The Century: America's Time

How did the 20th century change the ways Americans live? This program examines the early 1900s – when William McKinley was President, a loaf of bread cost only a few cents, horsepo...

The psychological damage inflicted by the stupefying bombardments of World War I was called shell shock, a term that aptly described the feeling of the post-war world. This program...

In the aftermath of World War I, many modern-minded Americans, particularly women, were eager to do away with outdated traditions and claim new rights and freedoms. This program in...

America – a nation that claimed ever-increasing wealth as a birthright – was rudely awakened by the Great Depression, which caused 25 percent unemployment, the closing of 9,000 ban...

Safely watching Europe from across the Atlantic Ocean, many Americans observed the messianic popularity of Hitler and Mussolini and the subsequent outbreak of World War II with con...

World War II was the first war in history that killed more civilians than soldiers, as leaders on both sides accepted noncombatant casualties as inevitable – and, to some, even des...

The shock of Pearl Harbor awoke America from its dream of isolationism. As troops went overseas and industry ramped up to supply the urgent need for war materials, a new wave of So...

Demobilization after World War II meant difficult changes as the U.S., geared up for war, resumed a peacetime existence. This program describes America’s new status as a superpower...

The post-war baby boom, suburban living, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis epitomizes the contentment of the Eisenhower years. But these were also years marked by rabid McCarthyism, violen...

Beset by both international and domestic pressures, America during the Camelot years was swiftly approaching a political-cultural meltdown. This program documents U.S. – Soviet con...

Riots and protests intensified in the U.S. as the war in Vietnam dragged on, with anti-war and civil rights activists seeking violent ways to agitate for peace and equality. This p...

The trauma of the war in Vietnam and the Watergate scandal left Americans exhausted, embittered, and disillusioned with politics and politicians. This program appraises the effects...

The women’s and civil rights movements, begun decades earlier and as controversial as ever, continue to evolve during the nation’s Bicentennial period. This program focuses on the...

The Reagan era witnessed the unexpected end of the Cold War and a welcome return to a booming domestic economy – but did events unfold too quickly to control? This program takes a...

Fifty years into the future, how will computer and communications technology reshape the way Americans work and play? What will be the benefits and consequences of biotechnology? W...