America's Untold Story by
First permanent European settlement in the United States was founded two generations before the Pilgrims arrived in 1565. America's Untold Story uncovers the story of America's past that never made it into textbooks.
First Ladies Revealed by
"Some used captivating style to boost diplomacy. Some offered compassionate calm in days of war. Some embraced the role they never expected to make a difference. And some seized the role they always dreamed of to blaze a trail. Every first lady has their own tale to tell, and this series examines some of the women who left their indelible mark on the White House and in history. Join us as we go beyond the public lives to tell the private stories of Dolley Madison, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, and more."
The Forgotten Plague [Tuberculosis] by
By the dawn of the nineteenth century, tuberculosis had killed one in seven of all the people who had ever lived. The disease struck America with a vengeance, ravaging communities and touching the lives of almost every family. The battle against the deadly bacteria had a profound and lasting impact on the country, It shaped medical and scientific pursuits, social habits, economic development, western expansion, and government policy. The story is told through the remembrances of those who lived - and were cured - at tuberculosis sanatoriums, along with historians and scientists.
God in America: how religious liberty shaped America by
Tells the sweeping and dramatic story of religious life in America, examining more than 500 years of American religious history, from the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the 2008 presidential election. Examine this history as it has played out in public life, exploring the complex interaction between religion and democracy in the United States; the origins of the American concept of religious liberty; the dynamics of the ever-evolving American religious marketplace; and more.
VA : the human cost of war by
The film takes a broad look at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, examining the organization's history, leadership, structure, funding and relationship to veterans. The film chronicles, in depth and often in wrenching detail, the workings of this crucial but at times beleaguered American institution.
The 1787 Constitutional Convention, Day by Day (2 discs) by
"Composed of 30 video reports (2:35 each), this program covers the Constitutional Convention of 1787 from May 21st, just before its start, through July 25th, when the delegates tried, unsuccessfully, to decide how a President should be elected. "We seem to be entirely at a loss!" said Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts. It was the only thing they could agree upon that day.
Themes from the 1787 Constitutional Convention (2 discs) by
"A thematic study of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 opens important avenues of discussion on topics related to the Convention itself and the Framers, the workings of the U.S. government, and life in America. This program uses 38 video clips (2:35 each) from The 1787 Constitutional Convention, Day by Day, Parts 1 and 2 to explore the following themes, some of which are especially relevant today: The Context/Setting of 1787, The Delegates, The Virginia and New Jersey Plans, The Executive Branch, The Legislative Branch, The Judicial Branch, and Slavery."
Brooklyn Bridge by
"This award-winning program by filmmaker Ken Burns recaptures all the drama, the struggles and the personal tragedies behind this greatest of all achievements of America's industrial age. As this fascinating program reveals, it was the largest bridge of its era, marked by enormous construction problems and ingenious solutions."
Donner Party by
Chronicles the tale of the pioneer group that set out for California in the spring of 1846 and ended in disaster in the snows of the Sierra Nevada Mountains the following winter.
Lewis & Clark: the journey of the Corps of Discovery by
Tells the story of the most important expedition in American history, led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Includes the stories of the young army men, French-Canadian boatmen, Clark's African-American slave, and the Shoshone woman named Sacagawea who went with them.
The Civil War by
Ken Burns's Emmy Award-winning documentary brings to life America's most destructive and defining conflict. The Civil War is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one.
Reconstruction: America after the Civil War by
Henry Louis Gates Jr. presents an examination of one of the most consequential and least understood chapters in U.S. history when, after the Civil War, the nation struggled to reunite North and South while living up to the promise of citizenship for millions of freed African Americans.
Reconstruction: America After the Civil War by
Henry Louis Gates Jr. presents an examination of one of the most consequential and least understood chapters in U.S. history when, after the Civil War, the nation struggled to reunite North and South while living up to the promise of citizenship for millions of freed African Americans.
Blood in the Face by
Documents behind-the-scenes activities and individual philosophies and views of members of the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan movement, Nazi skinheads and Neo-Nazis.
Cuban missile crisis: three men go to war by
Explore the inside story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, when the world teetered on the brink of nuclear holocaust. In the first major feature documentary on the subject, the film brings to life the three central characters; Kennedy, Castro and Khrushchev, and explores how the world's most powerful men fell into an abyss of their own making and outlines the courage and luck it took to climb out again.
The Dust Bowl by
Ken Burns documents the worst human-made ecological disaster in American history, when a frenzied wheat boom on the southern Plains, followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s, nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation. Vivid interviews, dramatic photographs, and seldom-seen movie footage bring to life incredible stories of human suffering and perseverance. Includes bonus features.
The emergence of modern America. Roaring Twenties by
Explores the enormous social and cultural changes of the 1920s, an era of prosperity, rapid industrialization, social experimentation, and artistic renaissance.
