During World War I, letters were the main method of communication between soldiers and the homefront. Take a glimpse into the lives of the men and women who lived through World War I, in their own words.
Discover the fascinating story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the groundbreaking cryptanalyst who helped bring down gangsters and break up a Nazi spy ring in South America. Her work helped lay the foundation for modern codebreaking today.
During World War I, letters were the main method of communication between soldiers and the homefront. This gallery of war letters from the Center for American War Letters offers a glimpse into the lives of the men and women who lived through World War I, in their own words.
The most famous duel in American history climaxed a longstanding conflict between two of the most important men in the country. The conflict between Alexander Hamilton, an architect of the Constitution and designer of American capitalism, and Aaron Burr, vice president of the United States and the first modern politician.
An unknown politician from Missouri who suddenly found himself president, Harry Truman was the least prepared of all the men who had held the highest office, but he would prove to be a surprise — the unlikely rise of a gritty American original.
Interview with Andy Carroll, author of War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from America's Wars, the compilation of letters that inspired the American Experience documentary.
Daughter From Danang cuts between mother and daughter as the two recall the pain of their separation, and retraces Hiep's journey from Vietnam to Pulaski, Tennessee, where she is adopted by a single woman and renamed Heidi.
Martyr, madman, murderer, hero: John Brown remains one of history's most controversial and misunderstood figures. In the 1850s, he and his ragtag guerrilla group embarked on a righteous crusade against slavery that was based on religious faith — yet carried out with shocking violence. His execution set off a chain of events that led to the Civil War.
After the infamous 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, thousands of listeners wrote letters. American Experience film producers used the letters as inspiration for dramatized on-camera interviews. Watch the outtakes.
