Alistair Cooke's America

Season 1

Alistair Cooke's Emmy-winning history of the U.S. from Colonial days to the 1970s, filmed on location, offers a panoramic yet personal look at the birth and growth of America. The series was also known as 'Alistair Cooke's America.'

Where to Watch Alistair Cooke's America • Season 1

13 Episodes

The First Impact
E1
The First ImpactAlistair Cooke explains his own fascination with the United States of America and tells the story of how he first came to the US and tells of the country that he found.
The New Found Land
E2
The New Found LandAlistair Cooke travels back to the discovery of the American continent by the Europeans and follows the settlement of the Spanish in the Southern continent and the French in the far North of the continent and later their migration into their respective areas of a land now known as the United States.
Home From Home
E3
Home From HomeThis edition looks at the two types of British colinists, the merchants who arrived in Virginia and in the South and the Puritans who setttled in New England, and the role of Benjamin Franklin.
Making a Revolution
E4
Making a RevolutionShows how the diverse colonies drew together in common cause to gain their liberty from England in the American Revolutionary War, and includes the important moments and people such as signing the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock, the Stamp Act, General Gage, the Boston Massacre, the Committees of Correspondence, Sam Adams, Thomas Jefferson, the House of Burgesses, Patrick Henry, John Adams and George Washington.
Inventing a Nation
E5
Inventing a NationUpon winning the War of Independence, the American colonists returned to their own independent colonies and settled down but all was not well. In this edition of America, Alistair Cooke discusses the coming together of the 13 independent colonies to form a new United States of America and how the men now known as the "Founding Fathers" went about inventing a nation.
Gone West
E6
Gone WestCooke discusses where the West begins and how and why in the early 19th century the West was conquered by outsiders who, in the process of doing so, displaced the Native Americans.
A Firebell in the Night
E7
A Firebell in the NightIn this episode, Cooke travels to the Southern States to explore the world of the 19th century slave and the causes and effects of one of the bloodiest and bitterest wars in history - the American Civil War.
Domesticating A Wilderness
E8
Domesticating A WildernessThis edition looks at the end of the Wild West, which was precipitated by the the completion of the rail link in 1869, the invention of the wind pump and other factors.
Money on the Land
E9
Money on the LandIn the late 19th century, Americans started getting rich through business and technology. Alistair Cooke explores the rise of industry in the United States.
The Huddled Masses
E10
The Huddled MassesThree quarters of the population of the United States who call themselves "the American people" are descendants of immigrants from Asia, Africa and, most of all, from Europe. What impact did the flood of immigrants to the US have at the beginning of the 20th century - Alistair Cooke takes an in-depth look.
The Promise Fulfilled and the Promise Broken
E11
The Promise Fulfilled and the Promise BrokenThis edition looks at the 1920s, which saw America go from an era of unparalelled prosperity to the severest economic depression ever known.
Arsenal
E12
ArsenalThis episode looks at the impact that warfare and the military has had on the history of America.
The More Abundant Life
E13
The More Abundant LifeTo give Americans a "more abundant life" was the stated aim of FDR's `New Deal' in the 1930s. Alistair Cooke travels from New England to Hawaii to consider if this was achieved.