Hello and welcome to a history of the United States, Episode Zero, Pilot.

It would be the bold historian to say that since its declaration of independence in 1776, any country has had a greater influence on the world

than the United States of America. A country founded on the simple idea that all men were created equal, and that all had the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Over the following 200 years, this squabbling strip of states along the Atlantic seaboard would grow to become a global superpower.

It is a rather impressive rags to riches tale, but

there is a dark side to the American dream. Slavery. The treatment of Native Americans.

In short, all those the American dream left behind. It is certainly a complicated story, which is exactly

why I'd like to tell it. This podcast is going to tell the whole story. We will start with the

early voyages to North America, trace the development of the colonies, watch the mature interstates,

chart the revolution, and the creation of the federal

government. We will go through the era of good feelings, the civil war, the reconstruction,

and examine how America became a superpower. We will go through to World Wars, the Great Depression,

right up to the end of the Cold War.

Mr Gorbachev, tear down this war.

But that isn't all.

We're going to tell the whole story.

We will be covering politics, warfare, but social history, economics, cultural stuff,

there will be no political slant, no edge,

just the facts. If something is just my opinion, believe me, I will make you well aware of it.

I mention this as I don't want you to think that I'm going to be doing any American bashing,

but likewise, I'm not going to be chanting, you were so, you were so. I'm hoping the fact that I'm British should give me adequate distance to tell the story fairly. I suppose,

since we're going to be spending a lot of time together, I should actually introduce myself.

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