A Hero's Welcome?
After victories at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens returned to a segregated America.
Jesse Owens in Hitler's Germany
Jesse Owens' victories at the 1936 Berlin Olympics were an affront to Nazi beliefs.
Jesse Owens Behind the Scenes
The most famous athlete of his time, his stunning triumph at the 1936 Olympic Games captivated the world even as it infuriated the Nazis. Despite the racial slurs he endured, Jesse Owens' grace and athleticism rallied crowds across the globe. But when the four-time Olympic gold medalist returned home, he could not even ride in the front of a bus.
The Crash of 1929 Preview
The unbounded optimism of the Jazz Age and the shocking consequences when reality finally hit on October 29th, ultimately leading to the Great Depression.
Panama Canal Animation
From the program "TR, the Story of Theodore Roosevelt," an animation of the locks system of the Panama Canal demonstrates how a ship would travel across the Panamanian Isthmus. This "lake and lock" canal was favored by Roosevelt, who Chief Engineer George Goethals called "the real builder of the Panama Canal."
Travel the Panama Canal
Take a boat through the Panama canal with this time-lapse video of the locks in action.
Hoover Dam Preview
During the Great Depression, Americans built the Hoover Dam, overcoming technical challenges to erect one of the greatest engineering works in history.
The Columbia Basin Project
In the spring of 1952, work was finally underway on the Columbia Basin Project, a huge system of canals, tunnels, and aqueducts that would flow out of the Grand Coulee reservoir. The irrigation system carried water from Grand Coulee Dam to 66,000 acres of farmland. By 2012, the acreage increased more than ten fold to 671,000.
Grand Coulee Dam: Engineering Challenges
Thousands of men began arriving at the Grand Coulee Dam construction site in June 1933, enticed by the promise of jobs. Located hundreds of miles from the nearest big city, there was no easy way to get to the construction site. The dam would have to span beyond the width of the river -- almost a mile across -- and would need to rise 500 feet in the air to stop up the river to build the reservoir.
The Impact of Grand Coulee Dam
Eight years after beginning construction, the Grand Coulee Dam was dedicated in front of a crowd of 8,000 on March 22, 1941. The dam's success created an insatiable demand for electricity, and the dam, along with others that were erected on the Columbia in the years following, served as the fuel for the growth of the metropolitan areas of the American West.
Grand Coulee Dam: Pouring the Concrete
On December 6, 1935, the first bucket of concrete was poured onto the dam site. To prevent the possibility of cracking, concrete was poured into hundreds of 50 foot square blocks every 72 hours. After each pour, workers would scrub the concrete with wide brushes to remove scum. Millions of cubic yards were poured, and in February 1938, the foundation was completed 14 months ahead of schedule.
Diverting the Columbia River
The biggest challenge in building Grand Coulee Dam was diverting the flow of the Columbia. To make this happen, the workers had to build cofferdams, temporary structures that keep the river at bay, allowing workers to dig out the mud and expose the granite bedrock on which the dam would rest. The west side cofferdam was completed on March 23, 1935. Soon after, the water level rose 32 feet.
Grand Coulee Dam - Preview
Of the many public works projects of the New Deal, Grand Coulee Dam loomed largest in America's imagination during the darkest days of the Depression. It promised to fulfill President Franklin Roosevelt's vision for a "planned promised land" where hard-working farm families would finally be free from the drought and dislocation caused by the elements.
Grand Coulee Dam's Open Spillways
More than a mile long, the Grand Coulee Dam is the largest concrete structure in the U.S. In the fall of 2011, dam operators agreed to open the spillway just for American Experience. "It was very exciting that they agreed to spill for us for a short period specifically for the film," said Associate Producer Lauren DeFilippo. "We ran to the top and bottom [of the dam] in about 30 minutes."
Grand Coulee Dam Chapter 1
Of the many public works projects of the New Deal, Grand Coulee Dam loomed largest in America's imagination during the darkest days of the Depression. It promised to fulfill President Franklin Roosevelt's vision for a "planned promised land" where hard-working farm families would finally be free from the drought and dislocation caused by the elements.
Panama Canal Preview
On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal opened connecting the world's two largest oceans and signaling America's emergence as a global superpower. The story of the canal features a delightful cast of colorful characters ranging from an indomitable President to visionary engineers to tens of thousands of workers from around the world, rigidly segregated by race.
Into the Deep: American Experience - Preview
Chart the rapid rise and precipitous decline of the American whaling industry, which powered the start of the industrial revolution and laid the groundwork for a global economy in the 18th and 19th centuries. 3/20/2012
The Amish Chapter 1
An intimate portrait of contemporary Amish faith and life, this film examines how such a closed and communal culture has thrived within one of the most open, individualistic societies on earth. What does the future hold for a community whose existence is so rooted in the past? And what does our fascination with the Amish say about deep American values?
Amish at Work: Harvesting
This video from the 1940s shows the Amish Huyard family harvesting wheat and tobacco using traditional methods. The film was taken by friend of the family Charles Noss, a photographer who worked at the nearby Hershey chocolate factory in Pennsylvania. Shortly after this was taken, most Amish groups were forbidden from posing for photographs and videos.
The Amish: Nickel Mines Clip
What does the future hold for a community whose existence is so rooted in the past? And what does our fascination with the Amish say about deep American values?
Supported by
