Up Next
Back to Show
Watch Preview
American Experience
The Panama Canal
Season 23
Episode 4
On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal opened connecting the world's two largest oceans and signaling America's emergence as a global superpower. The story of the canal features a delightful cast of colorful characters ranging from an indomitable President to visionary engineers to tens of thousands of workers from around the world, rigidly segregated by race.
Sign up now for inspiring and thought-provoking media delivered straight to your inbox.
Support Provided By
1:52:38
Revisit 1970s Boston, when court-mandated school integration unleashed racial unrest.
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.
1:22:39
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.
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.