American Experience S12E05 · New York (5): Cosmopolis

Overview

"Cosmopolis: 1914-1931" recalls the WWI years and the "Roaring '20s" in the city that F. Scott Fitzgerald called "the land of ambition and success." Of course, an egg was laid on Wall Street in 1929, but before that happened the city gave rise, narrator David Ogden Stiers says, "to a new culture, a mass culture" that was broadcast live on radio networks headquartered in New York.

Torrents

Subtitles

Episodes

1. 1 1. New York (1): The Country and the City1999-11-14 · 55mThe Country and the City, 1609-1825: New York, notes narrator David Ogden Stiers, "was a business proposition from the very start," when Henry Hudson, exploring for the Dutch East
2. 2 2. New York (2): Order and Disorder1999-11-15 · 55m"Order and Disorder: 1825-1865" recalls a period of tremendous growth and ferment. Most of the new arrivals were Irish immigrants (100,000 by 1842—and that was before the potato fa
3. 3 3. New York (3): Sunshine and Shadow1999-11-16 · 55m"Sunshine and Shadow: 1865-1898" During the Gilded Age, New York "was home to the greatest concentration of wealth in human history," says narrator David Ogden Stiers. And, he adds
4. 4 4. New York (4): The Power and the People1999-11-17 · 55m"The Power and the People: 1898-1914" recalls the era of mass immigration. "The entire world would arrive on the city's doorstep," says narrator David Ogden Stiers (1.2-million in
5. 5 5. New York (5): Cosmopolis1999-11-18 · 55m"Cosmopolis: 1914-1931" recalls the WWI years and the "Roaring '20s" in the city that F. Scott Fitzgerald called "the land of ambition and success." Of course, an egg was laid on W
6. 6 6. Eleanor Roosevelt2000-01-10 · 55mProfiling Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of one president, the niece of another and, says historian Geoffrey Ward, "one of the best politicians of the 20th century" in her
7. 7 7. Houdini2000-01-24 · 55mMandy Patinkin narrates a biography of Harry Houdini (1874-1926) that focuses on his amazing feats (later ones are seen in clips; others are re-created) and the obsessions---notabl
8. 8 8. Nixon's China Game2000-01-31 · 55mCharting the tortuous three-year gambit that led to Richard Nixon's historic February 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China. What it did, says narrator David Ogden Stiers, w
9. 9 9. The Duel2000-02-14 · 55mThe duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, narrator Linda Hunt says, was an 1804 gunfight between “the founder of American capitalism and the first modern American politic
10. 10 10. John Brown's Holy War2000-02-28 · 55mJohn Brown could be seen as a hero or a madman (perhaps both), but either way, there's no doubt he played a role in igniting the Civil War. Actor Joe Morton narrates a chronicle of
11. 11 11. George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire (1)2000-04-23 · 55mA haunting two-part profile of George Wallace, who, says narrator Randy Quaid, "divided a nation and launched a conservative movement that transformed the country." Part 1 covers W
12. 12 12. George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire (2)2000-04-24 · 55mThe conclusion of a two-part profile of George Wallace (1919-98) focuses on his Presidential campaigns and the 1972 attempt on his life, which left him paralyzed. "He loved power,"
13. 13 13. Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory2000-05-01 · 55mFormer slaves spread the gospel of African-American music in an inspiring 2000 chronicle of the 1870s Tennessee vocal group Jubilee Singers that introduced such songs as "Swing Low
14. 14 14. Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life2000-05-08 · 55mAn atmospheric profile of Joe DiMaggio (1914-99), baseball's "Yankee Clipper," explores how and why he played what narrator (and co-writer) Richard Ben Kramer calls "the hero's gam
15. 15 15. The Wizard of Photography2000-05-23 · 55mProfiling George Eastman (1854-1932), whose Kodak and Brownie cameras "forever changed the way people see their world," says narrator Judith Light. The hour uses interviews with hi