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.

2000 - 2001Running Time: 0:27:00
The first two years of the decade brought about the George W. Bush presidency, a presidency that was defined by September 11th 2001, the first attack on American mainland since the War of 1812. 2001 was also the year that began the second digital revolution. Chapter List 1.) 2000 - America Has a Contested Presidency 00:06:10The 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. 2.) 9-11 00:12:34The 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. 3.) 2001 - Apple Computer Debuts the iPod 00:05:25Steven 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: 0:27:00
The years between 2002 and 2004 ushered in America's first pre-emptive war, saw the human genome project jump start the biotech revolution and Google monetize the Internet. Chapter List 1.) 2003 - Gulf War II 00:11:18After 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. 2.) 2003 - Human Genome Project Completed 00:05:55The 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, 3.) 2004 - Google Redefines the Internet 00:07:03Google 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: 0:27:00
The middle years of the first decade of the 21st century were a time of great social change, as America's failing infrastructure was exposed, performance enhancing drugs damaged sports; illegal immigrants made up as much as a tenth of the population; and the Internet redefined how people connect with each other. Chapter List 1.) 2005 - Hurricane Katrina Exposes America's Failing Infrastructure 00:05:40Hurricane 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. 2.) 2005 - Congress Investigates Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports 00:03:54American 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. 3.) 2005 - Blogging and YouTube Challenge Traditional Media 00:05:25America'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. 4.) 2006 - Virtual Social Networking: Facebook, MySpace and Twitter 00:04:32The 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. 5.) 2007 - Illegal Immigration Hits 11 Million 00:05:06Illegal 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: 0:28:00
Finally, America understood the consequences of climate change; a sea change occurred when it elected a Black president, but in the end, it faced disaster when the subprime mortgage debacle almost brought the financial system to its knees. Chapter List 1.) 2007 - Al Gore Wins Nobel Peace Prize for Work on Climate Change 00:08:25Al 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. 2.) 2008 - Barack Obama Wins Presidency 00:10:04By 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. 3.) 2009 - America Responds to a Deep Recession 00:06:52The 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: 0:28:00
During the first term of Barack Obama Americans saw the rise of Hispanic women in the U.S. justice system, the Affordable Care Act, the devastating impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and an historic manhunt ended with the take down of Osama Bin Laden. Chapter List 1.) 2009 - Sonia Sotomayor Becomes First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice 00:05:11Chapter one discusses the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court 2.) 2010 - President Obama Signs Health Reform into Law 00:03:12Chapter two discusses the reform of American healthcare from its beginnings in the 20th century to the Affordable Care Act in 2010. 3.) 2010 - Deepwater Horizon Explosion in the Gulf of Mexico 00:06:05The impact of oil drilling on the Gulf states’ ecology is shown in Chapter three. 4.) 2011 - U.S. Navy SEALs Take Down Osama Bin Laden 00:02:44Chapter four examines the hunt for the world’s greatest terrorist, Osama Bin Laden. 5.) 2012 - Washington and Colorado Legalize Marijuana 00:04:04Chapter five discusses the groundbreaking legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington. 6.) 2012 - The Privatization of Space 00:03:42The new frontier in space, the privatization of space travel, is outlined in chapter six.
2012 - 2015Running Time: 0:29:00
Disruptions to American business and lifestyle continued in the next four years with great strides in Artificial Intelligence, the rise of the sharing economy, the fracking boom, renewed threats from abroad by a new brand of Islamic terrorists and the breakthrough of same-sex marriage in gay rights. Chapter List 1.) 2012 - Google's Deep Learning Machine Recognizes Cats on Its Own 00:04:09Chapter one examines progress in creating the world’s first Artificial Intelligence. 2.) 2013 - Netflix's Reed Hastings Produces House Of Cards 00:03:53Chapter two highlights the career and breakthroughs in entertainment of Netflix’s Reed Hastings. 3.) 2013 - Sharing Economy Pioneers Airbnb and Uber 00:04:15The shared economy is discussed in chapter three. 4.) 2014 - Fracking Pushes America Towards Energy Independence 00:02:57Chapter four examines the impact of fracking on the U.S. economy. 5.) 2014 - Rise of ISIS Presents New Foreign Policy Challenges 00:05:07The threat of ISIS to America is discussed in chapter five. 6.) 2015 - U.S. Supreme Court Allows Same-Sex Marriage 00:03:37Chapter six looks at the breakthrough of same sex marriage in gay rights. 7.) 2015 - Over Two Thirds of Americans Own Smartphones 00:02:51The impact of technology on American life is examined in chapter seven.
2015 - 2017Running Time: 0:29:00
In just three years, disruptors in American politics, economics and cyber security change America more quickly than two world wars and the Industrial Age, while at the same time a long awaited museum devoted to African American history opens and America elects Donald Trump as its 45th President. Chapter List 1.) 2015 - Economic Disruptors: Wikipedia and Craigslist 00:05:54Chapter one examines the impact of Wikipedia and Craigslist on the American economy. 2.) 2016 - NFL Announces $100 Million Concussion Initiative 00:03:11Chapter two looks at the NFL’s revised concussion protocols. 3.) 2016 - Lonnie Bunch Opens National Museum of African American History and Culture 00:03:48The celebration of Black history through the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture is shown in chapter three. 4.) 2017 - Edward Snowden, Cyber Security and Personal Digital Assistance 00:04:58Edward Snowden, cyber warfare and the debate between security and personal privacy are discussed in chapter four. 5.) 2017 - Donald J. Trump Becomes the 45th President of the United States 00:05:20Chapter five looks at the impact of Donald Trump’s election to the presidency on American politics. 6.) 2017 - UBI, Universal Basic Income 00:02:49Chapter six examines the idea of a Universal Basic Income.
2017 - 2020Running Time: 0:30:00
In the last few years of the 2nd decade of the 21st century, four technological innovations swept through the nation: drones, self-driving vehicles, quantum computing, and crypto currency. At the same time, deep political polarization threatens the nation's democracy. Chapter List 1.) 2017 Drones Become Part of Ordinary Life in America 00:03:35 2.) 2017 Self-Driving Trucks Hit The Road 00:03:51 3.) 2017 Over Half of Americans Listen to Podcasts 00:04:13 4.) 2017 Bitcoin Reaches a Value of $19,783 00:03:16 5.) 2018 China Challenges America's Economic and Technological Superiority 00:04:19 6.) 2019 President Donald J. Trump is Impeached 00:03:16 7.) 2019 Quantum Computers Become Practical 00:02:44 8.) 2020 A Pandemic Devastates the United States 00:00:32

	Series SKU	21TP
	Video Programs	8
	Subjects	History, American History
	Supplemental Files	12
	Released	2017
	Produced By	Ambrose Video Publishing Inc./Centre Communications
	Copyright	©2017 Ambrose Video Publishing Inc./Centre Communications
	Grade Levels	10th Grade through Post Secondary

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
MARC Records for 21TP: MARC records for the Full Series 21TP, 21st Century Turning Points in U.S. History (2000 - 2017)

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

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