In 1969, homosexuality was illegal in almost every state… but that was about to change. The Stonewall riots marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement….

It was the deadliest workplace accident in New York City’s history. A dropped match on the 8th floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory sparked a fire that killed over a…

The little-known story of the American effort to relieve starvation in the new Soviet Russia in 1921, The Great Famine is a documentary about the worst natural disaster in Europe…

In 1881, 25 men led by Adolphus Greely set sail from Newfoundland to Lady Franklin Bay in the high Arctic, where they planned to collect a wealth of scientific data…

What drove a company of American soldiers — ordinary young men from around the country — to commit the worst atrocity in American military history? American Experience focuses on the…

Dolley Madison lived through the two wars that established the U.S., was friends with the first 12 Presidents, and watched America evolve from a struggling young republic to the first…

Wyatt Earp has been portrayed in countless movies and television shows by some of Hollywood’s greatest actors, including Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, and more recently, Kevin Costner, but these popular…

On the night of February 27, 1973, fifty-four cars rolled, horns blaring, into a small hamlet on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Within hours, some 200 Oglala Lakota and American…

The Cherokee would call it Nu-No-Du-Na-Tlo-Hi-Lu, “The Trail Where They Cried.” On May 26, 1838, federal troops forced thousands of Cherokee from their homes in the Southeastern United States, driving…

In February of 1909, the indomitable Chiricahua Apache medicine man Geronimo lay on his deathbed. He summoned his nephew to his side, whispering, “I should never have surrendered. I should…

On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Over the next twelve days, as a fractured nation mourned, the largest manhunt ever attempted closed…

The story of the polio crusade pays tribute to a time when Americans banded together to conquer a terrible disease. The medical breakthrough saved countless lives and had a pervasive…

An examination of the athletic career and humanitarian interests of the acknowledged baseball star of the late 60s and earliest 70s.

Few Americans then or now accept that a lone, inconsequential gunman could bring down a president and alter history. In that breach, a culture of conspiracy has arisen that points…

A profile of the aristocratic founding father, his efforts to bring federal economic reforms to the fledgling country, and how his aloof personality led to opposition and tragedy.

A story of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – its beginnings in 1830, the migration of its persecuted members, and its role and influence in the modern…

A profile of Alexander Hamilton, the nation’s first treasury secretary and a leading force in the post-Revolutionary War push for a Constitution and strong central government. Included: his role in…

A profile of Joseph Goebbels (1897-45), who helped launch Hitler’s rise to power. Kenneth Branagh provides voice-over readings of Goebbels’ personal diaries. Included: footage from German archives tracing Goebbels’ life;…

A striking profile of the outlaw (1847-82) is told through reenactments, comments from historians and archival photographs. The hour traces James’ life from age 16 to his death at 34…

A gripping study of the groundbreaking prosecution, which began Nov. 20, 1945, as Nazi Germany’s leaders were held accountable for war crimes, infamously blamed on “following orders.” Profiled are Hermann…

The story of the gambling mecca is told via news clips and reminiscences. Part 1 of 2

News clips and reminiscences tell the story of the gambling mecca, from a dusty railroad town to a leading tourist attraction. Part 2 of 2

“Two Days in October” recalls two 1967 events — a Vietcong ambush and a violent antiwar demonstration at the University of Wisconsin — that together marked a turning point in…

A shy, if driven man, Robert Kennedy “wasn’t built for the spotlight, he was built for the wings,” says journalist Jack Newfield. While John Kennedy was alive, that’s where Bobby…

“Reconstruction” concludes by following whites and blacks in Georgia, South Carolina and Louisiana between 1867 and 1877. It begins with the granting of widespread voting rights for blacks in the…

Recalling the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, a “graceful leap over an unprecedented space,” as narrator David Ogden Stiers calls it. The Golden Gate presented its engineers with a…

“Reconstruction: The Second Civil War,” a two-part report, follows political leaders and ordinary Americans alike as it chronicles one of the most contentious periods in American history. “An old social…

“Seabiscuit” recalls the squat and ugly racehorse that riveted the nation in the late 1930s. Interviewees include author Laura Hillenbrand (“Seabiscuit: An American Legend”), who charts the Cinderella story of…

Charting the race between the Union Pacific and Central Pacific to construct a transcontinental railroad to link the U.S. It ended May 10, 1869, in Promontory Point, Utah. The construction…

An evocative two-part profile of Jimmy Carter explores how his career has been shaped by what former speechwriter Hendrik Hertzberg calls his “moral ideology.” Produced by Adriana Bosch (“American Experience”…

“Hostage,” the conclusion of a two-part Jimmy Carter biography, covers his presidency and post-presidency. Human rights were to be “a basic tenet of our foreign policy,” Carter declared in 1977,…

Ric Burns’ profile of the photographer whose connection to Yosemite is such that a mountain near the park is named for him. Adams (1902-84) first visited Yosemite at age 14….

Chronicling the 16-year struggle (1925-41) to fashion Mount Rushmore in South Dakota’s Black Hills, and profiling sculptor Gutzon Borglum, its creator. Borglum was 60 when plans for Rushmore were announced…

False allegations of rape taint the record of justice in Alabama during the early 1930s.

Recalling the tidal wave of racial conflict that followed in the wake of the surging Mississippi as it inundated the delta town of Greenville, Miss., in April 1927. Greenville’s leading…

A profile of quintessentially American composer Stephen Foster features interviews with historian Fath Ruffins, biographer Ken Emerson, musicologists Josephine Wright and Dale Cockrell, and modern-day musicians influenced by Foster’s work.

Following the 17-year struggle to free nine blacks falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931. The struggle, which involved communist activists and laid the groundwork for…

The third part recalls 1863, when opposition to the Civil War spread among Northerners: some see the high level of casualties as unacceptable, while others resent fighting to free black…

Part 1 and 2 of a six-part chronicle of the Abraham Lincoln-Mary Todd relationship begins with their childhoods and courtship. He, of course, was born into poverty; she, however, grew…