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

The Great War: Chapter 1

8m 28s

In the summer of 1917, at docks up and down the eastern seaboard, thousands of American soldiers boarded ships bound for France. They were the vanguard of a new American army, about to enter the most destructive war the world had ever known. For President Woodrow Wilson, the war was a crusade “to make the world safe for democracy,” a chance to transform the international order in America’s image.

Eddie Rickenbacker: The Ace

1m 40s

Eddie Rickenbacker downed his first German airplane on April 27, 1918, and he never looked back. As Rickenbacker’s score mounted, the public fell in love with him. But unlike some early pilots of the First World War, who had reveled in the image of the gallant, chivalrous airman, Rickenbacker had seen too many friends go down in flames to romanticize combat flying.

The Great War: Transformed

30s

The Great War tells the rich and complex story of WWI through the voices of nurses, journalists, aviators and the American troops who came to be known as “doughboys.” The series explores the experiences of African American and Latino soldiers, suffragists, Native American “code talkers” and others whose participation in the war to “make the world safe for democracy” has been largely forgotten.

The Great War, Part 1: Trailer

30s

Explore America’s tortured, nearly three-year journey to war. American neutrality, eroded by reports of German atrocities and submarine attacks on American ships, finally led to Wilson’s proclamation that “the world must be made safe for democracy.”

Woodrow Wilson: The Decider

1m 12s

For President Woodrow Wilson, the Great War was a crusade “to make the world safe for democracy” — a chance to transform the international order in America’s image. “No one had articulated a kind of vision of America as a global citizen,” says filmmaker Stephen Ives. But at the close of the war, Wilson’s arrogance and inflexibility ultimately undermined his own lofty goals.

Ralph John: The Soldier

1m 38s

Just a few months before he jumped off with the first wave of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, Private Ralph John had been working on his family’s farm in McIntosh, South Dakota. His training as a soldier consisted of two days’ practice with a rifle, and a short stint driving a bayonet into a mannequin. Then he was shipped out, handed a gas mask, and sent into battle.

The Great War: Why we made it

2m 24s

The Great War is a three-part, six-hour look at the First World War—a battle that fundamentally transformed America’s place in the world, and its life at home. American Experience Executive Producer Mark Samels discusses the film and why we made it—explaining that you cannot understand the world we live in today without understanding the Great War.

George Creel: The Salesman

1m 37s

When Woodrow Wilson ran for reelection in 1916, he did so with the slogan “He Kept Us Out of War.” In 1917, when U.S. entry into the First World War seemed inevitable, Wilson faced the enormous task of convincing the American people to support the war efforts. He turned to George Creel, who headed up the Committee on Public Information, and launched a massive propaganda campaign to sell the war.

Anti-German Hysteria

2m 30s

Composer Tom Phillips believes that music for film can generally be divided into two categories: internal and observational. In this Scene Breakdown, Phillips discusses his approach to scoring a scene from The Great War.

The Great War promo

30s

Drawing on the latest scholarship, including unpublished diaries, memoirs and letters, “The Great War” tells the rich and complex story of World War I through the voices of nurses, journalists, aviators and the American troops who came to be known as “doughboys.” The Great War" premieres on PBS in April 2017.

Alice Paul: The Suffragist

1m 46s

When the United States entered the Great War in 1917, all Americans were expected to get in line to support the war efforts at home and abroad. But suffragist Alice Paul would not comply. Paul and her National Woman’s Party refused to put their campaign for suffrage on hold, publicly calling out the hypocrisy of President Woodrow Wilson’s desire to make the world “safe for democracy."

The Lost Battalion

2m 15s

Rachel Fedde, editor of Part 3 of The Great War, shares how she selected images, footage, and an interview with Robert Laplander, a self-made expert on the Lost Battalion, to convey the desperation and hardships faced by these isolated soldiers.

The Great War trailer

2m 10s

Drawing on the latest scholarship, including unpublished diaries, memoirs and letters, “The Great War” tells the rich and complex story of World War I through the voices of nurses, journalists, aviators and the American troops who came to be known as “doughboys.” "The Great War" premieres on PBS in April 2017.

Eugene Bullard: An American in France

1m 11s

Filmmaker Stephen Ives introduces Eugene Bullard, a young boy from who escaped the poverty and racism of Georgia, and years later found himself in Europe as war broke out and joins the ranks to fight for France during the First World War. To Ives, Eugene Bullard is emblematic of so many who believed that they needed to be a part of this war. Bullard fights in the Battle of Verdun.

The Great War: Culture Change

30s

The Great War tells the rich and complex story of WWI through the voices of nurses, journalists, aviators and the American troops who came to be known as “doughboys.” The series explores the experiences of African American and Latino soldiers, suffragists, Native American “code talkers” and others whose participation in the war to “make the world safe for democracy” has been largely forgotten.

Resolute Desk

2m 31s

It’s lived at the White House since 1879 and been the centerpiece of the Oval Office on and off since 1961. You’ve no doubt seen pictures of many a president sitting behind it, and even a few presidents’ kids hiding under it. But here's a lot more to the Resolute Desk.

Ruby Ridge, Chapter 1

9m 18s

Drawing upon eyewitness accounts, including interviews with Weaver’s daughter, Sara, and federal agents involved in the confrontation, Ruby Ridge is a riveting account of the event that helped give rise to the modern American militia movement.

Ruby Ridge: An Inside Look

2m

PBS and American Experience present an inside look at the new film RUBY RIDGE, a detailed look at the deadly 1992 standoff in northern Idaho between the federal government and the Weaver family. Drawing upon eyewitness accounts, including interviews with Weaver’s daughter, Sara, and federal agents, RUBY RIDGE is a riveting account of the event that helped give rise to the modern American militia.

Ruby Ridge scene breakdown

2m 40s

Telling the story of what happened on Ruby Ridge in 1992—when a standoff between the Weaver family and the federal government turned deadly—took a great deal of investigation and trust. In this Scene Breakdown, director Barak Goodman explains how he combined never-before-seen footage shot by the marshals on the ground, with surveillance footage, and original interviews.

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