Linda Brown’s walk home sparked more than a court case — it ignited the Civil Rights Movement. From the 1954 Brown v. Board ruling to Selma’s Bloody Sunday and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, this episode explores how legal battles and brave activism reshaped America—and how the struggle for equality and civil rights continues today.

Taking AP US History and struggling with multiple-choicequestions? Check out ⁠AP US History Multiple Choice Strategies on Amazon⁠.

List of Sources:

Birmingham Campaign | The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute (Stanford University)

Brown v. Board of Education | Wikipedia

Civil Rights Act of 1964 | Wikipedia

How to Cram for APUSH (Day Before) | Reddit

March on Washington | Wikipedia

Martin Luther King Jr. | Wikipedia

Montgomery Bus Boycott | The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute (Stanford University)

Montgomery Bus Boycott | Wikipedia

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) | Wikipedia

SNCC - Definition, Civil Rights & Leaders | History.com

SNCC: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee | National Museum of African American History & Culture, Smithsonian

Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March | National Park Service (includes Brown Chapel AME Church, First Confederate Capitol, Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum)

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) | National Archives

Voting Rights Act of 1965 | Wikipedia

Fear gripped America as the Cold War intensified. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) launched investigations to root out communism—but at what cost? In this deep dive, we explore the clash between national security and civil liberties, from Hollywood blacklists to political cartoons, and ask: how do we protect freedom without destroying it?

Taking AP US History and struggling with multiple-choicequestions? Check out ⁠AP US History Multiple Choice Strategies on Amazon⁠.

List of Sources:

House Un-American Activities Committee | Truman Library

Cold War | Wikipedia

Containment | Wikipedia

Détente and Arms Control, 1969–1979 | Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State

Fall of the Berlin Wall | Wikipedia

How Ronald Reagan Ended the Cold War, with William Inboden | Niskanen Center

How the CIA Missed Stalin’s Bomb | Foreign Affairs (General source, no direct link available)

Kennan and Containment, 1947 | Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State

Korean War | Wikipedia

Marshall Plan, 1948 | Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State

McCarthyism and the Red Scare | Miller Center, University of Virginia

NATO | Wikipedia

The Causes of the Korean War, 1950–1953 | Columbia International Affairs Online (no direct URL provided)

The Chinese Revolution of 1949 | Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State

The Truman Doctrine, 1947 | Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State

Truman Doctrine (1947) | National Archives

The 1950s are often remembered as peaceful and prosperous — but beneath the suburbs and sitcoms, tensions simmered. From teenage rebellion and rock & roll to civil rights battles and Cold War anxieties, this deep dive explores the decade's contradictions. Discover how conformity clashed with change, and how the seeds of future upheaval were quietly planted amid the station wagons and transistor radios.

Taking AP US History and struggling with multiple-choicequestions? Check out ⁠AP US History Multiple Choice Strategies on Amazon⁠.

List of Sources:

Troubling Teenagers: How Movies Constructed the Juvenile Delinquent in the 1950s | David Buckingham (Note: Link is to the broader source, as no direct URL was provided)

1950s | Wikipedia

1950s American Society and Conformity | TeachRock

America at Midcentury - 1945–1961 | Cengage

Best Methods to Study for the Exam? - APUSH | Reddit

Grown Up in the 1950s – The Rise of Rock and Roll Music | HISTORY (closest general match, no explicit link provided)

On The Road: Kerouac. Why is this book considered a classic? | Reddit

Automobile Suburbia | International Journal of Humanities and Social Science | IJHSSNet

The Civil Rights Movement | U.S. History Primary Source Timeline | Library of Congress | Library of Congress

The Rise of American Consumerism in the Fifties | DSpace at Kasdi Merbah University Ouargla

The Rise of American Consumerism | American Experience | PBS

The Space Race | Miller Center

The USA: The Domestic Policies of Truman and Eisenhower | Cambridge University Press (General site, as no specific link available)

Was Postwar Suburbanization “White Flight”? Evidence from the Black Migration | Leah Platt Boustan (Hosted at Alabama Maps and other academic sites)

What is the Beat Generation? | Beatdom

Wrong Turn: America's Car Culture and the Road Not Taken | Yale e360

World War II wasn’t just fought overseas — it reshaped America. From the Double V campaign and the GI Bill to Rosie the Riveter and the rise of suburbs, this deep dive explores how the war transformed race relations, gender roles, the economy, and pop culture. Yet, victory abroad exposed contradictions at home, fueling the civil rights movement. Discover how this global conflict remade the nation — and left questions still echoing today.

Taking AP US History and struggling with multiple-choice questions? Check out ⁠AP US History Multiple Choice Strategies on Amazon⁠.

List of Sources:

Fighting for a Double Victory | The National WWII Museum

The GI Bill – Bill of Rights Institute | Bill of Rights Institute

Impact of World War II on the U.S. Economy and Workforce | Iowa PBS

Milestones: 1937–1945 – American Isolationism in the 1930s | Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State

World War II and Postwar (1940–1949) – The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom | Library of Congress

The Truman Doctrine, 1947 – Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations | Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State

U.S. Timeline, 1940–1949 | America's Best History

Women in the Work Force during World War II | National Archives

World War II and Popular Culture | The National WWII Museum

A deep dive into September 11th, 2001 — from al-Qaeda’s long-planned attack to intelligence failures and the government’s response. Explore how missteps, missed warnings, and systemic gaps shaped that tragic day and drove sweeping national security reforms still affecting us today.

Taking AP US History and struggling with multiple-choicequestions? Check out ⁠AP US History Multiple Choice Strategies on Amazon⁠.

