The World's Longest History Lesson

In 2018, UNT History Professor Andrew Torget set a Guinness World Record for the World's Longest History Lesson. Dr. Torget's record-breaking lesson lasted 26.5 hours, covered Texas history from prehistory through the Great Depression, and raised funds to support The Portal to Texas History. The Portal has archived the entire lesson online, divided into units of about an hour or less for easy viewing. The links to each unit are listed below, along with the topics covered in each unit.

If you would like to support The Portal to Texas History, please visit one.unt.edu/portal-to-texas-history.

Archived Videos:

• Unit 1. Prehistoric to Spanish Explorers - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125868/m1/
  • The Land and the Rivers
  • First Settlers before 1500
  • Indians of Texas by 1500
• Unit 2. Spanish Explorations - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125885/m1/
  • The Aztecs and Cortes
  • The Debacle of Cabeza de Vaca
  • Coronado's Expedition
  • De Soto's Expedition
  • Transforming and Abandoning Texas
• Unit 3. Spaniards in Indian Country - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125865/m1/
  • The World that Silver Made
  • Presidios and Missions
  • La Salle and the French Threat
• Unit 4. The (Many) Failures of the Spaniards - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125870/m1/
  • First Attempt of Missions, 1690-1693
  • Second Attempt, 1716-1722
  • Life on the Spanish Frontier
  • Arrival of the Comanche
  • Texas by 1800
• Unit 5. Collapse of Spain in Texas, Part 1 - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125875/m1/
  • Texas by 1800
  • Major Problems for Spain in Texas:
    • Louisiana Purchase, 1803
    • Mexican War for Independence, 1810-1820
• Unit 5. Collapse of Spain in Texas, Part 2 - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125863/m1/
  • Major Problems for Spain in Texas:
    • Increased Indian Raids 1814-1820
    • Invading Americans, 1819-1820
    • Mexico's Dilemma of Independence
• Unit 6. Establishing Mexican Texas - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125867/m1/
  • The U.S. Land Crisis
  • Moses Austin's Zany Scheme
  • Do We Let in the Americans?
  • Founding the Austin Colony
• Unit 7. Mexican Texas - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125878/m1/
  • Establishing the Austin Colony
  • Mexico City, Centralism Vs. Federalism
  • The Problem of Slavery
  • The Constitution of 1824
  • A Rebellion in East Texas
• Unit 8. Road to Revolution - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125872/m1/
  • A Ridiculous Rebellion in East Texas
  • Constitution of 1827
  • Decree 56, Thwarting Mexican Law
  • Law of April 6, 1830
• Unit 9. Rebellion - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125890/m1/
  • Disturbances at Anahuac and Velasco
  • Texans as Ardent Federalists
  • The Quest for Separate Statehood
  • Cotton Boom!
  • Chaos of 1835, Revolution Begins
• Unit 10. Revolution, Part 1 - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125874/m1/
  • Chaos of Late 1835
  • Battle of San Antonio
• Unit 10. Revolution, Part 2 - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125879/m1/
  • Siege of the Alamo
• Unit 10. Revolution, Part 3 - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125880/m1/
  • Aftermath of the Siege of the Alamo
  • Massacre at Goliad
  • Runaway Scrape
  • San Jacinto
• Unit 11. Rise of the Republic - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125881/m1/
  • What does the Republic mean to Texans?
  • What Will Texas Become?
  • Forming a Republic
• Unit 12. Republic of Texas - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125866/m1/
  • Presidency of Sam Houston
  • Failures of Houston
  • Presidency of Mirabeau Lamar
  • Failures of Lamar
• Unit 13. Annexation and the Road to the U.S.-Mexico War - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125886/m1/
  • Republic of Texas on the Brink
  • Playing the Annexation Game
• Unit 14. The U.S.-Mexico War - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125861/m1/
  • James K. Polk Gazes West
  • Polk Provokes a Fight
  • War in Northern and Central Mexico
  • Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
  • Mexican Cession
• Unit 15. The Crisis of the 1850s - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125862/m1/
  • Aftermath of U.S.-Mexican War
  • Slave Labor versus Free Labor
  • Compromise of 1850
  • Bleeding Kansas
  • Rise of the Republicans
  • Dred Scott Decision
• Unit 16. Secession - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125864/m1/
  • John Brown's Raid
  • The Election of 1860
  • Texas and Secession
• Unit 17. Civil War - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125884/m1/
  • War Breaks Out
  • Texans in the Confederate Armies
  • Life on the Homefront
  • End of War, End of Slavery
• Unit 18. Presidential Reconstruction - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125871/m1/
  • Three Major Questions
  • Presidential Reconstruction
  • Constitution of 1866
  • Congress Takes Over Reconstruction
• Unit 19. Road to "Redemption" - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125888/m1/
  • Republicans in Texas
  • Constitution of 1868
  • Violence and the Klan
  • The "Redemption" of Texas
• Unit 20. Indian Wars and Cattle Drives - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125889/m1/
  • Massive Immigration
  • Last of the Indian Wars
  • Post-War Cattle Markets
  • Rise of Cattle Drives
• Unit 21. Mega Ranches - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125887/m1/
  • Rise of Mega-Ranches
  • End of the Cattle Drives
• Unit 22. Farmers in Rebellion - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125869/m1/
  • The Problem of Cotton
  • The Grange
  • The Farmer's Alliance
  • Rise of the Populists
  • Election of 1892
• Unit 23. Populism and Jim Crow - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125882/m1/
  • 1893 Populists on the Rise
  • The Fateful Election of 1896
  • Fall and Collapse of the Populists
  • Establishing Jim Crow Texas
• Unit 24. Cities and the Hurricane - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125877/m1/
  • Life in Texas by 1900
  • The Storm of 1900
• Unit 25. Oil, Cities, Reform - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125876/m1/
  • Discovery of Oil at Spindletop
  • Boomtowns, Huzzah!
  • The Problem with Boomtowns, Boo!
  • Rise of 'Progressives'
• Unit 26. Splitting the Texas Democrats - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1125873/m1/
  • Rise and Fall of James Ferguson
  • Mexican Revolution
  • World War I
• Unit 27. Rise and Fall of the New Ku Klux Klan - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1131905/m1/
  • Changing Times in the 1920s
  • Rise of the New Klan
  • Fall of the Klan
  • Roaring Twenties
• Unit 28. Road to the Great Depression - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1131904/m1/
  • Collapse of the KKK
  • Roaring Twenties
  • Everything Falls Apart
• Unit 29. Great Depression and New Deal - https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1131906/m1/
  • Dr. Torget's Statement Ending the Lesson