American Experience

Season 25

TV-PG

"American Experience" combines dramatic re-enactments with commentary by historians and authors to present an absorbing look at the personalities, events and resources that have had a profound impact on the shaping of America's past and present.

Where to Watch Season 25

Apple TVBuy $4.99

8 Episodes

The Abolitionists: 1820s-1838
E1
The Abolitionists: 1820s-1838The story of how abolitionist allies William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown and Angelina Grimke turned a despised fringe movement against chattel slavery into a force that literally changed the nation.
The Abolitionists: 1838-1854
E2
The Abolitionists: 1838-1854See how the activities of the five principals intersect and affect the anti-slavery movement.
The Abolitionists: 1854-Emancipation and Victory
E3
The Abolitionists: 1854-Emancipation and VictoryExamine the forces leading to war and to the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.
Henry Ford
E4
Henry FordAn absorbing life story of a farm boy who rose from obscurity to become the most influential American innovator of the 20th century, Henry Ford offers an incisive look at the birth of the American auto industry with its long history of struggles between labor and management, and a thought-provoking reminder of how Ford's automobile forever changed the way we work, where we live, and our ideas about individuality, freedom, and possibility.
Silicon Valley
E5
Silicon ValleyLed by physicist Robert Noyce, Fairchild Semiconductor began as a start-up company whose radical innovations would help make the United States a leader in both space exploration and the personal computer revolution, changing the way the world works, plays, and communicates. Noyce's invention of the microchip ultimately re-shaped the future, launching the world into the Information Age.
War of the Worlds
E6
War of the WorldsA broadcast that struck fear into an already anxious nation, Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio broadcast was the most famous alien invasion that never happened.
JFK (Part 1)
E7
JFK (Part 1)JFK's campaign for president is the first to be waged on television, a distinct advantage for the telegenic candidate. Despite his lack of legislative achievements and his Catholicism -- which many Americans see as a negative -- Kennedy wins the election on the promise that he will stand up to the Soviets and protect American preeminence in the world.
JFK (Part 2)
E8
JFK (Part 2)Conclusion. John F. Kennedy's White House years, including the Bay of Pigs fiasco; Cuban Missile Crisis; handling of civil rights; and decision to travel to Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, to shore up support for the 1964 election. The successes and failures of his tenure in office are also weighed by Kennedy administration officials John Seigenthaler, Thomas Hughes and Harris Wofford; civil-rights leaders Andrew Young and Julian Bond; and journalists Evan Thomas and Richard Reeves.