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American Experience
The Donner Party
Season 5
Episode 3
Three years before the Gold Rush, 87 pioneers took a shortcut westward to California, only to get caught in the snows of the Sierra Nevada. The emigrants' fateful journey culminated in death and cannibalism.
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1:36:51
Casa Susanna was a refuge for transgender women and cross-dressing men in the 1950s-60s.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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1:52:47
Part Two examines the mounting dispute over strategies and reveals the pervasive racism.
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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,