The NAACP and Its Architects

American Experience

History Series / 14 Seasons

American Experience, TV's most-watched history series, brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Watch Latest: S37 E2

53m

William Randolph Hearst

1m 18s

William Randolph Hearst believed he was not reporting history but was instead creating it. By the end of the 1920s, Hearst owned newspapers in almost every major city, as well as magazines and even radio stations.

Sandra Day O’Connor: First Woman on the Supreme Court

1m 10s

During the 1980 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan promised to nominate the first woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. He made good on that promise in 1981, when he announced Sandra Day O’Connor’s nomination.

Trailer | Sandra Day O'Connor: The First

2m 20s

The Supreme Court’s first female justice, Sandra Day O'Connor. A pioneer who both reflected and shaped an era, she was the deciding vote in cases on some of the 20th century’s most controversial issues—including race, gender and reproductive rights.

Last Days in Afghanistan

10m 26s

In this exclusive conversation, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE’s executive producer Cameo George speaks with the acclaimed filmmaker about the parallels between the 1975 evacuation of Vietnam and the recent American withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the lessons that America’s history in Vietnam offer today.

Trailer | Mr. Tornado| American Experience

30s

The remarkable story of the Ted Fujita, whose groundbreaking work in research and applied science saved thousands of lives and helped Americans prepare for and respond to dangerous weather phenomena.

The Polio Crusade Preview

30s

The story of the polio crusade pays tribute to a time when Americans banded together to conquer a terrible disease. The medical breakthrough saved countless lives and had a pervasive impact on American philanthropy that continues to be felt today.

Billy Graham: American Evangelist

1m 14s

William Franklin Graham, Jr., an American evangelist and preacher was born on November 7, 1918 in rural North Carolina. In 1934, Graham attended a traveling revival meeting and had a religious experience.

Trailer | Billy Graham

30s

Explore the life of one of the best-known and most influential religious leaders of the 20th century. An international celebrity by age 30, Billy Graham built a media empire, preached to millions worldwide, and had the ear of tycoons, presidents and royalty.

Extended Trailer | American Oz

1m 50s

Explore the life and times of author L. Frank Baum, the creator of one of the most beloved, enduring and classic American narratives. By 1900, when The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published, Baum was 44 years old and had spent much of his life in restless pursuit of success.

Chapter 1 | The Blinding of Isaac Woodard

10m 31s

In 1946, Isaac Woodard, a Black army sergeant on his way home to South Carolina after serving in WWII, was pulled from a bus for arguing with the driver. The local chief of police savagely beat him, leaving him unconscious and permanently blind.

Judge Julius Waties Waring

1m 7s

Julius Waties Waring presided over the trial of a white police chief who brutally beat and blinded Black soldier Isaac Woodard in 1946. He became an unexpected civil rights champion with rulings on several pivotal cases in the 1940s.

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