Films: 1951 - 1960
Browse the entire American Experience series featuring over 250 films. Watch full films online, download teacher’s guides, go behind the scenes, and learn more about your favorite films.
God in America : 6 hrs
For the first time on television, God in America will explore the historical role of religion in the public life of the United States.
The Mormons : 2 hrs
From Joseph Smith's discovery of gold tablets to persecution, migration, and settlement in Utah, the film explores the history of the most American of religions.
New Orleans
From Reconstruction to the 1960s, this film offers a portrait of New Orleans that reflects the best and the worst in America.
The Rockefellers : 2 hrs
Head of the most powerful family in America, billionaire John D. Rockefeller's vast philanthropy changed his family's reputation.
Silicon Valley : 90 mins
Robert Noyce's invention of the microchip launched the world into the Information Age.
The Amish : 2 hrs
Their intense faith and strict adherence to 300-year-old traditions have by turn captivated and repelled, awed and irritated, inspired and confused America.
Tupperware! : 1 hr
This funny, probing program re-examines assumptions about American culture in the 1950s.
The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer : 2 hrs
A brilliant scientist, Oppenheimer was tasked with the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
Soundtrack for a Revolution : 2 hrs
The story of the American civil rights movement is told through its powerful music -- the freedom songs that protesters sang on picket lines, in mass meetings, in police wagons, and in jail cells as they fought for justice and equality.
A Class Apart : 1 hr
From a small-town Texas murder emerged a landmark civil rights case that successfully challenged Jim Crow-style discrimination against Mexican Americans.
The Polio Crusade : 1 hr
The story of the polio crusade pays tribute to a time when Americans banded together to conquer a terrible disease.
Roberto Clemente : 1 hr
Clemente was an exceptional baseball player whose career sheds light on larger issues of immigration, civil rights and cultural change.
The Living Weapon : 1 hr
The international race to develop biological weapons during the 20th century.
Truman : 280 mins
Harry Truman was responsible for finding America's place at the start of the Cold War. Part of the award-winning Presidents collection.
