Visit the National Endowment for the Humanities' EDSITEment Web site for teaching materials on the modern presidency, tailored for use with American Experience's presidential biographies.
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For Teachers
Ranging from Franklin Roosevelt's role in expanding the role of the federal government during the New Deal to George H.W. Bush's role in the final days of the Cold War; from the full-contact leadership style of Lyndon Johnson to the grand thematic leadership of Ronald Reagan, American Experience's award-winning presidential biographies explore not just big personalities, but big ideas.
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Watch Online
Watch seven presidential biographies online. Each program is divided into chapters, and comes with captions that can be turned on and off.
TRUMAN (4-1/2 hours) - Watch now
JIMMY CARTER (3 hours) - Watch now
REAGAN (4-1/2 hours) - Watch now
GEORGE H.W. BUSH (3-1/2 hours) - Watch now
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Downloads
From now until Inauguration Day 2009, download six Presidents programs free of charge for use in your classroom. The downloadable programs include: FDR, Truman, LBJ, Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Reagan.
All downloadable programs are closed captioned.
Download Help
Apple Users: Hold down the 'option' key then click on a movie link to download the movie.
Windows Users: Right-click on a movie link and choose 'Save' to download a movie to your desktop. Firefox users can hold down the 'alt' key and click on a movie link to download a movie.
Warning: These downloadable movies range in size from 331MB to 492MB and may take a long time to download depending on your internet connection. Please make sure you have enough space on your computer to download these files.
FDR Part 1 (110 min.)
Born into wealth, Roosevelt marries his distant cousin Eleanor and begins a political career. He is struck down by polio but ultimately returns to public service. His bold Depression relief programs as New York's governor help him win the presidency.
Download FDR Part 1 (449MB)
Download FDR Part 1 with DVS (Descriptive Video Service) (395MB), a special narration track to provide access to people who are blind or visually impaired.
FDR Part 2 (140 min.)
Roosevelt inspires a Depression-ravaged nation. His Federal relief programs engender both controversy and devotion. He counters Fascism in World War II. During his watch, the U.S. transforms into the most productive industrial power in history.
Download FDR Part 2 (464MB)
Download FDR Part 2 with DVS (Descriptive Video Service) (492MB), a special narration track to provide access to people who are blind or visually impaired.
Truman Part 1 (120 min.)
Missourian Harry Truman grows up on a farm, fights in World War I, then enters politics. A compromise choice for vice president in 1944, he is unprepared when President Roosevelt dies. He makes the difficult decision to use atomic bombs on Japan.
Download Truman Part 1 (451MB)
Truman Part 2 (145 min.)
Truman contends with the post-war economy. He fights a Communist threat in the Cold War and the Korean War. He establishes the Marshall Plan and orders the Berlin Airlift. He calls for civil rights for African Americans and for Israel's recognition.
Download Truman Part 2 (404MB)
LBJ Part 1 (115 min.)
A native of poor, rural Texas, Johnson becomes a Democratic power broker in the U.S. Congress. As president after Kennedy's assassination, he supports landmark civil rights laws and declares war on poverty. He escalates involvement in Vietnam.
Download LBJ Part 1 (480MB)
LBJ Part 2 (115 min.)
Johnson pushes his Great Society agenda in a legislative avalanche. At the same time he escalates the war in Vietnam. America enters a time of racial, political, cultural, and intergenerational upheaval and Johnson chooses not to seek re-election.
Download LBJ Part 2 (473MB)
Nixon (170 min.)
Nixon rises to power as a strident anti-Communist yet, once in office, reaches out to two great Communist powers, the Soviet Union and China. Both acclaimed and disliked, he is the first and only president to resign, after the Watergate scandal.
Download Nixon (493MB)
Jimmy Carter Part 1 (80 min.)
Carter grows up on a Georgia peanut farm, serves as a Naval officer, then enters politics, becoming known for his integrity. He wins the presidency as an outsider, but his inexperience results in an ineffectual and fractured administration.
Download Jimmy Carter Part 1 (339MB)
Jimmy Carter Part 2 (85 min.)
Inflation, recession, and the Iranian hostage crisis blow Carter's presidency off course. The crowning achievement of his one term in office, the Camp David Accords, establishing a framework for peace in the Middle East, inspires his post-presidency.
Download Jimmy Carter Part 2 (331MB)
Reagan Part 1 (115 min.)
Reagan grows up in small-town Illinois and pursues an acting career. He becomes known for his conservative views. After serving as California's governor, Reagan wins the presidency. The nation struggles with unemployment, inflation, and homelessness.
Download Reagan Part 1 (451MB)
Reagan Part 2 (145 min.)
Reagan advances his agenda of lower taxes, less government, and increased defense spending to combat Communism. The Cold War ends. His administration initiates an illegal arms-for-hostages deal. He leaves office a popular but controversial figure.
Download Reagan Part 2 (460MB)
Subscribe to the free American Experience e-newsletter for news about other Presidents and American Experience materials.
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Teacher's Guides
TR, The Story of Theodore Roosevelt
Learn about issues connected to the 1912 election, including progressivism, conservation, and carrying a "big stick."
Woodrow Wilson
Visit the turn of the 20th century and explore women's suffrage, World War I, the 1912 presidential election, and the experience of African Americans during the Wilson administration.
FDR
Research New Deal programs, read Franklin Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor speech, and explore oral histories.
Truman
Investigate containment, the atomic bomb decision, women in the workforce, and early civil rights legislation.
Ike
Discuss the military-industrial complex, popular images of life in the Fifties, and more.
The Kennedys
Trace the rise of an Irish American family through the twentieth century. Explore the relationship between religion and politics, money in the political process, celebrity in America, and public service.
LBJ
Learn about Congressional leadership, Vietnam policy, and programs of the Great Society.
Nixon
Investigate Watergate, other presidential scandals, and Nixon's policies towards China.
Jimmy Carter
Explore the political rise of the South, presidential campaigns and elections, energy policy, inflation and unemployment, peace and war in the Middle East, the Iranian hostage crisis, and the role of ex-presidents.
Ronald Reagan
Is government the solution to our problems, or is government itself the problem? Examine the philosophy of a popular but contradictory leader.
George H.W. Bush
Look at the nature of modern political campaigns, American involvement in the Persian Gulf, international diplomacy, leadership and popular opinion, and more.
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More
Access American Experience Web sites with teaching resources for 19th century U.S. history, too!
Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided
Travel back to the Lincolns' time and explore women's rights, slavery and abolition, antebellum politics, the growth of the industrial economy, and the Civil War.
Ulysses S. Grant
Explore topics including frontier life, westward expansion, treatment of Native Americans, the Mexican American War, the Civil War, military strategy, slavery, abolition, race relations, Reconstruction, black suffrage, the growth of the industrial economy, impeachment, regional political differences, the business world's influence in politics, fair elections, and personal memoirs.
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