Television's most-watched history series, "American Experience" has been hailed as "peerless" (Wall Street Journal), "the most consistently enriching program on television" (Chicago Tribune) and "a beacon of intelligence and purpose" (Houston Chronicle). On air and online, the series brings to life the incredible characters and epic stories that have shaped America's past and present. Acclaimed by viewers and critics alike, "American Experience" documentaries have been honored with every major broadcast award, including 24 Emmy Awards, four duPont-Columbia Awards and 14 George Foster Peabody Awards, one most recently for "Two Days in October."
The Civilian Conservation Corps
first aired:
November 2, 2009
(#2201)
In March 1933, within weeks of his inauguration, President Franklin Roosevelt ...
The Kennedys
first aired:
May 18, 2009
(#2110)
No family has had such a powerful hold on the American imagination. A ...
Wounded Knee (Part 5 of 5)
first aired:
May 11, 2009
(#2109)
On the night of February 27, 1973, fifty-four cars rolled, horns blaring, ...
Geronimo (Part 4 of 5)
first aired:
May 4, 2009
(#2108)
In February of 1909, the indomitable Chiricahua Apache medicine man Geronimo ...
Trail of Tears (Part 3 of 5)
first aired:
April 27, 2009
(#2107)
The Cherokee would call it Nu-No-Du-Na Tlo-Hi-Lu, "The Trail Where They ...
Tecumseh's Vision (Part 2 of 5)
first aired:
April 20, 2009
(#2106)
In the spring of 1805, Tenskwatawa (actor Billy Merasty, Cree First Nation), ...
After the Mayflower (Part 1 of 5)
first aired:
April 13, 2009
(#2105)
In March of 1621, in what is now southeastern Massachusetts, Massasoit ...
Class Apart
first aired:
February 23, 2009
(#2104)
In the tiny town of Edna, Texas, in 1951, a field hand named Pete Hernandez ...
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
first aired:
February 9, 2009
(#2103)
On March 4, 1865, at the United States Capitol, a crowd of 50,000 listened ...
Polio Crusade
first aired:
February 2, 2009
(#2102)
THE "Polio Crusade: American Experience" chronicles the decades-long crusade ...
Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer
first aired:
January 26, 2009
(#2101)
J. Robert Oppenheimer's life and legacy are inextricably linked to America's ...
George H.W. Bush (Part 2 of 2)
first aired:
May 6, 2008
(#2010)
Part two examines Bush's role as leader of the first Gulf War and his ...
George H.W. Bush (Part 1 of 2)
first aired:
May 5, 2008
(#2009)
"George H.W. Bush" examines Bush's service in World War II, and his early ...
Walt Whitman
first aired:
April 14, 2008
(#2008)
On a hot summer day in 1855, a 36-year-old writer emerged from an undistinguished ...
Roberto Clemente
first aired:
April 21, 2008
(#2007)
On New Year's Eve 1972, Roberto Clemente, a 37-year-old baseball player ...
Minik, the Lost Eskimo
first aired:
March 31, 2008
(#2006)
In October 1897, renowned Arctic explorer Robert Peary returned to New ...
Kit Carson
first aired:
February 18, 2008
(#2005)
His exploits on the American frontier inspired dozens of dime novels, ...
Grand Central
first aired:
February 4, 2008
(#2004)
On the morning of January 8, 1902, a southbound commuter train traveling ...
Buffalo Bill
first aired:
January 28, 2008
(#2003)
William "Buffalo Bill" Cody's legendary exploits helped create the myth ...
The Lobotomist
first aired:
January 21, 2008
(#2002)
The lobotomy was hailed by The New York Times as a "surgery of the soul" ...
Oswald's Ghost
first aired:
January 14, 2008
(#2001)
The assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963, ...
Alexander Hamilton
first aired:
May 14, 2007
(#1913)
One of the most controversial men of his age, Alexander Hamilton was a ...
Summer of Love
first aired:
April 23, 2007
(#1912)
In the summer of 1967, thousands of young people from across the country ...
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
first aired:
April 9, 2007
(#1911)
On November 17, 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan traveled to an isolated rainforest ...
Sister Aimee
first aired:
April 2, 2007
(#1910)
"Sister Aimee" tells the dramatic life story Aimee Semple McPherson, the ...
New Orleans
first aired:
February 12, 2007
(#1909)
New Orleans: the utterly original American city that lies at the mouth ...
