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

Truman: Part 1 Preview

30s

He was a farmer, a businessman gone bankrupt, an unknown politician from Missouri who suddenly found himself president. Facing some of the biggest crises of the century, Truman would end the war with Germany, use the atomic bomb against Japan, confront an expanding Soviet Union and wage war in Korea-all while his wife Bess refused to stay in the White House and play the role of First Lady.

Powering New York's Subway System

2m 6s

Running the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) required the most powerful electrical plant in the world. The central powerhouse generated alternating current, which could be sent over long distances. Rotary converters were then built to change the alternating current into direct current needed to run the trains. These rotary converters were placed in substations scattered throughout the city.

Danger in the Tunnels

20s

One of the most dangerous sections on the Interborough Rapid Transit's route was assigned to a subcontractor, Ira Shaler, who was also a friend of chief engineer, William Parsons. On June 17th, 1902, Parsons inspected Shaler's work in the east tunnel. During the inspection, a boulder fell on Shaler. He died a few days later, bringing work in the east tunnel to a halt.

Constructing New York's First Subway

1m 23s

Construction on New York's Interborough Rapid Transit, or IRT, began in 1900. William Parsons, the project’s chief engineer, used a variety of techniques for underwater digging. Sometimes hydraulic shields were used; other times methods were improvised, like digging a trench in the riverbed, then sinking the tunnel roof down on top of it. At least 7,700 men would be needed to build the IRT.

The Pneumatic Subway

1m 53s

In order to get congestion and filth off the streets of New York, Alfred Ely Beach had an idea for a pneumatic subway, pulled by a rope of air. A giant fan would drive a train through a tunnel, as fast as 10 miles per hour. After gaining the legislature’s approval for an experimental pneumatic tube for packages, Beach began working on a real subway.

New York's Topography Challenges

1m 38s

Construction on New York's underground rail system began in 1900 with William Barclay Parsons as the project’s chief engineer. The city's topography presented a special engineering challenge for Parsons and his team. With many dips, valleys, patches of quicksand and above-ground infrastructure to take into account, digging underneath Manhattan became a monumental task.

Alfred Beach's Subway Plan

1m 31s

The first effort to build an experimental subway dates back to the 1850s when inventor Alfred Ely Beach argued that a horse-drawn subway, under Broadway, would put an end to congestion and the filth of New York City’s streets. By the 1860s, Beach had a different idea: a pneumatic subway, pulled by a rope of air. A giant fan would drive a train through a tunnel, as fast as 10 miles per hour.

Engineering in the Late 19th Century

1m 7s

Engineer William Parsons wrote, "Of all human activities, engineering is the one that enters most into our lives." Parsons was the Interborough Rapid Transit’s chief engineer. His 21-mile route for the IRT ran up the east side of Manhattan to Grand Central Station, then continued across 42nd Street and proceeded north, dividing into two branches heading under the river into the Bronx.

New York Underground Preview

34s

By the mid-1800s New York City was one of the most crowded places on earth. Each year tens of thousands of new immigrants were arriving, spilling out into the streets and competing with established city dwellers for space. The congested streets and pokey transportation system were a source of constant complaint.

Andrew Carnegie: The Richest Man in the World

30s

Andrew Carnegie's life seemed touched by magic. He embodied the American dream: the immigrant who went from rags to riches, the self-made man who became a captain of industry, the king of steel. Yet "Carnegie is still, right throughout his life, the little boy in the fairy story, for whom everything has to be all right," says Owen Dudley Edwards, historian at the University of Edinburgh.

The Ballot or the Bullet

2m 29s

Malcolm X called for an aggressive plan for black Americans to gain political power, and move toward total control of their communities. He started a voter registration drive and advocated black nationalism as an economic philosophy.

Unity Between Muslims of All Races

56s

Malcolm X talks about his experience on a pilgrimage to Mecca, comparing white Muslims to white Americans, and suggesting that studying Islam might help white men to think of all races as human.

A Dramatic Shift in the Struggle

2m 4s

This clip highlights the dramatic shift Malcolm X, and the Nation of Islam, brought to the struggle for rights, by advocating separation and rejecting non-violence in the face of white oppression and brutality.

LBJ Preview

31s

Award winning filmmaker David Grubin profiles one of the most controversial U.S. presidents, Lyndon Baines Johnson, who rose from obscurity to the pinnacle of power, only to suffer disillusionment and defeat. Witness the events that brought LBJ from Texas to Washington, the White House, and a landslide election in 1964.

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