American Experience | Official Site

Film

Two Days in October

In fall of 1967 in a jungle in Vietnam, a Viet Cong ambush nearly wiped out an American battalion. On a campus in Wisconsin, a student protest against the war spiraled out of control.

Patriots Day | Primary Source

The Patriot News Network

When it came to breaking news, eighteenth-century information networks were susceptible to some of the same problems as modern-day media.

God in America | Article

Since the days when the Puritan "city on a hill" beckoned on the horizon of the New World, religious faith and belief have forged America's ideals, molded its identity and shaped its sense of mission at home and abroad.

Film

God in America

Inside the tumultuous 400-year history of the intersection of religion and public life in America — from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and FRONTLINE. This six-hour series examines how religious dissidents helped shape the American concept of religious liberty and the controversial evolution of that ideal in the nation's courts and political arena.

Article

The President’s New Clothes

On the eve of the nation’s first presidential inauguration, President-elect George Washington was preoccupied by an urgent and troublesome matter: What would he wear to his swearing-in ceremony in New York City?

Article

Did you hear the one about Bob Hope?

The iconic entertainer delivered his unique brand of humor to troops around the globe and into the living rooms of millions of Americans. Read a conversation with his biographer.

MacArthur | Article

General George C. Marshall

The only man to ever serve as both secretary of state and secretary of defense, his greatest achievement may have been devising the Marshall Plan, which rebuilt a devastated Europe after World War II.

Film

Ulysses S. Grant

As a general, he had fought to preserve the Union. As president, he helped to oversee the transformation from union to nation.

Film

Riveted: The History of Jeans

Discover the fascinating story of this iconic American garment. From their roots in slavery to the Wild West, hippies, high fashion and hip-hop, jeans are the fabric on which the history of American ideology and politics is writ large.

Film

Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst

In 1974, a militant, fringe political group kidnapped teenage newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst from her Berkeley apartment. In the months that followed, Hearst, the Symbionese Liberation Army (S.L.A.), and their constant, paramilitary audio messages dominated headlines globally.

Film

War of the Worlds

Shortly after 8 p.m. on Halloween Eve, 1938, a panicked radio announcer broke in with a news bulletin that Martians had landed in the tiny town of Grovers Mill, New Jersey.

Nazi Town, USA | Article

Your Own Backyard - Nazi Town, USA

There are over 300 PBS Stations across the country, with many sharing history right from their own backyard. Check out more stories of how Nazism touched America's shores from Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Iowa and Michigan.

Remember the Alamo | Article

An Alamo Visit

Stephen L. Hardin is a history professor at The Victoria College in Victoria, Texas. Professor Hardin has served as a historical advisor for television and film productions on Texas history. Here, he answers questions about what it's like to visit the Alamo.