List of Sources:

2020s in United States history | Wikipedia

AP® U.S. History: Unit Nine (1980 – the present) | Marco Learning

The 9/11 Commission Report | National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
FBI History Overview | FBI
FBI History Archive (FAS) | Federation of American Scientists
PBS Frontline - Trail of a Terrorist | PBS
White House - National Strategy for Homeland Security (Historical) | White House Archives
Markle Foundation | Markle.org

The Impact of Social Media on Society: A Systematic Literature Review | The International Journal of Engineering and Science (TheIJES)

The United States in the 1990s | NCpedia

The Great Depression devastated lives and shattered economies. Enter FDR’s New Deal—praised, criticized, and fiercely debated. Was it government overreach or a lifeline? Explore opposition from conservatives and radicals alike, the ambitious CCC program, global challenges like the gold standard, and the legacy that shaped modern America. A turning point with lessons that still echo today.

Taking AP US History and struggling with multiple-choicequestions? Check out ⁠AP US History Multiple Choice Strategies on Amazon⁠.

List of Sources:

Criticism of New Deal Opposition (American Liberty League, Huey Long) | Bill of Rights Institute

Dust Bowl: Causes, Definition & Years | HISTORY

Great Depression | Wikipedia

Great Depression Facts | FDR Presidential Library & Museum

Hoovervilles and Homelessness - Great Depression Project | University of Washington

Life for the Average Family During the Great Depression | HISTORY

New Deal - Programs, Social Security & FDR | HISTORY

The GREAT DEPRESSION & the NEW DEAL [APUSH Unit 7 Topics 9-10] | Heimler's History (YouTube)

The Work of the Civilian Conservation Corps | Southern Research Station (General Technical Report SRS-154)

WHAT CAUSED THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND WHY DID RECOVERY TAKE SO LONG? | Teach Democracy

The 1920s dazzled with jazz, consumer booms, and Harlem’s artistic explosion. But beneath the glamor lurked debt-fueled consumption, soaring inequality, and corruption at the top. From the rise of advertising and mass media to the Harlem Renaissance’s fierce creativity and Harding’s scandals, this decade was a whirlwind of progress and tension. How much of it still echoes today?

Taking AP US History and struggling with multiple-choicequestions? Check out ⁠AP US History Multiple Choice Strategies on Amazon⁠.

List of Sources:

A Brief History of Consumer Culture | The MIT Press Reader (No direct hyperlink provided)

AMERICAN SPIRITS: THE RISE AND FALL OF PROHIBITION EXHIBITION OVERVIEW | National Constitution Center

Flappers - 1920s, Definition & Dress | HISTORY

Harlem Renaissance | Wikipedia

Ku Klux Klan, 1920s, Nativism, White Supremacy, and Social Tensions | Bill of Rights Institute (No direct hyperlink provided)

Roaring Twenties | Wikipedia

The Multiple Scandals of President Warren G. Harding | HISTORY

Neutral at first, the US was drawn into WWI by a storm of submarine attacks, economic ties, the shocking Zimmerman Telegram, and moral outrage. Behind the decision were not only big headlines, but also quiet bureaucratic choices and shifting public opinion. Explore how this "war to end all wars" reshaped American society — from the trenches to the home front, and from African-American service to global influence.

Taking AP US History and struggling with multiple-choicequestions? Check out ⁠AP US History Multiple Choice Strategies on Amazon⁠.

List of Sources:

American Entry into World War I | Wikipedia (with multiple external scholarly links and archival material)

Causes of World War I | IN.gov (Indiana State Government)

Changing Technology, Changing Tactics | National WWI Museum and Memorial (with supporting YouTube content and teaching resources)

Fighting for Respect: African-American Soldiers in WWI | Army Historical Foundation

The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 | National Archives

Trench Warfare | National WWI Museum and Memorial

Unit 9 World War I and the Great Migration, 1915–1920 | New Jersey State Library

Zimmermann Telegram | National WWI Museum and Memorial

The Progressive Era reshaped American society, bringing trust-busting, worker protections, women's suffrage, consumer safeguards, and a stronger federal government. But it also revealed deep flaws—racism, exclusion, and moral crusades like prohibition. Explore how reformers tackled Gilded Age excesses, the battles they won, and the inequalities they left behind. What echoes still shape our debates today?

Taking AP US History and struggling with multiple-choicequestions? Check out ⁠AP US History Multiple Choice Strategies on Amazon⁠.

List of Sources:

Muckrakers of the Progressive Era | Students of History

Progressive Era | Wikipedia (including various archived and external resources linked from the entry)

Progressive Party Platform of 1912 | The American Presidency Project — UC Santa Barbara

The Birth of Direct Democracy: What Progressivism Did to the States | The Heritage Foundation

The Progressive Era | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Wilson’s New Freedom | No explicit link provided

The U.S. stepped onto the global stage between 1870–1914, driven by economics, strategy, and a belief in American exceptionalism. From the Monroe Doctrine to the Roosevelt Corollary and the Spanish-American War, we trace how imperial ambitions shaped U.S. actions—and how those echoes still influence foreign policy today. Are we still living with the legacy of America’s age of empire?

Taking AP US History and struggling with multiple-choicequestions? Check out ⁠AP US History Multiple Choice Strategies on Amazon⁠.

List of Sources:

The Age of New Imperialism, 1870–1914 | Brewminate​Brewminate

The Philippine-American War, 1899–1902 | Office of the Historian​Office of the Historian

The Spanish American War and the Yellow Press | Library of Congress​The Library of Congress

The Spanish-American War of 1898: A Spanish View | Library of Congress​Research Guides+1Research Guides+1

The White Man's Burden | Wikipedia​

American Imperialism | Wikipedia