The American Experiment - Season 1
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, this historical documentary reexamines the improbable achievement that was the nation's founding, and the radical question at the center of the American Revolution: Can a people govern themselves?
Episodes
Episode 1
Freedom
A young George Washington establishes his military bonafides, and the American colonies begin to chafe at new taxes imposed by the British Crown.
Episode 2
Tyranny, Like Hell, Is Not Easily Conquered
Thomas Jefferson is tapped to draft the Declaration of Independence. Led by Washington, the Continental Army suffers a devastating series of defeats.
Episode 3
The United States Are Not United
With the outcome of the war hanging in the balance, the Americans deploy Benjamin Franklin's charms to solicit support from Britain's longtime rival.
Episode 4
We the People
The war is won, but the "perpetual union" is on the verge of collapse. Delegates from each state gather to devise an innovative form of government.
Episode 5
Washington's Warning
George Washington steps into the unknown as the nation's first president. Partisanship dawns with an ideological rift between Jefferson and Hamilton.