Films: Biographies
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.
Knute Rockne and His Fighting Irish : 1 hr
Football coach Knute Rockne of Notre Dame was a pivotal figure in the sudden rise of sports to a position of power in American culture.
LBJ : 4 hrs
Lyndon Johnson pushed progressive programs before the Vietnam War eroded his support. Part of the award-winning Presidents collection.
Lindbergh
The first man to fly across the Atlantic, Charles Lindbergh was unprepared for the attention, particularly after his son was kidnapped.
Lost in the Grand Canyon
John Wesley Powell's epic journey into the unknown Grand Canyon was filled with adventure as his team mapped the Colorado River for the first time.
MacArthur
General Douglas MacArthur led American troops in World Wars I and II before being fired by President Harry Truman during the Korean War.
Malcolm X - Make It Plain
Malcolm X, a man who both terrified and inspired, expressed the anger and struggle of black people for freedom in the 1960s.
The Man Behind Hitler
Joseph Goebbels, the second most powerful man in Nazi Germany, was the mastermind behind Adolf Hitler's success.
Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind
Marcus Garvey, a black nationalist leader from Jamaica, had great successes and failures before being jailed and deported from the US in 1927.
Mary Pickford
Silent film actress Mary Pickford played a pivotal role in bringing Hollywood into the center of the motion picture industry.
A Midwife's Tale
Martha Ballard was a midwife and mother in Maine following the American Revolution.
Minik, the Lost Eskimo
In 1897, Arctic explorer Robert Peary caused a sensation when he returned from Greenland with five Eskimos.
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.
Mr. Miami Beach
Creating Miami Beach from a narrow spit of Florida swampland, Carl Fisher made a fortune until a devastating hurricane and the stock market crash of 1929 wiped him out.
Mr. Sears' Catalogue : 1 hr
Richard Sears and Alva Curtis Roebuck brought consumer goods to the hands of every American with their Sears and Roebuck catalogue.
Nixon
Richard Nixon faced impeachment but also ended the Vietnam War. Part of the award-winning Presidents collection.
Nixon's China Game
President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger initiated a secret diplomatic breakthrough with Mao Tse-tung that shocked and changed the world.
One Woman, One Vote : 2 hrs
The women's suffrage movement won the right to vote when the 19th Amendment passed in 1920.
Oswald's Ghost
A look at JFK's assassination by Lee Harvey Oswald and the subsequent investigations that lead to a widespread loss of trust in government institutions.
Partners of the Heart
At the height of segregation, an unlikely alliance between a black medical genius and a white surgeon led to a pioneering medical breakthrough.
Public Enemy #1
Legendary bank robber John Dillinger garnered the admiration of many struggling Americans, but FBI took him down with a message: crime doesn't pay.
Reagan : 270 mins
The life of the president who saw himself as the heroic defender of the "shining city on a hill." Part of the award-winning Presidents collection.
The Richest Man in the World: Andrew Carnegie
A look at the poor Scottish emigrant boy who built a fortune in telegraphy, railroads and steel, and then began systematically to give it all away.
Robert E. Lee : 90 mins
Robert E. Lee, the leading Confederate general of the American Civil War, remains a source of fascination and, for some, veneration.
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 Rockefellers : 2 hrs
Head of the most powerful family in America, billionaire John D. Rockefeller's vast philanthropy changed his family's reputation.
Scandalous Mayor : 1 hr
James Michael Curley and his sophisticated political machine dominated Boston for almost half a century.
Seabiscuit : 1 hr
Thoroughbred racehorse Seabiscuit was the long shot that captured America's heart during the Depression.
Secrets of a Master Builder
Engineer James Eads tamed the mighty Mississippi, turning New Orleans into the second largest port in the nation.
Silicon Valley : 90 mins
Robert Noyce's invention of the microchip launched the world into the Information Age.
