The Best Episodes of American Experience Season 3

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
   

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   #1 - Lindbergh

   S3:E18/27/1990

   At 25, Charles A. Lindbergh arrived in Paris, the first man to fly across the Atlantic -- handsome, talented, and brave -- a hero. But the struggle to wear the mantle of legend would be a consuming one. Crowds pursued him, reporters invaded his private life. His marriage, travels with his wife and the kidnapping and murder of their first child were all fodder for the front page.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Unknown

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2. 

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   #2 - Nixon

   S3:E210/15/1990

   He possessed a fateful combination of strengths and weaknesses that propelled him to the White House and then brought him down. One of the most enigmatic modern political figures, Richard Nixon inspired divided passions in America. From his days as a young anti-Communist crusader to the president who astounded the nation with his foreign policy initiatives in China and the Soviet Union, and finally, his resignation in the face of impeachment, Nixon was a tragically insecure man with a bold vision. At the center of American politics for more than 25 years, he continues to arouse both anger and admiration.

   Director:David Espar

   Writers:David Espar, Geoffrey C. Ward

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   Director:David Espar

   Writers:David Espar, Geoffrey C. Ward
3. 

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   #3 - God Bless America and Poland, Too

   S3:E310/22/1990

   Frank Popiolek was 14 when he came to America in 1911, one of 2 million Polish immigrants who made the journey. He settled in Chicago and became a barber, instilling in his family a love of the "old world" traditions and pride in their Polish heritage. A nostalgic and humorous look at how old world Chicago lives side by side with the new.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

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4. 

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   #4 - Insanity on Trial

   S3:E410/29/1990

   On July 2, 1881, Charles Julius Guiteau shot and fatally wounded President James A. Garfield in the lobby of the Baltimore & Potomac train station in Washington, D.C. As sensational as the assassination itself was, Guiteau's trial lasted over three months and became a very public battle over the meaning of insanity. Was it hereditary? Did it show on a man's face?

   Director:Rocky Collins

   Writer:Rocky Collins

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   Director:Rocky Collins

   Writer:Rocky Collins
5. 

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   #5 - The Satellite Sky

   S3:E511/5/1990

   Few events shocked America more than the news in 1957 that Russia had launched the first satellite. It was an assault on our national pride, even a threat to national security. Using news reels, commercials, television shows, government films, and science fiction movies, the film presents a uniquely impressionistic history of the early years of the Space Race.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Unknown

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6. 

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   #6 - The Crash of 1929

   S3:E611/19/1990

   In 1929, while the stock market was rising, there were few critics. It was a "New Era" when everyone could get rich. But it was a small group of bankers, brokers and speculators who by manipulating the stock market grew fabulously wealthy. The film captures the unbounded optimism of the age and the shocking consequences when reality finally hit on October 29th.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

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   #7 - The Iron Road

   S3:E711/26/1990

   A tale of high adventure, enormous human effort and engineering brilliance. On May 2, 1869, when the last railroad spike was driven, bells in the churches of New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Omaha and St. Louis rang in celebration. Six years in the making, the transcontinental railroad captured the imagination of the nation, symbolizing unification of the country after five years of Civil War.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Unknown

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   #8 - French Dance Tonight

   S3:E812/10/1990

   When French settlers, exiled from Nova Scotia, migrated to Louisiana in the 1750s, they mixed with African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, and others to create one of America's richest, most varied cultures. The film captures many of Cajun and Zydeco music's most important innovators and performers as they talk about the emergence of two musical traditions.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

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9. 

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   #9 - After the Crash

   S3:E91/7/1991

   After the stock market crashed in 1929, thousands suffered unemployment and poverty in the Great Depression. The most desperate year, 1932, brought World War I veterans' Bonus March, the election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the New Deal.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

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    #10 - Los Mineros

    S3:E101/28/1991

    The story of Mexican American miners -- "los mineros" -- whose pitched labor battles, beginning with the first strike in 1903, shaped the course of Arizona history. It was only in 1946 that the two-tier wage system for whites and Mexicans was abolished. The film recounts the rise and fall of three small towns -- Superior, Clifton-Morenci and Sonora -- where the mining of copper ore dominated the lives of all the inhabitants.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

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11. 

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    #11 - Coney Island

    S3:E112/4/1991

    Before there was Disneyland, there was Coney Island. By the turn of the century, this tiny spit of New York real estate was internationally famous as the world's most remarkable carnival of delights, offering everything from the bawdy to the surreal. The hot dog was invented here; so was the roller coaster.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown