American Experience

History Series / 15 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.

52m 54s

Building the Locks

2m 7s

In all, approximately 5 million bags and barrels of concrete went into building the Panama Canal's locks, dams, and spillways. The locks were engineered to be hollow and water tight, making them buoyant, so that the weight and pressure on the hinges would be significantly reduced. The locks at Gatun were 80 feet high, completely powered by electricity generated by a nearby hydroelectric spillway.

Connecting the Atlantic and Pacific

1m 56s

On December 10, 1913, after a final push of excavation, the unbroken waterway finally connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The project had taken ten years and more than $350 million. To that date, it was the largest single federal expenditure in history. More than 5,000 workers lost their lives, but the successful completion defined the US as a superpower of the 20th century.

Repairing the Panama Railroad

2m 2s

Upon the arrival of new Chief Engineer John Stevens, the rusty and decrepit Panama Railroad was by that time 60 years old. Stevens realized that he was unable to cart out the spoil at the same furious rate that the canal was being dug. He ordered all excavation in Culebra Cut to be temporarily halted and turned his attention toward the repair of the railroad.

The Inspiration: A Short Film from Freedom Riders

3m 32s

Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent movement to free India from British colonial rule inspired American civil rights activists who had immersed themselves in Ghandi's teachings and viewed non-violence as an effective way to challenge the tyranny of the Jim Crow South.

The Exchange Student: A Short Film from Freedom Riders

4m 56s

After deciding to participate in the Freedom Rides in May 1961, Jim Zwerg called his parents for support only to be told that he was "killing his father." As a white Freedom Rider, Zwerg was among the first to be attacked and sustained severe injuries.

The Strategy: A Short Film from Freedom Riders

4m 57s

In the decades after WWII, civil rights leaders relied on legal and legislative challenges to dismantle segregation. But in the early 1960s, activists impatient for change turned to a new strategy: non-violent direct action.

The Music: A Short Film from Freedom Riders

4m 53s

Group singing provided solace for Freedom Riders facing the constant threat of violence. It was also an effective political tool. "Without singing, we would have lost our sense of solidarity," John Lewis says.

U.S. Grant: Warrior Promo

30s

This biography of Ulysses S. Grant paints a revealing portrait of one of America's most paradoxical leaders. In 2011 AMERICAN EXPERIENCE rebroadcast this film as U.S. Grant: Warrior, an abridged 90-minute version of the film, focusing on Grant as a Civil War hero and a brilliant military strategist who rose from obscurity to a rank held previously only by George Washington.

The Movement: A Short Film from Freedom Riders

4m 8s

The Freedom Riders represented a cross-section of America - black and white, young and old, religious and secular. "The Freedom Rides were trying to say to America: we are a diverse country - let's act like a diverse country, where every part of the diversity is equal, and is treated equally," says Freedom Rider Rabbi Israel Dresner.

The Pioneers: A Short Film from Freedom Riders

3m 4s

In April 1947 sixteen men - eight black and eight white - boarded a bus in Washington, DC to test compliance with a recent Supreme Court ruling that outlawed segregation on interstate bus travel. Their effort blazed a trail for the Freedom Riders who followed in their footsteps nearly fifteen years later.

The Governor: A Short Film from Freedom Riders

4m 43s

John Patterson, Governor of Alabama from 1958 to 1963, won election as a staunch segregationist. Patterson discusses his response to the Freedom Rides and his decision to refuse a phone call from President John F. Kennedy when the Freedom Riders encountered mob violence in Birmingham.

The Student Leader: A Short Film from Freedom Riders

4m 44s

A student at Fisk University in Nashville, Diane Nash became the leader of the Nashville Student Movement. Fellow activists John Lewis, Ernest "Rip" Patton, Jr., Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr., and Julian Bond describe her commitment to nonviolence.

We Shall Remain Promo

30s

WE SHALL REMAIN is a groundbreaking mini-series and provocative multi-media project that establishes Native history as an essential part of American history. Five 90-minute documentaries spanning three hundred years tell the story of pivotal moments in U.S. history from the Native American perspective.

Guy Narcomey | ReelNative

8m 1s

Part of ReelNative, a short film project that gives voice to Native Americans across the country. Guy Narcomey, a member of the Comanche tribe shares his love of running and a deep connection to the land of his tribal ancestry.

Courtney Leonard| ReelNative

4m 43s

Part of ReelNative, a short film project that gives voice to Native Americans across the country. Courtney Leonard reflects on her people's thoughts when a 60 foot shale washed up on Shinnecock (South Hampton) in April 2005.

We Know What We Saw | ReelNative

7m 8s

Part of ReelNative, a short film project that gives voice to Native Americans across the country. Clarissa and Connie Archilta walk us through each step of their encounter with a mighty myth — bigfoot.

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