21st Century Turning Points in U.S. History (2000

21st Century Turning Points in U.S. History (2000 - 2020)

21st Century Turning Points in U.S. History (2000 - 2020) have been the most transformative two decades in American history. America entered the 21st century on a high note. It dominated the world as the only superpower, won a convincing war in Iraq, the economy was flourishing and the Internet promised a whole new way of life. However, the tranquility soon ended with a terrorist attack on 9/11… An existential threat brought about climate change and deep political polarization. But it also saw the emergence of winner take all tech giants Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook and Tesla which ushered in an amazing time of technological innovation. In the political/social arena a black president was elected and social media redefined how Americans connected with each other. These two decades ended with a devastating viral pandemic which is yet to fully play out.

Go to Purchase Options

Title ID 59-21TP
History, American History
8 Programs
20 Supplemental Files
10th Grade through Post Secondary
Published by Ambrose Video Publishing Inc./Centre Communications

Included Programs

Supplemental Files

Related Titles

2000 - 2001Running time is 27 minutes

In schools, students study History and American History, focusing on 21st century American History in this first program of 21st century turning points in American History (2000-2009).

Chapter List

2000 - America Has a Contested Presidency: The Presidential election of 2000 between Al Gore and George W. Bush showed how the Constitution and the Bill of Rights worked in America's Constitutional government when the U.S. Supreme Court decided the election in favor of Bush.
9-11: The 9/11 attack by Osama bin Laden's Islamic extremist terrorists group, al Qaeda, against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, led to American President George W. Bush calling for and getting tougher tough security standards, including the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration and the USA Patriot Act, and then invading Afghanistan, to root out al Qaeda and stop the Taliban who were protecting the terrorists.
2001 - Apple Computer Debuts the iPod: Steven Jobs of Apple Computer introduced the iPod which introduced the concept of ultraportability to America and led to a revolution is cell phones with the introduction of the iPhone.

2002 - 2004Running time is 27 minutes

In schools, students study History and American History, focusing on 21st century American History in this second program of 21st century turning points in American History (2000-2009).

Chapter List

2003 - Gulf War II: After al Qaeda terrorists attacked the U.S. on 9/11, America and invaded Afghanistan to capture the terrorists and oust the Taliban, after which the U.S carried out a pre-emptive strike against Iraq, to find Weapons of Mass Destruction, WMDs, and in particular to stop Saddam Hussein from making nuclear weapons; but the war became an occupation and an insurgency rose up that was countered only when President George W. Bush ordered a troop surge to stop it.
2003 - Human Genome Project Completed: The Human Genome Project catalogued human DNA which will give geneticists a chance to use genetics, genetic engineering and gene therapy to cure genetic disorders and disease,
2004 - Google Redefines the Internet: Google is a way of searching the Internet created by Google Inc.'s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who used Text-based advertizing to create the web's most used search engine and to change America's corporate culture from a hard nosed business model to doing 'no evil.'

2005 - 2007Running time is 27 minutes

In schools, students study History and American History, focusing on 21st century American History in this third program of 21st century turning points in American History (2000-2009).

Chapter List

2005 - Hurricane Katrina Exposes America's Failing Infrastructure: Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans's levees and brought to attention America's failing infrastructure - highways, bridges, roads, dams, water supply, and the electrical grid - and the need for new sources of energy such as solar power and wind power.
2005 - Congress Investigates Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports: American sports and athletes have been tarnished by the use of steroids to enhance performance, such that Congress has investigated and asked for a special report, the Mitchell Report on what has become known as the Steroid Era, which has led to drug testing of professional athletes.
2005 - Blogging and YouTube Challenge Traditional Media: America's most cherished Civil liberties - freedom of speech and freedom of the press - have been expanded through the Internet, in particular YouTube and the use of the blog or blogging, blog.
2006 - Virtual Social Networking: Facebook, MySpace and Twitter: The Internet's Virtual social networking - the creation of the virtual community, found in Internet companies such as Facebook, My Space and Twitter has developed online communities, communities that were used by Barack Obama in his successful bid to become the 44th President of the U.S.
2007 - Illegal Immigration Hits 11 Million: Illegal Immigration and Illegal immigrants from Mexico and Latin America, has topped 11 million, causing America to split into two camps, one asking for amnesty and the other demanding increased border patrols and deportation.

2007 - 2009Running time is 28 minutes

In schools, students study History and American History, focusing on 21st century American History in this fourth program of 21st century turning points in American History (2000-2009).

