it was completely viewed as unacceptable that these missiles should be here and that they should be deployable from Cuba. The other option would be to do air attacks on these missile silos. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
So it would be an economic blockade. But that's actually considered an act of war because you're, to a large degree, starving a country. Another option for the United States, because it was completely viewed as unacceptable that these missiles should be here and that they should be deployable from Cuba. The other option would be to do air attacks on these missile silos. And then the other, kind of the most extreme action, would be to actually invade Cuba. And obviously, that goes in line with kind of the US's general interest of not having a communist regime so close to its own borders. So this is what Kennedy and his team was wrestling with. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
The other option would be to do air attacks on these missile silos. And then the other, kind of the most extreme action, would be to actually invade Cuba. And obviously, that goes in line with kind of the US's general interest of not having a communist regime so close to its own borders. So this is what Kennedy and his team was wrestling with. And really early on in these early days, most of the team was actually advising Kennedy that they should do a full-scale invasion of Cuba. That they thought this was the only thing that the Soviets would take seriously. It would show that the US is serious about this. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
So this is what Kennedy and his team was wrestling with. And really early on in these early days, most of the team was actually advising Kennedy that they should do a full-scale invasion of Cuba. That they thought this was the only thing that the Soviets would take seriously. It would show that the US is serious about this. And they didn't think that the Soviet Union would really try to put up a fight in Cuba so far away from their own borders. But Kennedy, probably thinking about it pretty reasonably, realized, well, hey, they might not do anything in Cuba. And they might allow us to oust Castro and install a new regime there. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
It would show that the US is serious about this. And they didn't think that the Soviet Union would really try to put up a fight in Cuba so far away from their own borders. But Kennedy, probably thinking about it pretty reasonably, realized, well, hey, they might not do anything in Cuba. And they might allow us to oust Castro and install a new regime there. But they might retaliate. In fact, they probably would retaliate in Europe, specifically in Berlin, probably in Germany as a whole. So just for the sake of getting these things out of Cuba, we could sacrifice a lot in Europe. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And they might allow us to oust Castro and install a new regime there. But they might retaliate. In fact, they probably would retaliate in Europe, specifically in Berlin, probably in Germany as a whole. So just for the sake of getting these things out of Cuba, we could sacrifice a lot in Europe. And even more, any type of conflict between the US and the Soviet Union could easily escalate to a nuclear war. So these were all on the table. The US goes on high alert. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
So just for the sake of getting these things out of Cuba, we could sacrifice a lot in Europe. And even more, any type of conflict between the US and the Soviet Union could easily escalate to a nuclear war. So these were all on the table. The US goes on high alert. It prepares for any of these situations, because they really don't know what's going to happen. The Army, the Air Force, and the Navy starts mobilizing. So with our notice, any of those options can kind of go into effect. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
The US goes on high alert. It prepares for any of these situations, because they really don't know what's going to happen. The Army, the Air Force, and the Navy starts mobilizing. So with our notice, any of those options can kind of go into effect. By the 22nd, you have the executive committee. And that just becomes formalized as an actual official group that is advising the president in this capacity. And on the 22nd, Kennedy finally puts out his first salvo on what is the US's position on what's going on here. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
So with our notice, any of those options can kind of go into effect. By the 22nd, you have the executive committee. And that just becomes formalized as an actual official group that is advising the president in this capacity. And on the 22nd, Kennedy finally puts out his first salvo on what is the US's position on what's going on here. And before this, and just to make things clear, on the 18th, he did meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrei Gromyko. And I'm sure I'm butchering the pronunciations. And this is where the first time that Kennedy's like, hey, you've got these offensive weapons. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And on the 22nd, Kennedy finally puts out his first salvo on what is the US's position on what's going on here. And before this, and just to make things clear, on the 18th, he did meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrei Gromyko. And I'm sure I'm butchering the pronunciations. And this is where the first time that Kennedy's like, hey, you've got these offensive weapons. And Gromyko's insisting that, no, they're just defensive weapons. And to most people, defensive weapons would mean things like surface-to-air missiles, things that would stop planes from bombings. But not surface-to-surface missiles, not something that could attack a country. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
And this is where the first time that Kennedy's like, hey, you've got these offensive weapons. And Gromyko's insisting that, no, they're just defensive weapons. And to most people, defensive weapons would mean things like surface-to-air missiles, things that would stop planes from bombings. But not surface-to-surface missiles, not something that could attack a country. But we'll see in future letters from Khrushchev that maybe they actually did perceive these missiles as somehow being defensive. But you fast forward. That was on the 18th. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
But not surface-to-surface missiles, not something that could attack a country. But we'll see in future letters from Khrushchev that maybe they actually did perceive these missiles as somehow being defensive. But you fast forward. That was on the 18th. It kind of made Kennedy and the US frustrated with the Russians because it felt like the Americans are saying, look, we clearly know you have missiles there. But Gromyko's saying, no, these are just defensive weapons. Nothing to worry about. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
That was on the 18th. It kind of made Kennedy and the US frustrated with the Russians because it felt like the Americans are saying, look, we clearly know you have missiles there. But Gromyko's saying, no, these are just defensive weapons. Nothing to worry about. Why are you taking this so seriously? The 19th, US goes on high alert. It starts thinking about all of these options. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |
Nothing to worry about. Why are you taking this so seriously? The 19th, US goes on high alert. It starts thinking about all of these options. The 22nd, this committee is formed formally. But more importantly, Kennedy gives a speech to state the United States' opinion. And I'll just read it right here. | Cuban Missile Crisis The 20th century World history Khan Academy (2).mp3 |