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Featured Videos, Photos & Interactives

  • How Illinois Got Its Shape
    How Illinois Got Its Shape

    Video Clip (2:23)

    The Illinois Territory’s northern boundary originally ended at the southernmost point of Lake Michigan, leaving it with no port on the Great Lakes, and, crucially, no access to the proposed Erie Canal. Congress shifted the border north, taking land from Wisconsin, and giving Chicago to Illinois.

    Video Clip (2:23)

  • How Florida Got Its Shape
    How Florida Got Its Shape

    Video Clip (2:18)

    Florida was once Spanish and much larger. Its panhandle stretched from the Savannah River to the Mississippi, but, over time, the Spanish relinquished land and the entire area came under American control.

    Video Clip (2:18)

  • How California Got Its Shape
    How California Got Its Shape

    Video Clip (1:53)

    With the discovery of gold in 1848, thousands of prospectors poured into California. When it came time to create a state, the new residents wanted to make sure California included all potential gold fields in the Sierra Nevada range, and so drew their own borders.

    Video Clip (1:53)

  • Hatfields & McCoys
    Hatfields & McCoys

    Video Clip (3:07)

    One of the country's most famous family feuds began over a simple case of a stolen pig.

    Video Clip (3:07)

  • The Fur Trade Shapes the West
    The Fur Trade Shapes the West

    Video Clip (2:44)

    Beaver furs were one of the first commodities settlers traded with Europe.

    Video Clip (2:44)

Full Episodes

  • How The States Got Their Shapes: North vs. South
    How The States Got Their Shapes: North vs. South

    Full Episode (22:06)

    It's a historic rivalry that culminated in the Civil War. But are the battles really over, or are we still fighting a war of cultures?

    Full Episode (22:06)

  • How The States Got Their Shapes: Hatfields vs. McCoys
    How The States Got Their Shapes: Hatfields vs. McCoys

    Full Episode (22:07)

    America's most iconic rivalry was more than just a family feud. The fight between the Hatfields and McCoys nearly launched a war between two states.

    Full Episode (22:07)

  • How The States Got Their Shapes: Hillbilly vs. Redneck
    How The States Got Their Shapes: Hillbilly vs. Redneck

    Full Episode (22:07)

    Two underdogs of American culture go head to head to prove how hillbillies and rednecks have shaped our states.

    Full Episode (22:07)

Related Topics

  • The States

    The States

    Stretching more than 3,000 miles from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the United States of America is comprised of 50 states, each with its own unique traditions and history.

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  • American Pickers

    American Pickers

    Travel along with the American Pickers as they scour the country's junkyards, barns and basements for hidden gems.

  • Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy

    Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy

    Larry the Cable Guy crisscrosses the nation, going totally off the beaten path to find the people, places and things that define this nation's unique history.

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