Chapter List

2007 - Al Gore Wins Nobel Peace Prize for Work on Climate Change: Al Gore won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to educate the world, through his movie An Inconvenient Truth about global warming, also known as climate change, which is caused by the release of carbon dioxide, CO2, from fossil fuels.
2008 - Barack Obama Wins Presidency: By winning the presidency, democratic U.S. Senator, Barack Obama became the first black president and changed a 350 year old era of segregation, racism and Jim Crow laws, transcending race as an issue for blacks and whites.
2009 - America Responds to a Deep Recession: The American recession of 2008 -2009, the worst economy since the Great Depression, was a financial crisis brought on by mortgage foreclosures due to bad sub-prime loans, and it caused high unemployment, the failure of financial institutions and a stock market crash, while at the same time the U.S. government sought to help the recession by passing a stimulus package and the Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP, recommended by Secretary of the Treasury, Hank Paulson.

2009 - 2012Running time is 28 minutes

In schools, students study History and American History, focusing on 21st century American History in this fifth program of 21st century turning points in American History (2009-2012).

Chapter List

2009 - Sonia Sotomayor Becomes First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice: Chapter one discusses the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court
2010 - President Obama Signs Health Reform into Law: Chapter two discusses the reform of American healthcare from its beginnings in the 20th century to the Affordable Care Act in 2010.
2010 - Deepwater Horizon Explosion in the Gulf of Mexico: The impact of oil drilling on the Gulf states’ ecology is shown in Chapter three.
2011 - U.S. Navy SEALs Take Down Osama Bin Laden: Chapter four examines the hunt for the world’s greatest terrorist, Osama Bin Laden.
2012 - Washington and Colorado Legalize Marijuana: Chapter five discusses the groundbreaking legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington.
2012 - The Privatization of Space: The new frontier in space, the privatization of space travel, is outlined in chapter six.

2012 - 2015Running time is 29 minutes

In schools, students study History and American History, focusing on 21st century American History in this sixth program of 21st century turning points in American History (2012-2015).

Chapter List

2012 - Google's Deep Learning Machine Recognizes Cats on Its Own: Chapter one examines progress in creating the world’s first Artificial Intelligence.
2013 - Netflix's Reed Hastings Produces House Of Cards: Chapter two highlights the career and breakthroughs in entertainment of Netflix’s Reed Hastings.
2013 - Sharing Economy Pioneers Airbnb and Uber: The shared economy is discussed in chapter three.
2014 - Fracking Pushes America Towards Energy Independence: Chapter four examines the impact of fracking on the U.S. economy.
2014 - Rise of ISIS Presents New Foreign Policy Challenges: The threat of ISIS to America is discussed in chapter five.
2015 - U.S. Supreme Court Allows Same-Sex Marriage: Chapter six looks at the breakthrough of same sex marriage in gay rights.
2015 - Over Two Thirds of Americans Own Smartphones: The impact of technology on American life is examined in chapter seven.

2015 - 2017Running time is 29 minutes

In schools, students study History and American History, focusing on 21st century American History in this seventh program of 21st century turning points in American History (2015-2017).

Chapter List

2015 - Economic Disruptors: Wikipedia and Craigslist: Chapter one examines the impact of Wikipedia and Craigslist on the American economy.
2016 - NFL Announces $100 Million Concussion Initiative: Chapter two looks at the NFL’s revised concussion protocols.
2016 - Lonnie Bunch Opens National Museum of African American History and Culture: The celebration of Black history through the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture is shown in chapter three.
2017 - Edward Snowden, Cyber Security and Personal Digital Assistance: Edward Snowden, cyber warfare and the debate between security and personal privacy are discussed in chapter four.
2017 - Donald J. Trump Becomes the 45th President of the United States: Chapter five looks at the impact of Donald Trump’s election to the presidency on American politics.
2017 - UBI, Universal Basic Income: Chapter six examines the idea of a Universal Basic Income.

2017 - 2020Running time is 30 minutes

In schools, students study History and American History, focusing on 21st century American History in this eighth program of 21st century turning points in American History (2015-2020).

