American Experience
TV-PG
8.6
1988
Documentary
TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.
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Episode 13 : Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory
May. 01,2000
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 Chariot" and "This Little Light of Mine" into popular culture. Dion Graham narrates the hour, which follows the Jubilees as they tour the U.S. and Europe. They had to battle racism and internal strife, and in the process saved their school -- Nashville's Fisk University -- from bankruptcy. More important, they permanently broadened American music.
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Episode 12 : George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire (2)
April. 24,2000
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 his daughter Peggy, and the shooting didn't stop him from regaining the Alabama statehouse or from running for President in 1976. But it did lead to reflection, and when he ran for governor again, in 1982, he sought black votes. "He's repented," says one black voter. Also interviewed: Wallace's ex-wife, Cornelia; Wallace biographer Dan. T. Carter. Randy Quaid narrates.
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Episode 11 : George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire (1)
April. 23,2000
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 career up to the death of his first wife, Lurleen, in 1968, just as he was embarking on his second Presidential bid. But it begins by concentrating on what Quaid calls "the devil's bargain" he made to gain the Alabama governorship. Interviewed: lawyer J.L. Chestnut and Wallace biographer Dan Carter, as well as journalists, Wallace aides and two of his children.
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Episode 10 : John Brown's Holy War
February. 28,2000
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 life (1800-59), which features archival stills, atmospheric re-creations and the comments of historians. Interviewed: Russell Banks, Bruce Olds, Margaret Washington, Dennis Frye, Edward Renehan, James Horton, James Stewart, Paul Finkelman and Charles Joyner.
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Episode 5 : New York (5): Cosmopolis
November. 18,1999
"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 Street in 1929, but before that happened the city gave rise, narrator David Ogden Stiers says, "to a new culture, a mass culture" that was broadcast live on radio networks headquartered in New York.
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Episode 4 : New York (4): The Power and the People
November. 17,1999
"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 alone). "There was a message," says writer Pete Hamill. "Come here, everything is possible." The program also follows the political career of "Happy Warrior" Al Smith; and charts the construction of the subways and the rise of skyscrapers in the clogged city.
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Episode 3 : New York (3): Sunshine and Shadow
November. 16,1999
"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 greatest concentration of poverty." This episode surveys that dichotomy, from Fifth Avenue mansions to slums documented by Jacob Riis in "How the Other Half Lives." Also recalled: the fall of William H. "Boss" Tweed ("he took a fall for the system," claims Pete Hamill).
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Episode 2 : New York (2): Order and Disorder
November. 15,1999
"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), and the subsequent overcrowding led to the construction of Central Park (1857-58). But that didn't quell the ferment, which exploded in 1863 with the racially charged draft riots. "It was the largest incident of civil disorder in U.S. history," notes historian Mike Wallace.
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Episode 1 : New York (1): The Country and the City
November. 14,1999
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 Company, sailed into its harbor. Part 1 also focuses on New Yorker Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary; and Gov. DeWitt Clinton, who built the Erie Canal. "All America," says Stiers, "now met in New York."
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