The Secret History of the Civil War (2022)

In Search of Bass Reeves

By the end of his illustrious career, Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves may well have been the preeminent lawman of the Old West. He brought upwards of 3,000 outlaws to justice and served in law enforcement for 32 years during Reconstruction after the Civil War. His story is one of an escape to freedom and the dangers of the West for a former slave who rose to become a legend of the law. Join us as we go in search of Bass Reeves.

Brevet Major Pauline Cushman-Fryer: Civil War Spy

Performed by Constance Smith, Pauline Cushman-Fryer tells us how she became a Union Spy, was almost hanged, was granted the rank of Major by Abraham Lincoln, and died lonely in San Francisco from an overdose of opium.

United States: Kamala Harris, a Californian rise

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Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer

Comes one hundred years from the two-day Tulsa Massacre in 1921 that led to the murder of as many as 300 Black people and left as many as 10,000 homeless and displaced.

Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy

A cheap, powerful drug emerges during a recession, igniting a moral panic fueled by racism. Explore the complex history of crack in the 1980s.

The Times of Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.

Revealed: The Hunt for Bin Laden

The History Channel marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11 with a new groundbreaking documentary about the biggest manhunt in human history. This documentary draws on interviews and stories told in the Museum's special exhibition of the same name, and features interviews with Jan Seidler Ramirez, chief curator and executive vice president of collections, to tell the sweeping tale, linking policy, intelligence, and military decision-making as they converged on a mysterious compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Spirit of the Pony Express

Celebrate the 150th anniversary of the short-lived but far-reaching American Institution The Pony Express by following a historical re-enactment along the original trail from Sacramento California to Saint Joseph Missouri.

Colombia in My Arms

After 52 years of armed conflict the FARC guerrillas are about to hand over their arms in exchange for political participation and social inclusion of the poor. Ernesto is one of them. The much celebrated Colombian peace agreement throws Ernesto and the polarised society around him into chaos in which everyone is afraid of the future and their own survival.

The Tiniest Place

Years after the Salvadoran military destroyed the village of Cinquera in that country’s civil war, survivors have returned to rebuild their community. Soulful, beautifully rendered, this amazing debut is an evocative testament to place, memory and the power of life to rebound from tragedy.

Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower

So much more than simply the story of the Thanksgiving meal, the epic saga of the Pilgrims is one of the fundamental narratives of our nation. This ambitious documentary presents the definitive history of the Pilgrims and their journey to and colonization of the New World. A marriage of feature-film quality historical reenactments with the latest scholarship and analysis of original source material, this definitive look at the Pilgrims' progress will shed light on the reality of their experience.

War Game

A bipartisan group of U.S. defense, intelligence, and elected policymakers spanning five presidential administrations participate in an unscripted role-play exercise in which they confront a political coup backed by rogue members of the U.S. military, in the wake of a contested presidential election.

Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street

This documentary celebrates the Black cultural renaissance that existed in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, OK, and investigates the 100-year-old race massacre that left an indelible, though hidden stain on American history.

Algérie, La vie quand même

A small Algerian town, off the beaten track of the war that is tearing the country apart. At the heart of the crisis that is destroying it, two young men, without work, without leisure activities, without hope, without anything... The film follows them in their daily wanderings between endless boredom and the expectation of the improbable. And shows their humour, their friendship, their will to live regardless.

Black Far West

Did you know that the first cowboys were black? Using magnificent archives and testimonies from historians, Cécile Denjean restores justice to African-Americans in the story of the conquest of the West.

Denzel Washington : Un modèle américain

In 30 years of a deeply committed career and 50 roles, Denzel Washington, double-Oscar winner, placed the figure of the Black man in all its complexity at the heart of the American paradoxes: from Black activist, rebel soldier to gangster torn between violence and charity. Voted best actor of the 21st century by the New York Times a few months ago, Denzel Washington, 65, has risen to the top of American cinema. As an Actor, director and producer, he has shaken up a "color line" as immutable as it is subtle. Often identified with his characters, he reveals himself to be disconcerting and paradoxical. As if he were holding up a mirror to America in which all of its contradictions and failings were reflected. A documentary that chronicles the extraordinary career of the world-renowned African-American actor.

