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

HW Bush and Age: Grandpa Bush

1m 52s

In 1992, President HW Bush seemed increasingly out of touch. His critics panned actions such as spending $28 on presents for his grandchildren and not understanding the technology of a grocery store checkout counter.

Truman's First Lady: Bess

1m 10s

The spotlight did not appeal to Bess Truman. "She would return home to Independence as often as possible, leaving the President feeling very alone, often desolate," says historian David McCullough. "It's hard for some people to understand what she was like, and why the President was so devoted to her."

Reagan on the Enemy: The Soviet Threat

2m 21s

The delegations of Communist leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Reagan met in Geneva in 1985. "The President, from the very start, started to speak in a kind of lecturing tone, as though I was a suspect, or maybe a student," says Gorbachev.

Truman on Crises: Crisis in Korea

2m 45s

President Truman interpreted the North Korean attack upon South Korea as direct aggression from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union's support for the invasion, however, was limited and not driven by the Soviet leader Stalin. "What the United States got involved with in 1950 was not aggression from the Soviet Union," says historian Walter LaFeber, but "an incredibly bloody Civil War in Korea."

FDR on Lying: Creating a Reason to Go to War

2m 9s

President Roosevelt did not tell Congress or the American people the truth behind the Greer incident that led to US involvement in World War II. "I am perfectly willing to mislead and tell untruths if it will help win the war," FDR told a friend.

FDR and Abusing Power: Reshaping the Supreme Court

2m 21s

President Roosevelt's attempt to reshape the Supreme Court landed short and drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. "It was a recognition on his part that he had lost some measure of power," says David Ginsburg, member of FDR's administration.

Truman on Military Service: Captain Harry

2m 50s

Captain Harry Truman's leadership during his first clash with the Germans made his men look at him in an entirely new light. "After a while they began to realize that this fellow with the eyeglasses and the bank clerk look about him was in fact a man of real determination," says David McCullough.

Nixon and Abusing Power: Nixon's Enemies List

2m 14s

President Nixon kept an "enemies list" of those who criticized him. He had these enemies targeted for tax audits or trailed by private detectives, and hired the "plumbers" to stop leaks.

FDR's First Lady: Eleanor

1m 32s

Eleanor Roosevelt traveled more than 40,000 miles during FDR's first year as president. "Never before had a first lady taken to the road," says biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin. "She became his legs," says journalist Chalmers Roberts.

FDR on Policing the World: Hitler's Threat

1m 53s

In 1938, Roosevelt faced growing aggression from Hitler, and broadcast a personal appeal to the German leader, asking him to halt further assaults. In reply, Hitler ridiculed the president with withering sarcasm.

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