Trailer | The Vote | American Experience
The Vote tells the dramatic culmination story of the hard-fought campaign waged by American women for the right to vote.
Carrie Chapman Catt: The Politician
As president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Carrie Chapman Catt devised a diplomatic plan. They would continue state-by-state campaigns, but the goal was to amend the U.S. Constitution.
Harriot Stanton Blatch: I Believe in Women
A veteran of the suffrage wars, Harriot Stanton Blatch organized labor activists, spoke to crowds of voting men and lobbied Albany for a suffrage bill.
Chapter 1 | Mr. Tornado
Meteorologist Tetsuya Theodore “Ted” Fujita spent ten months studying the outbreak’s aftermath in the most extensive aerial tornado study ever conducted, and through detailed mapping and leaps of scientific imagination, made a series of meteorological breakthroughs.
The “Super Outbreak”
In April 1974, an unprecedented U.S. weather event spanned the Midwest and South and resulted in 315 deaths, over 5,000 injuries and millions of dollars in property damage.
Ted Fujita | Mr. Tornado | American Experience
Ted Fujita was a Japanese-American engineer turned meteorologist. In 1971, he introduced the “Fujita Scale”, a six-point scale to classify degrees of tornado intensity.
Trailer | George W. Bush, Part 2 | American Experience
Part Two opens with the ensuing war in Iraq and continues through Bush’s second term, as the president confronts the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina and the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Trailer | George W. Bush| American Experience
The latest in our award-winning series of presidential biographies, this film looks at the life and presidency of George W. Bush.
Extended Trailer | George W. Bush| American Experience
The latest in our award-winning series of presidential biographies, this film looks at the life and presidency of George W. Bush.
Chapter 1 | George W. Bush, Part 2
The life and presidency of George W. Bush, from his unorthodox road to the presidency to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the myriad of challenges he faced over his two terms, from the war in Iraq to the 2008 financial crisis.
Enhanced Interrogation Techniques
The behavior of American soldiers at Abu Ghraib shook President Bush, but, to him, there was no connection with his decision to approve harsh interrogation techniques on Al Qaeda suspects. "It showed the kind of rot that was occurring in Iraq under American occupation,” said journalist Elisabeth Bumiller, “and it showed how far off we had come from American ideals."
The Fighter Pilot
To avoid combat in Vietnam, Bush joined the 147th Texas Air National Guard, along with other sons of wealthy and well-connected Texans. "In his heart of hearts he did not want to go to Vietnam,” said writer Bill Minutaglio, “but he knew damn well that his father's next step had been to join the military and then become a war hero."
Financial Crisis
President Bush confronted the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression. “From the standpoint of an ongoing threat that everybody and government knew that we had to do something about, the financial crisis ... was really scary,” said chief of staff Joshua Bolten.
Neocons and Moderates
President Bush's cabinet included Donald Rumsfeld, who brought with him a coterie of advisors known as “neoconservatives,” and moderates such as General Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice. “I don’t think President Bush intentionally went for a team of rivals,” deputy chief of staff
Joshua Bolten said. “I think he went for a team of strong members and if that meant they were rivals, so be it.”
Occupying Iraq
After the U.S. took Baghdad, Iraq ground to a halt and became a free-for-all, as homes, stores, museums, hospitals & electric plants were looted. "There was a decision to be lean and count on others showing up to secure the peace,” recalled chief of staff Andrew Card. “There was not as much discussion that I remember in the National Security Council about the process of organizing a government."
The Weapons of Mass Destruction
The final nail in the coffin of the hunt for Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction came in January 2004 when David Kay told Bush the intelligence reports had been wrong. There were none. “It went to the heart of the Iraq question,” said journalist Peter Baker. “Did the administration mislead the public in some way? Did it intentionally deceive the American people in order to go to war?”
The Surge of Troops in Iraq
“To sell the surge to the American public, Bush had been forced to take a rare step — admit his mistake.” President Bush than enlisted the assistance of General David Petraeus to lead the surge, a move that later paid off.
Criticism and Hurricane Katrina
During his second term, President Bush was criticized for the federal government’s response to the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina. “Katrina ends up being a media domestic version of Iraq,” said journalist Ron Suskind.
Saddam Hussein
Initially resistant to the neocons argument to invade Iraq right away, President Bush felt himself increasingly drawn to the idea. The reasons were not only political, they were personal. "Bush developed a sense that there was unfinished business from the first Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s, that leaving Saddam in power had been a mistake,” recalled journalist Barton Gellman.
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