In Forgotten America: Rediscovering Events That Changed the Nation, delve into the public health crises, civil rights battles, and censorship fights that transformed the United States. In 12 lectures led by historian and author Dr. Rachel Michelle Gunter, you will add a whole new slate of new characters and conflicts to your lexicon. From the dangers of homegrown fascism to the success of the ADA, the fight over inoculation to the struggle for veterans pay, emerge with a more detailed and complex picture of the people and fights that defined US history.
Forgotten America: Rediscovering Events That Changed the Nation
Dive into the underappreciated and underexplored stories throughout US history and meet the lesser-known figures who played an outsized role in making America what it is today.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Bobbi Jean from
New insights even for the historians who watch.
As a Great Courses Plus subscriber, I really loved this course. The professor is informed, articulate, poised, and knows her material. As a former history teacher of 50 years experience, I learned something new with every session. I echo the sentiment of the reviewer who suggested she do a course on American immigration to this country.
Date published: 2025-05-21
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Mike Ball from
Not the deepest course, but interesting
This course goes into a combination of national myths, like the first thanksgiving, and just plain obscure but interesting subjects like making members of the armed forces ineligible to vote, which was true up through the First World War. None of it is life-changing, but it's all worth knowing and we can see the echos to this day. It's all well presented and I suspect you will enjoy it as much as I did.
Date published: 2025-05-21
Rated 5 out of
5
by
the professor from
Unearthed Events That Shaped the Nation
This 12 lecture - 30 minute course, was expertly led by a remarkably talented and engaging historian. Rachel Michelle Gunter delivered the material with effortless flow, making even lesser-known events feel vivid and relevant. Her energy and passion for history and the topic of each lecture was evident throughout, drawing me in and keeping me captivated. Many of the subjects she covered - such as the debate over World War I veterans compensation, the loss of citizenship for married women, and the military voting issue, were new revelations to me as a senior. Her ability to highlight these forgotten yet essential pieces of history was nothing short of impressive. Professor Gunter's engaging delivery is a foundation to this excellent course. I highly recommend the course and especially the professor! Well worth the investment.
Date published: 2025-05-16
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Michael60 from
A Fascinating Series
Rachel Gunter smoothly delivers compelling, little-told stories that shaped the American past with an obvious depth of knowledge and in an entertaining style reminiscent of the best documentary narrators. The work to find these often obscure slices of the past, which always illustrate critical themes in American history, pays off for the viewer. I highly recommend this series.
Date published: 2025-05-12
Rated 5 out of
5
by
bestonetx from
Interesting, accessible and informative US history
Dr. Gunter's approach is to focus on forgotten moments that turned the tide of American history. This reveals a sequence of fascinating stories and unknown but important individuals, and Gunter chooses her topics with creativity and insight. The presentation is also very engaging, combining straight lecture with archival images and animation. This is the best kind of public history, and it's a fascinating and very watchable series.
Date published: 2025-05-12
Rated 5 out of
5
by
JRL81 from
An Indispensable Series
I purchased this Great Courses series Forgotten America, and I am so glad I did. Dr. Gunter does a marvelous job of recounting barely remembered, or entirely forgotten chapters in the history of the United States. Many people know the broad outlines of American history, but Dr. Gunter has created a deep dive into these events to create context for those outlines, and remind us that history is not static, and is not complete until all perspectives, angles, and facts have received thorough attention. If you are looking for in-depth research and excellently crafted story-telling told by an astute historian at the top of her craft, then this series is for you. I highly recommend it for everyone, no matter your level of historical knowledge or education.
Date published: 2025-05-12
Rated 5 out of
5
by
historyfan2 from
So Much to Love
This course has so much great information! There are really so many topics in here that you never hear about, and the host has such great stories for each of them. Highly recommend!
Date published: 2025-05-11
Rated 5 out of
5
by
LisaA from
Excellent lectures on off the beaten path history
This is a terrific lecture series. It is very well researched and wonderfully delivered. Well done, Dr. Gunter!
Personally, I immediately zeroed in on the lecture about US women citizens losing their citizenship in the early 20th century as a result of marrying a non-citizen immigrant. This happened to my grandmother (US-born child of Slovak immigrants) who lost her US citizenship in 1921 after marrying a Yugoslav (Croatian) immigrant. He was naturalized in 1937 and she was re-naturalized in 1941! Children all born while neither were citizens. This story is little known and I was glad to have the Cable Act discussed. There is also an excellent lecture on Anti-Asian Laws.
Great Courses Plus: Please bring back Dr. Gunter to perhaps give another series of lectures on similar topics. Or a history of voting rights in the US.