The Living Weapon
first aired:
February 5, 2007
(#1908)
In early 1942, shortly after the United States entered World War II, President ...
The Berlin Airlift
first aired:
January 29, 2007
(#1907)
On June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union blocked railroad and street access ...
The Great Fever
first aired:
June 23, 2008
(#1905)
In June 1900, Major Walter Reed, Chief Surgeon of the U.S. Army, led a ...
Annie Oakley
first aired:
February 11, 2008
(#1812)
This program tells the tale of the star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, ...
Alaska Pipeline
first aired:
March 16, 2009
(#1811)
In the early weeks of 1968, after a decade-long search for oil in Alaska's ...
Hijacked!
first aired:
March 19, 2007
(#1808)
For more than 30 years it would be known as the blackest day in aviation ...
Las Vegas: An Unconventional History (Part 2)
first aired:
June 9, 2008
(#1804)
From well- heeled mobsters and glamorous showgirls, fantastical mega- ...
Las Vegas: An Unconventional History (Part 1)
first aired:
June 2, 2008
(#1803)
From well- heeled mobsters and glamorous showgirls, fantastical mega- ...
Race to the Moon
first aired:
February 26, 2007
(#1802)
On Christmas Eve, 1968, one of the largest audiences in television history ...
The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken
first aired:
March 26, 2007
(#1711)
This production tells the bittersweet story of the musical pioneers whose ...
Victory in the Pacific
first aired:
August 5, 2007
(#1710)
"Take no prisoners. Fight to the bitter end." Those were everyday words ...
The Massie Affair
first aired:
February 19, 2007
(#1708)
In the early years of the 20th century, at a time when the U.S. Navy dominated ...
The Great Transatlantic Cable
first aired:
February 26, 2007
(#1707)
This production tells the remarkable story behind the laying of the transatlantic ...
Building the Alaska Highway
first aired:
June 11, 2007
(#1704)
In May 1942, across the rugged sub-Arctic wilderness of Alaska, British ...
RFK
first aired:
April 23, 2007
(#1701)
Robert Francis Kennedy would almost certainly have been president if his ...
Patriots Day
first aired:
March 12, 2007
(#1608)
Patriots Day - It is 227 years since local American militias routed ...
Seabiscuit
November 23, 2009
at 8pm
(#1511)
No description available
Jimmy Carter: Jimmy Who?
first aired:
October 6, 2008
(#1501)
"Jimmy Carter" traces the ascent of an ambitious country boy from a peanut ...
Ansel Adams
first aired:
March 17, 2008
(#1409)
In this elegant, moving and lyrical portrait of the most eloquent and ...
Eleanor Roosevelt
first aired:
June 16, 2008
(#1201)
She was the nation's conscience, a tireless advocate for the disadvantaged, ...
Hoover Dam
November 9, 2009
at 8pm
(#1103)
No description available
Surviving the Dust Bowl
November 16, 2009
at 8pm
(#1008)
No description available
Reagan - An American Crusade
first aired:
September 29, 2008
(#1007)
In 1989, after two terms in office, Ronald Wilson Reagan left the White ...
Reagan - Lifeguard
first aired:
September 22, 2008
(#1006)
"Lifeguard" follows the influence of family, religion, and anti- communism ...
Truman (Part 2 of 2)
first aired:
May 26, 2008
(#1002)
After Harry Truman's unlikely rise to the presidency, he would face some ...
Truman (Part 1 of 2)
first aired:
May 25, 2008
(#1001)
He was a farmer, a businessman gone bankrupt, an unknown politician from ...
Franklin D. Roosevelt: The Grandest Job in the World/The Juggler (Part 2 of 2)
first aired:
May 19, 2008
(#702)
The first segment, "The Grandest Job in the World," focused on the first ...
Amelia Earhart
first aired:
May 7, 2007
(#601)
Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, and ...
LBJ (Part 2)
first aired:
October 27, 2008
(#402)
No description available
LBJ (Part 1)
first aired:
October 20, 2008
(#401)
The first of a two-part series on the life of Lyndon B. Johnson, this ...
The Crash of 1929
first aired:
November 10, 2008
(#308)
On October 19, 1929 - Black Monday - the lifelong dreams of hundreds ...
Nixon
first aired:
October 13, 2008
(#302)
This three-hour presentation provides a reassessment of Richard Nixon's ...