The Battle of Chile: Part I

The chronicle of the political tension in Chile in 1973 and of the violent counter revolution against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende.

Another Day of Life

In 1975, Ryszard Kapuściński, a veteran Polish journalist, embarked on a seemingly suicidal road trip into the heart of the Angola's civil war. There, he witnessed once again the dirty reality of war and discovered a sense of helplessness previously unknown to him. Angola changed him forever: it was a reporter who left Poland, but it was a writer who returned…

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis

Constructed from a wealth of archival footage, the documentary follows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from 1955 to 1968, in his rise from regional activist to world-renowned leader of the Civil Rights movement. Rare footage of King's speeches, protests, and arrests are interspersed with scenes of other high-profile supporters and opponents of the cause, punctuated by heartfelt testimonials by some of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Remember the Sultana

Over 2000 Union soldiers, passengers and crew were crammed aboard the steamboat Sultana, licensed to carry 376. Graft, greed, overcrowding, a poorly maintained boat, and the Mississippi River was swollen with spring snowmelt conspired together to create a disaster. On April 27, 1865, the boat’s boilers exploded, causing the worst maritime disaster in US history.

Atomic Pilgrimage: Ghost Towns, Nuclear Relics, and Lost Civilizations on the Road to the Trinity Site

A 40-day, 40-night road trip to the Trinity Site—where the first atomic bomb was detonated in the summer of 1945—covering many other atomic destinations and driving deep into the natural and social history of the American southwest.

I Am JFK Jr.

I Am JFK Jr. - A Tribute to a Good Man is an homage to America's fallen prince and the Kennedy legacy. It is the story of a young man destined for greatness, but determined to be good in a world filled with high expectations.

Kamala Harris, an American ambition

Known as the most liberal U.S. senator and "Border Czar," VP Kamala Harris has a long track record of policy positions; an in-depth look.

To Be

Juana, Mar, and Eduardo tell their stories of abuse.

JFK: Seven Days That Made a President

'JFK: Seven Days That Made a President' investigates the seven key days in JFK's life that helped shape his character and have come to define him.

Stonebreakers

In a year of uprisings and political unrest, Stonebreakers documents the fights around monuments in the United States and explores the shifting landscapes of the nation's historical memory.

Ta'ang

The Ta'ang or Palaung people, an ethnic minority living in the mountainous area between Myanmar's Kokang region and China's Yunnan province, have historically suffered many forced migrations due to war. When their survival is threatened again in 2015, thousands of them flee across the border. Filmmaker Wang Bing accompanies them and becomes a privileged witness to a human story that is both a modern reportage and a mythical epic.

Henry Ford, l'inventeur du siècle américain

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The National Christmas Tree, A Century of Celebration

A Ken Burns-style documentary exploring the first 100 years of our National Christmas Tree. On Christmas Eve 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the first National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse, just south of the White House. We follow the tree through its first 100 years, where it served as a backdrop to many events in our nation's history. We meet the designers and learn their process of lighting our federal fir each year. Available to view here: https://odiesnoutproductions.vhx.tv/

The History of the Civil War

The epic story of the Russian Civil War (1918-21): the White Terror, the counterrevolutionary uprisings, the guerrilla war, the Kolchak front, the Wrangel front and the Kronstadt rebellion. Chaos and violence, devastation and death.

Escape from the World's Most Dangerous Place

Successful model Samira Hashi makes an emotional return to Somalia, one of the most dangerous places in the world and the place she was born. Civil war broke out in 1991, 10 days after Samira's birth, but two years later her family managed to flee the country and she grew up in the UK.Now, as Samira and the war both turn 21, she's going back for the first time to visit the people and places she left behind. The contrast with her safe and glamorous life in London could not be starker as she experiences firsthand the war's effect on a generation of young people growing up in conflict.

Town Destroyer

Controversy erupts over a New-Deal-era mural of the namesake of San Francisco’s George Washington High School. The thirteen-panel artwork "The Life of Washington" by Victor Arnautoff offers a view of the Founding Father both celebratory and critical, referencing his involvements in slavery and Native American genocide.