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American Experience
Powering New York's Subway System
Running the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) required the most powerful electrical plant in the world. The central powerhouse generated alternating current, which could be sent over long distances. Rotary converters were then built to change the alternating current into direct current needed to run the trains. These rotary converters were placed in substations scattered throughout the city.
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The Gilded Age: Full Film
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The woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world.
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The story of nine young men from Washington who captured gold at the 1936 Olympic Games.
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After attempting to commit the perfect crime, would two boys get the death penalty?
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The Stonewall riots marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement.
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In the 1950's a Polio outbreak swept the U.S., devastating communities nationwide.
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The man behind the atomic bomb is put on trial for suspected communist ties in 1954.
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In 1927, the Mississippi River flooded from New Orleans, leaving a million people homeless
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Ronald Reagan left the White House one of the most popular presidents of the 20th century.
Earth Month
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The Dust Bowl brought drought, dust, disease and death to the Midwest for nearly a decade.
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A biography from American Experience's collection of presidential portraits.
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Follow LBJ from rural Texas to his ascendancy to the presidency after the assassination of JFK.