Henry Ford (American Experience series) by
Chronicles the rise of Henry Ford from machinist and engineer to powerful industrialist. Examines his development of an automobile affordable to the masses and his institution of the five-dollar-a-day wage. Explores his disapproval of organized labor and his antagonistic relationship with his son.
Hidden Figures by
As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes.
Klansville U.S.A. by
Investigate the reasons North Carolina, long seen as the most progressive state in the South, became home to the largest Klan organization in the country, with more members than all the other Southern states combined, during the 1960s.
The Mine Wars (American Experience) by
At the beginning of the 20th century, coal was the engine of American industrial progress. Nearly three quarters of a million men across the country spent ten or twelve hours a day underground in coal mines. The Mine Wars brings to life the struggle that turned the coalfields of southern West Virginia into a blood-soaked war zone where basic constitutional rights and freedoms were violently contested.
Prohibition by
This videodisc explores the extraordinary story of what happens when a freedom-loving nation outlaws the sale of intoxicating liquor, and the disastrous unintended consequences that follow. The utterly relevant cautionary tale raises profound questions about the proper role of government and the limits of legislating morality. When the country goes dry in 1920, after a century of debate, millions of law-abiding Americans become lawbreakers overnight.
Space Men by
On an August morning in 1960, Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger stepped out of a helium balloon twenty miles above Earth, hurtling down at over 400 miles per hour. The little-known story of the men whose scientific experiments laid critical groundwork for NASA's manned space program, a decade before President Kennedy committed the nation to sending a man to the moon.
The Great War (American Experience series) by
In conjunction with the 100th anniversary of America's entry into the war on April 6, 1917, a six-hour documentary presented over three nights, explores how World War I changed America and the world. Drawing on the latest scholarship, including unpublished diaries, memoirs and letters, it tells the rich and complex story of the conflict through the voices of nurses, journalists, aviators and the American troops who came to be known as 'doughboys.'
WWI: The Complete Story by
It began as a regional conflict and escalated into a war of Empires that covered the Earth. World War I The Complete Story, is a comprehensive look at The War to End All Wars . Produced by CBS television in the early 1960s in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the onset of World War I, this unflinching 26 episode series is more than just the history of this global conflict; it is also a photo album of the early twentieth century. From the political intrigues that led nations to war to Armistice day more than four years later, you'll meet the men and machines that fought the war and witness every major battle and event of this global struggle. No other collection offers such a complete overview of one of history's most destructive conflicts. Special Bonus Disc: Century of Warfare : A History of the United States at War in the 20th Century, including WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm. B & W and Color.
Band of Brothers / Pacific by
Contains the two mini-series, "Band of Brothers," which chronicles the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne as it prepares and lands on D-Day, and fights its way through Europe to the end of World War II; and "The Pacific," which tracks three U.S. Marines and their fellow soldiers across the Pacific theater during World War II; as well as the bonus documentary "He Has Seen War," that examines the postwar lives of veterans of both Band of brothers and The Pacific.
The Bataan Death March by 
Navajo Code Talkers by
During the second world war, the United States and its allies were struggling to find a code by which to communicate across the Pacific Ocean -- one that could not be broken by the Japanese enemy. The solution came in the form of the Navajo people, whose language was as elusive as it was complex. Through their incredible linguistic skills, the Allied forces were able to convey life-or-death information to one another -- information that, in some cases, altered the very course of the war.
The War (6 discs) by
Tells the story of ordinary people in four quintessentially American towns - Waterbury, Connecticut; Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; and Luverne, Minnesota - and examines the ways in which the Second World War touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America.
9/11 by
On the morning of September 11, 2001, brothers Jules and Gedeon Naudet were working on a documentary about a rookie New York City firefighter. Hearing a roar in the sky, Jules turned his camera upward--just in time to film the only existing image of the first plane crashing into the World Trade Center Tower 1. With cameras rolling, the Naudets follow NYC firefighters into the heart of what would be known as Ground Zero. A striking tribute to real-life heroes who rose to extraordinary acts of courage and compassion.
Divided states of America by
Part one of an investigation into the deep political divisions and bitter polarization that grew during the Obama presidency. The film examines how President Obama's promise of change and unity collided with racial and political realities. Part two of an investigation into the deep divisions and bitter polarization that grew during the Obama presidency. The film examines racial tensions in America, the war for control of the GOP, and the growing dysfunction in Washington.
Poverty, Politics & Profits: The Housing Crisis by
Looks into reasons why despite billions of dollars going into subsidized housing for the poor, many in need experience difficulty acquiring adequate housing. Explores racial inequality in the housing market.
Requiem for the American Dream by
"In his final long-form documentary interview, Noam Chomsky exposes with searing clarity the forces and policies behind the coordinated campaign to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a select few. Articulating ten fundamental principles that perpetuate this vicious cycle, Chomsky provides penetrating insight into the demise of democracy and erosion of opportunity that are likely to be the lasting hallmarks of our time"