I would also seriously request a series on the history of immigration to the US. An important and timely topic!
Date published: 2025-05-10
Overview Course No. 30630
About
Rachel Michelle Gunter is a public historian and author whose research focuses on the woman suffrage movement and its effects on the voting rights of other groups, including immigrants, servicemen, World War I veterans, Mexican Americans, and African Americans. She earned a PhD in History from Texas A&M University. Her work has been published in the Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, and she also contributed a chapter for the book Impeached: The Removal of Texas Governor James E. Ferguson. She also served as a consultant and cowriter for Citizens at Last, a documentary film about the history of the Texas suffrage movement.
Trailer
01: Smallpox in the American Revolution
Smallpox swept across colonial America in waves, devastating cities and ravaging vulnerable populations. In the course’s inaugural lesson, explore how early Americans thought about and responded to the scourge. Get to know inoculation’s leading proponents as well as its skeptics. And see how smallpox and germ warfare affected the outcome of the Revolutionary War.
28 min
02: Hollywood and the Hays Code
Owing to political and social pressure, motion pictures opted to censor themselves in the 20th century. Peek behind the curtain to see how moral panic collided with free speech and artistic expression in Hollywood and track the demise of the Hays Code with the wide release of films like “Psycho” and “Bonnie and Clyde.”
30 min
03: Forever Foreigners: Anti-Asian Laws
Many in the United States sought to restrict immigration in the late 19th century. In this lecture, focus on Chinese exclusion. Why was the federal government so eager to curb a population it had depended on for cheap railroad labor? And how did the Chinese Exclusion Act lay the groundwork for Japanese internment 60 years later?
29 min
04: Tuberculosis Transforms America
The most fatal ailment in the United States at the turn of the century, tuberculosis made its mark on American politics, culture, and even infrastructure. Explore consumption’s lasting impact on westward expansion, desserts, popular fashion, lawn furniture, and everyday manners, and learn about the scientific theory that transformed how Americans understand the disease.
30 min
05: Patton versus the Bonus March Veterans
During the Great Depression, a cadre of World War I veterans descended on Washington, DC, to demand fair pay, transforming the National Mall into a long-term campsite. Examine the fight for veteran benefits in the United States, focusing on the so-called Bonus Army and their efforts in the interwar years.
29 min
06: The Rise and Fall of American Fascism
Investigate the rise of the American fascist movement, starting with the spread of antisemitic conspiracy theories by famed industrialist Henry Ford. See how Nazi sympathizers like Charles Lindberg lobbied against US involvement in World War II. And track the movement’s swift demise after its extremism became impossible to ignore.
32 min
07: Two Sisters Fight for Freedom
Delve into the fascinating lives of Grimké sisters Angelina and Sarah, crusaders of the abolitionist cause. Examine the religious ideologies, institutional infrastructure, and robust social networks that empowered America’s incredibly controversial antislavery movement, paying special attention to how the sisters’ public struggles highlighted the connection between abolition and women’s rights.
29 min
08: When Women Lost Citizenship through Marriage
Before 1922, a woman’s citizenship status in the United States was tightly bound to her husband’s. Here, become acquainted with activists Ethel Mackenzie and Ruth Bryan Owen and dig into the political and legal battles that ensued as both women tried to wrestle citizenship back from the federal government.
29 min
09: The Controversial Soldier Vote
The military vote has always been controversial—especially in war. Travel back to 1864 to piece together the coalition that kept Abraham Lincoln in the White House, examining the complicated logistical effort to count ballots on the battlefront, before examining the long fight to enfranchise soldiers after the Civil War.
28 min
10: The Capitol Crawl for Disability Rights
Though we are used to sidewalk ramps and closed captions today, comprehensive accommodations for disabled Americans are a relatively modern phenomenon. Get to know the activists who organized on behalf of disability rights and accessibility legislation in the 20th and 21st centuries, from San Francisco’s 504 sit-in to the Capitol Crawl.
29 min
11: The German Coast Uprising
The largest slave rebellion in US history broke out in 1811. Spend the course’s penultimate lecture unpacking the violent struggle between the enslaved and their enslavers on Louisiana’s notoriously brutal sugar plantations. What triggered the rebellion? What was its goal? And what did its extreme violence suggest about slave uprisings in America more broadly?
29 min
12: Thanksgiving Stories That Made America
Conclude the course with a focus on Thanksgiving, America’s greatest feast. Explore the holiday’s roots, which stretch back to the colonial period and Civil War. Then, turn your attention to Thanksgiving’s transformation in the 20th century, from the South’s reluctant embrace of a Yankee holiday to FDR’s controversial “Franksgiving.”
29 min
