Special Features
- General Article: Placing Blame
- General Article: The First Wave
- General Article: Searching for Cures
- Bonus Video: Original Interview: Dr. Shirley Fannin
- General Article: City Snapshots: Boston
- General Article: Scientific Investigation of the 1918 Flu
The worst epidemic in American history killed over 600,000 Americans during World War I. Nicknamed "Spanish influenza," it died out quickly the following winter.
My American Experience
Share Your Story
Tell us what you think of the flu — do you think there is a significant threat of a major outbreak today like there was in 1918?
The Iron Road
Begun during the Civil War, the transcontinental railroad employed 20,000 men, mostly immigrants, who built the iron road with their bare hands.
Film Details
Building the Alaska Highway
The Alaskan Highway stands today as one of the boldest homeland security initiatives ever undertaken.
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Alone on the Ice
In 1934, American polar explorer Richard Byrd became the first to experience winter in Antarctica's interior.
Film Details
Big Dream, Small Screen
A Utah farm boy builds a prototype for a television, but is thwarted by movie studio executives wanting to control the technology.
Film Details
The Pill
The story behind the development of the oral contraceptive that put women in control of birth control.
Film Details
Panama Canal
The most daring and innovative accomplishment at the turn of the 20th century.
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The Boy in the Bubble
The unusual life of David Vetter, who lived permanently inside a germ-free environment due to severe combined immunodeficiency.
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