The NAACP and Its Architects

American Experience

History Series / 14 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.

Watch Latest: S37 E2

53m

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."

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 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 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Drawing on the latest scholarship, including unpublished diaries, memoirs and letters, “The Great War” tells the rich and complex story of World War I through the voices of nurses, journalists, aviators and the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.

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.

Oklahoma City, Chapter 1

8m 23s

OKLAHOMA CITY traces the events — including the deadly encounters between American citizens and law enforcement at Ruby Ridge and Waco — that led McVeigh to commit the worst act of domestic terrorism in American history. With a virulent strain of anti-government anger still with us, the film is both a cautionary tale and an extremely timely warning.

Oklahoma City trailer

2m 49s

OKLAHOMA CITY traces the events — including the deadly encounters between American citizens and law enforcement at Ruby Ridge and Waco — that led McVeigh to commit the worst act of domestic terrorism in American history. With a virulent strain of anti-government anger still with us, the film is both a cautionary tale and an extremely timely warning.

OKC Press Tour Filler

2m 13s

PBS and American Experience present an inside look at the new film OKLAHOMA CITY, which explores how a series of deadly encounters between American citizens and federal law enforcement—including the standoffs at Ruby Ridge and Waco—led to the bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City in April 1995, the worst act of domestic terrorism in American history. Streaming now at pbs.org.

OKC scene breakdown

1m 32s

In 1995, the aerial image of the Murrah Federal Building after the Oklahoma City bombing stunned America. In this Scene Breakdown, Director Barak Goodman discusses the decision to open the documentary with this image, and how the film connects the dots between the 1995 bombing, and earlier events at Waco and Ruby Ridge.

Timothy McVeigh at Waco, from Oklahoma City

1m 53s

During the stand-off between federal agents and the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas in 1993, people gathered on a hill roughly three miles away to see what was happening at the compound. One of those drawn to Waco was a 24-year-old Army veteran named Timothy McVeigh.

The Race Underground, Chapter 1

8m 24s

It was Boston — a city of so many firsts — that overcame a litany of engineering challenges, the greed-driven interests of businessmen, and the great fears of its citizenry to construct America’s first subway.

The Race Underground promo

30s

It was Boston — a city of so many firsts — that overcame a litany of engineering challenges, the greed-driven interests of businessmen, and the great fears of its citizenry to construct America’s first subway.

The Race Underground Scene Breakdown

2m 59s

Bringing to life the story of an engineer and a massive construction project from more than 100 years ago is a challenge. Filmmaker Michael Rossi takes viewers behind-the-scenes of the production of Race Underground, the story of building America’s first subway, in Boston.

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