American Experience (1988)

TR is born into a wealthy New York family that has a strong sense of social justice. He fights his severe asthma through a strenuous exerci…

After McKinley's assassination, Roosevelt becomes an "accidental" president. Seeing himself as a crusader, TR uses the presidency to advanc…

A look at the poor emigrant boy who built a fortune in railroads and steel, and, unlike any industrialist of his time, began to systematica…

Liliu'okalani moved easily between two worlds -- she had dined at the White House, had been a guest at Buckingham Palace, yet never abandon…

At first rented only "to persons of good breeding," seen as an expensive luxury for doctors and businessmen, within a decade the telephone…

The little known story of Philo T. Farnsworth, a Utah farm boy who first sketched out his idea for electronic television at the age of four…

It began with the blizzard of 1888 -- mountains of snow twenty feet high, horse cars and omnibuses abandoned, the city paralyzed. There was…

A story of the realities leading to the vanishing role of the family farm in the United States.

At the age of nineteen, Nellie Bly talked her way into an improbable job on a newspaper, then went on to become "the best reporter in Ameri…

The 1890's in America were desperate times. A depression brought bank and business failures and forced millions of men and women from their…

"Vietnam: A Television History" begins by tracing the "Roots of a War" to French colonialism. "America's Mandarin" looks at the start of Am…

LBJ Goes to War (1964-65) examines the escalating American involvement following the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. Interviewed: Gen. William West…

In "America Takes Charge (1965-67)," GIs recall combat experiences during the years of U.S. military escalation. Also: a sequence in which…

As "Vietnam: A Television History" continues, "America's Enemy (1954-67)" examines the escalating war from the point of view of North Vietn…

Vietnam: A Television History": TV-news footage graphically recalls "Tet 1968," the bold North Vietnamese and Vietcong offensive. The attac…

"Vietnam: A Television History": The gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops and their replacement by the South Vietnamese are recalled in "Vietn…

America's involvement in—and secret bombing of—Cambodia and Laos are chronicled as "Vietnam: A Television History" continues. After the bom…

"Vietnam: A Television History": "Peace Is at Hand (1968-73)" recalls the peace negotiations in Paris, including Henry Kissinger's "secret"…

"Vietnam: A Television History - Homefront U.S.A.," traces the widening rift between supporters and opponents of the war, from the first de…

"Vietnam: A Television History" concludes with "The End of the Tunnel," which recalls the 1973 Paris accords and the subsequent collapse of…

TR is just 46 years old when he is inaugurated as president. He builds the Panama Canal, wins the Nobel Prize for Peace, and combatively in…

TR opposes his old friend Taft for the 1912 Republican nomination. When Taft wins, TR runs for president with his own Progressive Party. De…