The States — Season 1, Episode 3: New York, Louisiana, Oregon, New Mexico, Vermont

Episode synopsis

Travel back to the origins of New York City at New Amsterdam, the 16th century Dutch merchant colony. Discover how French Acadians fled Canada in 1873 to settle in Louisiana, developing the "Cajun" subculture. The Oregon Trail opened in 1843, bringing half a million settlers to the west. Visit Los Alamos Laboratories in New Mexico's remote high desert, the birthplace of the atomic bomb, and where today research continues to advance science. Finally, learn how two friends from Vermont opened an ice cream shop in 1977 and would go on to become America's most famous entrepreneurs.

About The States

The States is a 2007 American documentary television series about the history of each state in the United States of America, narrated by Edward Herrmann. The show documents each of the 50 states in the union. The show begins with an introduction to the five states to be documented within the episode. Each state's segment begins with the narrator giving a clue as to what that state might be, and then revealing the answer. There is then a billboard that pops up showing the state nickname, motto, population, population ranking within the union, date the state entered the union, and state flag. During interviews with historians or notable people from a state, the state's quarter is shown. Since the series was produced in 2007, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii are shown with their flags. Those quarters were released in 2008 The show then highlights the history of the state itself, including notable events that have happened there, and highlights other noteworthy things in that state. In 2010 a sister presentation and then series, How the States Got Their Shapes was aired.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1California, North Carolina, Kansas, New Hampshire, West Virginia
• E2Texas, Massachusetts, Arkansas, Iowa, Delaware
• E4New Jersey, Arizona, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Alaska
• E5Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Hawaii, South Carolina, Montana
• E6Florida, Indiana, Washington, Utah, Rhode Island
• E7Illinois, Connecticut, Nevada, Mississippi, Wyoming
• E8Virginia, Ohio, Idaho, Alabama, North Dakota
• E9Michigan, Tennessee, Maine, Missouri, South Dakota
• E10Georgia, Colorado, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Maryland/DC