How the States Got Their Shapes

Brian Unger explores how America's States got their borders and how they continue to change today.
Red State vs. Blue State
S2 E1

How the U.S. is divided politically and what happens to the states caught in the middle.

White Collar vs. Blue Collar
S2 E2

The division of labor and how it shapes U.S. states and cities.

Hillbilly vs. Redneck
S2 E3

Rural cultures clashed and shaped states.

North vs. South
S2 E5

War is needed to close a divide in the country.

Is West Best?
S2 E11

The future of the conquered American West.

The United Shapes of America
S2 E19

Unique American values that make up the nation; how the map has shaped Americans.

A River Runs Through It
S1 E1

A mistake made by the Founding Fathers affects the Georgia-Tennessee border; why Maine has so much water.

The Great Plains, Trains and Automobiles
S1 E2

Why Chicago could have been in Wisconsin; why are states out West so big and boxy; Forgottonia.

Force of Nature
S1 E3

How an asteroid created the border for three states; how glaciers that plowed the Great Plains altered the map.

State of Rebellion
S1 E4

Why Montana looks like it took a bite out of Idaho; why Texas was broken up into five states; why are there two Carolinas.

Living on the Edge
S1 E5

Behind blank spots like Area 51; what possessed the citizens of Key West to secede from Florida; old missile bunkers turned into dream homes; a county that was left off Georgia's quarter.

Use It or Lose It
S1 E6

If you thought our borders were set in stone, you'd be wrong.

Church and States
S1 E7

Could Utah have been bigger than Texas?; how religion shattered New England into little shapes; the Civil War's origin in Kansas.

A Boom With a View
S1 E8

How Green Bay helped carve the border with Canada; what football has to do with fur; is North Carolina the real Golden State; why everyone should move to North Dakota.

Culture Clash
S1 E9

World War II preserves the shape of California; part of Maine becomes northern Massachusetts; Florida's cowboy tradition.