Back to Show
American Experience
Environmental Obstacles
As much as the Corps' officers wanted to punch the Alaskan Highway through in a hurry, dealing with muskeg (swamps of decaying vegetation) and mud drastically slowed things down. By the end of June after three months of work, the Engineers had constructed 360 miles of road. The Army knew it had about four months left to build at least 1,100 more miles before winter arrived.
Support Provided By
Season

1:36:51
Casa Susanna was a refuge for transgender women and cross-dressing men in the 1950s-60s.

Unlock with PBS Passport
52:22
Unsung scientist Mária Telkes dedicated her career to harnessing the power of the sun.

1:22:29
Discover the story of the 1969 showdown between President Nixon and the antiwar movement.

Unlock with PBS Passport
52:17
Discover the unexpected history behind Monopoly, America’s favorite board game.

1:52:24
The influential author and anthropologist whose work reclaimed and honored Black life.

52:45
The story of the polygraph, the controversial device that transformed modern justice.

Unlock with PBS Passport
1:52:39
Discover how bubonic plague in 1900 set off fear and anti-Asian sentiment in San Francisco

1:52:49
The Blinding of Isaac Woodard with Spanish subtitles.

1:52:23
How a horrific incident of racial violence became catalyst for the civil rights movement.

Unlock with PBS Passport
1:52:47
Part Two examines the mounting dispute over strategies and reveals the pervasive racism.

Unlock with PBS Passport
1:52:42
The fiery campaign that led to passage of the 19th Amendment, granting women the vote.

1:53:12
The Eugenics Crusade tells the story of the campaign to breed a “better” American race,