How the States Got Their Shapes - History Channel - Season 1 All Episodes

How the States Got Their Shapes: Series 1 Explores how the borders of the United States evolved and continue to change in response to religion, transportation, communication, politics, culture clashes and even Mother Nature. Local experts and everyday folks lead host Brian Unger to insights about some of America's most baffling questions. How are flying fish threatening to re-draw the shape of Illinois? What does the use of cell phones by Pennsylvania's Amish have to do with the shape of their state? How is the phrase sold down the river linked to the shape of what might be the 51st state? Why did the invention of air conditioning change how America picks its Presidents? Unger uncovers the answers, hidden in the map. This is no textbook-style documentary series, each episode finds quirky and fun facts to inform and educate, and the comedic style will appeal perfectly to both older and younger consumers, from students to history buffs. Host Brian Unger is well known for his irreverent YouTube online news programme The Young Turks which is the biggest show of its type in the World.

The United States is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, with each state having a uniquely shaped border to fit into its neighboring states. Americans are familiar with each state's shape, but how did those shapes come about? That's what this series, hosted by former "Daily Show" correspondent Brian Unger, explains. Unger crisscrosses the country talking to local experts and everyday people in search of the stories behind the boundaries. Religion, transportation and Mother Nature are just a few of the factors that have caused the states' borders to evolve over time, some of which may be continuing to evolve.

First episode date: May 3, 2011

Final episode date: December 22, 2012

Language: English

Network: History

Cast: Brian Unger

Every line on the U.S. map tells a story. Every border reflects their history - their struggles for independence, their internal conflicts over states rights and slavery, their westward expansion, and the mastery of their natural resources.

They are so familiar with the map of United States, but do they know why their states look the way they do? Every shape on the map tells a great story about their past.

Why is California bent? To cling on to gold. Why does Oklahoma have a panhandle? Because of shifting borders for slavery.

Why does Missouri have a boot? Because of a massive earthquake. Examines how every state is a puzzle piece ultimately revealing the unique geography, political and social history of America.

Follows correspondent Brian Unger as he criss-crosses the country reporting on the tales behind the boundaries. Think: Why does Montana look like it took a bite out of Idaho? Or how are flying fish threatening to re-draw the lines of Illinois?

How the States Got Their Shapes is a television series that aired on the History Channel. It is hosted by Brian Unger and is based on Mark Stein's book, How the States Got Their Shapes. The show deals with how the various states of the United States established their borders but also delves into other aspects of U.S. history, including failed states, proposed new states, and the local culture and character of various US states. It thus tackles the "shapes" of the states in a metaphorical sense as well as a literal sense.

Each episode has a particular theme, such as how the landscape, language, or natural resources contributed to the borders and character of various US states. The show format follows Unger as he travels to various locations and interviews local people, visits important historical and cultural sites, and provides commentary from behind the wheel of his car as he drives from location to location. Interspersed with these segments are brief historical synopses by notable US historians.

The show started as a single two-hour special which first aired in April 2010 but returned as a regular series of one-hour shows starting in May 2011. Season 2 premiered in the fall of 2012, with a slightly more reality-oriented format and episodes shortened to half an hour, airing Saturdays on H2, with encore showings on Friday night on the History channel. Many of Season 2's episodes contained material already covered in Season 1.

Episode 1: A River Runs Through It

How water has literally shaped the States. The surprising history hidden in the blue, squiggly lines on the map: How the founding fathers might have made a mistake along the Georgia Tennessee border; how that boundary could actually change because of water; why Maine has so much -- and why Nevada was left high and dry. All told the unique shapes of these states.

Episode 2: Great Plains, Trains, & Automobiles

The history of transportation hidden in the lines of the map. From canals to trains and cars, how getting around helped draw the American map. Why Chicago could have been in Wisconsin; why states out West or so big and boxy; and why we almost had a state called Forgottonia.

Episode 3: Force of Nature

How massive geological events helped create the American map. Long before the Founding Fathers drew the map, mother nature shape some states: how an asteroid created the border for three states and changed history; how glaciers plowed the great plains and how natural disasters continue to alter the map.

Episode 4: State of Rebellion

How did the most rebellious states took shape? How did they earn their outsized features and outspoken reputations. For instance, why does Montana looks like it took a bite out of Idaho? Why wasn't Texas broken up into five states? And why exactly do we have not one but two Carolinas?

Episode 5: Living on the Edge

What secrets are hiding in our map? What's behind the "blank spots" like Area 51? What possessed the citizens of Key West to throw down their margaritas and secede from Florida? And even in the heartland, there are those living on the edge -- in Kansas, old missile bunkers are now five bedroom dream homes. And what about the county in Georgia that was left off the state's quarter?

Episode 6: Use It or Lose It

If you thought our borders were set in stone, you'd be wrong. Who stole a corner of Washington, DC? Is Ohio actually a state? And why isn't St. Louis our nation's capital? One thing's for sure -- our map could look very different. How did we create order out of so much chaos? With the vote.

Episode 7: Church and States

Ever since the Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower, what we believe and how we believe has shaped the American map. Could Utah have been bigger than Texas? How did religion shatter New England into such odd little shapes? And did the Civil War actually begin... in Kansas?

Episode 8: Boom with a View

Did money make our map? Through boom and through bust, the sweet smell of profit has drawn and redrawn our states. How did Green Bay help carve our border with Canada? What does football have to do with fur? Is North Carolina the real "Golden State"? And why should we all move to North Dakota?

Episode 9: Culture Clash

Will rivalries within our states break them into pieces? Cultures compete against each other all over the map. In extreme cases, they can divide states in two. How did World War II preserve the shape of California? Will part of Maine break off and become Northern Massachusetts? And as new cultures move into Florida, will the state's cowboy tradition get pushed off the map?

Episode 10: Mouthing Off

We all live in the same country, so why do we sound do different? It's a matter of where you are on the map. Why didn't the southern accent exist until after the Civil War? How did California athletes end up coining so many new words? Why do we have so many different words for the same things -- like pop versus soda?