Chapter List

2017 Drones Become Part of Ordinary Life in America
2017 Self-Driving Trucks Hit The Road
2017 Over Half of Americans Listen to Podcasts
2017 Bitcoin Reaches a Value of $19,783
2018 China Challenges America's Economic and Technological Superiority
2019 President Donald J. Trump is Impeached
2019 Quantum Computers Become Practical
2020 A Pandemic Devastates the United States

MARC Records for 21TP: MARC records for the series 21st Century Turning Points in U.S. History (2000 - 2020)
Teacher's Guide For 21st Century Turning Points
Blackline Master Quizzes for 21st Century Turning Points in US History 2000-2009
Barack Obama's Presidential Victory Speech November 4th 2008
USA Patriot Act
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report 2007
Timeline for 21st Century Turning Points in US History 2000-2009
Mitchell Report on Steroid Use in Baseball
US Supreme Court Decision on 2000 Election
US Supreme Court Decision on Handgun Ban in Washington DC
9/11 Commission Report
Dams ASCE Fact Sheet
2000 - 2001
2002 - 2004
2005 - 2007
2007 - 2009
2009 - 2012
2012 - 2015
2015 - 2017
2017 - 2020

16th and 17th Century Turning Points In U.S. History: The 16th and 17th Century Turning Points in U.S. History series chronicles 22 decisive events - chaptered into individual segments- in the crucial colonial period that would lead to the founding of the United States of America.
18th Century Turning Points in U.S. History: As the 18th Century dawned on the North American continent, four powers; the French, the Spanish, the British and the American Indians were competing to see who would control this remarkable land. 64 pivotal events of this period are depicted.
19th Century Turning Points in U.S. History: America entered the 19th Century an agricultural nation of 16 states and 5.3 million people. This series is made up of 55 stand-alone segments that highlight significant historical events, scientific milestones and cultural achievements
20th Century Turning Points in U.S. History: 20th Century Turning Points in U.S. History is an eight-part series designed to provide a clear overview of the people and events that distinguished the 20th Century. 61 pivotal events and the people involved are examined at specific points in time.
Alistair Cooke's America: British-American journalist and broadcaster Alistair Cooke narrates this 13-part television series about the United States and its history.
The Complete History of U.S. Wars: Join George Kennedy as he takes us on this 300-year saga of The Complete History of U.S. Wars.
The First Amendment in the 21st Century: Guided by the nation's top First Amendment scholars, this series brings into focus critical First Amendment issues in the technological world of the 21st century
Fracking: America's Energy Revolution: This enlightening series, Fracking: America's Energy Revolution, examines Fracking - the latest technological boom in America's oil industry.
A History of American Indian Achievement: Eight half-hour shows chronicle the story of American Indians ... Their magnificent civilizations and accomplishments.
A History of Black Achievement in America: This original, nine-part series documents Black Achievement in American history, its defining role in the growth of the country, and its influence on current events.
A History of Chinese American Achievement: Eight half-hour shows chronicle the story of Chinese Americans, their culture, their achievements, and their contributions to the United States
A History of Civil Rights in America: For the first time, an eight part series presents America's unique 250 year experiment where remarkably, the rights of a citizen are grounded on the idea that all men are created equal.
A History of Equal Rights in America: This series recounts the significant advances and the ongoing effort to gain a clear and permanent guarantee of privileges for women and all economically disadvantaged groups.
A History of Hispanic Achievement in America: "A History of Hispanic Achievement in America" is a rich history that began 500 years ago when Christopher Columbus stepped ashore in the new world.
A History of Jewish American Achievement: Eight half-hour shows chronicle the story of Jewish Americans, their culture, their achievements, and their contributions to the United States.
A History of the U.S. Constitution: This chronologically arranged, comprehensive series covers key events leading up to and following the creation of the U.S. Constitution. 47 segments show how this document has protected the American people from the abuses of power and tyranny.
A History of Women's Achievement in America: The unique and independent American woman: adventurer... pioneer... poet... mother... educator... artist... freedom fighter. A History of Women's Achievement in America examines the 400-year history of American women's inspiring accomplishments and victories.
Radical Islam: A Historical Perspective: In order to better understand the acts of terrorism originating in the Middle East and their impact on the West, Radical Islam: A Historical Perspective's remarkable two-part series examines the rise of radical Islamic movements by tracing the history of this complex and beautiful religion, founded 1,400 years ago on the Arabian peninsula, and following its growth and history to the present day.
American Entrepreneurial Genius: American Entrepreneurial Genius is a remarkable 14 program series that explores the 400-year-old history of America's incomparable entrepreneurial spirit that shaped and advanced the country from the first settlement in Jamestown, to the globally dominant tech industry of the 21st century.

Main Content for Page