Episode guide

American Experience: Season 12

15 episodes · first aired Nov 13, 1999

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1 New York (1): The Country and the City Nov 14, 1999 · 55m The Country and the City, 1609-1825: New York, notes narrator David Ogden Stiers, "was a business proposition from the very start," when Henry Hudson, exploring for the Dutch East India…
2 New York (2): Order and Disorder Nov 15, 1999 · 55m "Order and Disorder: 1825-1865" recalls a period of tremendous growth and ferment. Most of the new arrivals were Irish immigrants (100,000 by 1842—and that was before the potato famine)…
3 New York (3): Sunshine and Shadow Nov 16, 1999 · 55m "Sunshine and Shadow: 1865-1898" During the Gilded Age, New York "was home to the greatest concentration of wealth in human history," says narrator David Ogden Stiers. And, he adds, "the…
4 New York (4): The Power and the People Nov 17, 1999 · 55m "The Power and the People: 1898-1914" recalls the era of mass immigration. "The entire world would arrive on the city's doorstep," says narrator David Ogden Stiers (1.2-million in 1907…
5 New York (5): Cosmopolis Nov 18, 1999 · 55m "Cosmopolis: 1914-1931" recalls the WWI years and the "Roaring '20s" in the city that F. Scott Fitzgerald called "the land of ambition and success." Of course, an egg was laid on Wall…
6 Eleanor Roosevelt Jan 10, 2000 · 55m Profiling Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of one president, the niece of another and, says historian Geoffrey Ward, "one of the best politicians of the 20th century" in her own…
7 Houdini Jan 24, 2000 · 55m Mandy Patinkin narrates a biography of Harry Houdini (1874-1926) that focuses on his amazing feats (later ones are seen in clips; others are re-created) and the obsessions---notably his…
8 Nixon's China Game Jan 31, 2000 · 55m Charting the tortuous three-year gambit that led to Richard Nixon's historic February 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China. What it did, says narrator David Ogden Stiers, was…
9 The Duel Feb 14, 2000 · 55m The duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, narrator Linda Hunt says, was an 1804 gunfight between “the founder of American capitalism and the first modern American politician.”…
10 John Brown's Holy War Feb 28, 2000 · 55m John Brown could be seen as a hero or a madman (perhaps both), but either way, there's no doubt he played a role in igniting the Civil War. Actor Joe Morton narrates a chronicle of Brown's…
11 George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire (1) Apr 23, 2000 · 55m A haunting two-part profile of George Wallace, who, says narrator Randy Quaid, "divided a nation and launched a conservative movement that transformed the country." Part 1 covers Wallace's…
12 George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire (2) Apr 24, 2000 · 55m The conclusion of a two-part profile of George Wallace (1919-98) focuses on his Presidential campaigns and the 1972 attempt on his life, which left him paralyzed. "He loved power," says…
13 Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory May 1, 2000 · 55m Former slaves spread the gospel of African-American music in an inspiring 2000 chronicle of the 1870s Tennessee vocal group Jubilee Singers that introduced such songs as "Swing Low, Sweet…
14 Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life May 8, 2000 · 55m An atmospheric profile of Joe DiMaggio (1914-99), baseball's "Yankee Clipper," explores how and why he played what narrator (and co-writer) Richard Ben Kramer calls "the hero's game" by…
15 The Wizard of Photography May 23, 2000 · 55m Profiling George Eastman (1854-1932), whose Kodak and Brownie cameras "forever changed the way people see their world," says narrator Judith Light. The hour uses interviews with historians…