The BEST episodes of American Experience season 21

Every episode of American Experience season 21, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of American Experience season 21!

Presents an absorbing look at the personalities, events and resources that have had a profound impact on the shaping of America's past and present.

Last Updated: 3/15/2024Network: PBSStatus: Continuing
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We Shall Remain (4): Geronimo
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10.00
1 votes

#1 - We Shall Remain (4): Geronimo

Season 21 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/4/2009

A portrait of the Chiracahua Apache who was one of the last Native Americans to continue armed resistance in North America.

Directors: Dustinn Craig
We Shall Remain (5): Wounded Knee
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#2 - We Shall Remain (5): Wounded Knee

Season 21 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/11/2009

Rebellious Lakota and allies take up arms in 1973 and force an examination of the failures of the reservation system in the United States.

Directors: Stanley Nelson
Writer: Marcia Smith
We Shall Remain (2): Tecumseh's Vision
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8.00
2 votes

#3 - We Shall Remain (2): Tecumseh's Vision

Season 21 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/20/2009

The story of a great Native American alliance to counter the 1800s US westward expansion from the Atlantic coast.

Directors: Chris Eyre, Ric Burns
Writer: Ric Burns
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The Polio Crusade
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7.00
4 votes

#4 - The Polio Crusade

Season 21 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/2/2009

The human story behind the massive American effort to eliminate the debilitating effects of the polio virus and the truly untested nature of Salk's original vaccine.

Directors: Sarah Colt
Writer: Sarah Colt
We Shall Remain (3): Trail of Tears
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7.00
1 votes

#5 - We Shall Remain (3): Trail of Tears

Season 21 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/27/2009

Perspectives on the forced move of the Cherokee from the southeast to the newly established "Indian Territory" of what is now Oklahoma

Directors: Chris Eyre
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
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5.15
34 votes

#6 - The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Season 21 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/9/2009

On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Over the next twelve days, as a fractured nation mourned, the largest manhunt ever attempted closed in on his assassin, the renowned 26-year-old actor John Wilkes Booth. The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln recounts this great American drama: two tumultuous months when the joy of peace was shattered by the heartache of Lincoln’s death.

Directors: Barak Goodman
The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer
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5.00
3 votes

#7 - The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer

Season 21 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/26/2009

The career of America's most famous and controversial nuclear physicist and his fall from grace during the Cold War.

Directors: David Grubin
Writer: David Grubin
A Class Apart
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#8 - A Class Apart

Season 21 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/23/2009

A 1951 murder by a Mexican-American laborer brings into question the legal status of Hispanics in the United States.

We Shall Remain (1): After the Mayflower
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#9 - We Shall Remain (1): After the Mayflower

Season 21 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/13/2009

A chronicle of the early relations and negotiations between the tribes of what became known as New England and the European settlers.

Directors: Chris Eyre