American History

Short was a poor man's Jesse James, a Confederate Army deserter who took to raiding and robbing in and around Turkey Neck Bend, just above the Tennessee border in Kentucky. His memory is alive today not because of history books--nothing was written about his exploits for over 100 years--but due to a tradition of oral history and local storytelling.

Tells the little-known story of the Justice Department's postwar pursuit and conviction of Japanese-American Iva Toguri for what it deemed treasonous radio broadcasts during WWII.

Where The Thin Red Line leaves off, The Tears of Peleliu picks up some fifty years later, as it follows five American WWII veterans as they meet their former Japanese adversaries on the bloodiest battlefield in the history of warfare. The residents of Peleliu, a tiny island in the South Pacific, regard with some trepidation the return of the men who destroyed their island.

Profiles the colorful history of the U.S.S. Constitution, "Old Ironsides," which won America's first victories at sea, and, following its historically accurate restoration in 1997, retains its status today as a national symbol.

This historical documentary uses Civil War re-enactments, historical footage, photos and contemporary interviews to explore a controversial event in American and African- American Civil War history.

From the first concept to the final rivet, The Statue of Liberty was the creation of volunteers. Strange to say, no government was involved. This documentary tells the exciting story of who was involved: hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens from all walks of life, even children, gave their small earnings to realize Miss Liberty, first in France and then in the U.S. It took 14 years to consummate.

Based on actual historical events, this docudrama, which blends archival photos, dramatic reenactments and interviews with former students, portrays the efforts of the Mexican- American community in Lemon Grove, California, to challenge local school segregation practices and racial discrimination in Depression-era America.

This video looks at a nationwide rebellion that brought the U.S. to a standstill, when 80,000 railroad workers went out on strike to protest the excesses of the railroad companies.

This video features a fugitive woman slave describing life, work, and day-to-day resistance to slavery on a North Carolina cotton plantation during the 1840s and 1850s.

This video is based on the life of Boston shoemaker George Robert Twelves and reveals how working people helped make the American Revolution.

This video is a film-noir spoof, private eye Clio Malarkey investigates the central role played by working Americans in U.S. history and the hazards of misinterpreting the past.

Examines Pulaski, Tennessee, the town where the Ku Klux Klan was founded right after the Civil War, and where today its memory still runs very deep.

Examines the Anti-Apartheid Movement at the University of California at Berkeley during 1985-86, which led to similar student protests nationwide.

This provocative animated film, featuring a voracious mongrel dog and an evocative synthesizer score by Kasandra Woodring, uses allegorical and documentary images, maps and texts to explore and deconstruct the history of the conquest of the Americas.

More than 100 years ago, in his journalism and his influential book, How the Other Half Lives, photojournalist Jacob Riis dramatically portrayed issues of homelessness, poverty, crime, public health, and race relations in America.

Surveys the work of plastic artists in Puerto Rico during the 20th century, as well as significant forerunners in the 18th and 19th centuries, focusing on the artists' expression of national identity. The video combines illustrations of hundreds of art works with interviews with a dozen major contemporary artists and commentary by art critics.