Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America
Offering a fresh perspective on the American experience, 10 acclaimed documentary filmmakers direct ten pivotal moments in United States history and the often unexpected changes they triggered. These critical but unsung pieces of history include a local rebellion that inspired a national constitution, bullets fired in Buffalo, New York, and even a crooner from Memphis who couldn't stand still. These are just a few of the fascinating subjects explored in 10 DAYS THAT UNEXPECTEDLY CHANGED AMERICA--10 riveting one-hour documentaries by 10 award-winning independent filmmakers. Together, the documentaries represent compelling stories about less well known events that serve as a lens with which to view the range of the American experience. From the first massacre of Native Americans to the single bloodiest day in American history, from a courtroom battle of science vs. religion that still rages today to the racial murders that led to the Voting Rights Act, these are the events that tested America's soul and forged her destiny.
- 2006-2006
- 1 season
- History Channel
- Documentary, Animation, Drama, Action & Adventure
Offering a fresh perspective on the American experience, 10 acclaimed documentary filmmakers direct ten pivotal moments in United States history and the often unexpected changes they triggered. These critical but unsung pieces of history include a local rebellion that inspired a national constitution, bullets fired in Buffalo, New York, and even a crooner from Memphis who couldn't stand still. These are just a few of the fascinating subjects explored in 10 DAYS THAT UNEXPECTEDLY CHANGED AMERICA--10 riveting one-hour documentaries by 10 award-winning independent filmmakers. Together, the documentaries represent compelling stories about less well known events that serve as a lens with which to view the range of the American experience. From the first massacre of Native Americans to the single bloodiest day in American history, from a courtroom battle of science vs. religion that still rages today to the racial murders that led to the Voting Rights Act, these are the events that tested America's soul and forged her destiny.
Season 1 Episode Guide
10 Episodes 2006
Episode 1
Antietam
Sun, Apr 9, 2006 60 mins
The Civil War battle of Antietam in September 1862, was for its time the bloodiest single day in American history. For Americans in that era, the scale of the carnage was as incomprehensible as 9-11 was to those of our generation. This film explores the battle and its impact on American thinking
Episode 2
Massacre at Mystic
Sun, Apr 9, 2006 60 mins
On May 26, 1637, English settlers and their Indian allies attacked Mystic Fort, home of the Pequot Indians, in Mystic Connecticut. This would change the relationship between the colonists and Indians forever. Several hundred Pequot Indians would be massacred in this battle, and those who tried to flee were either killed or sold into slavery afterwards. This single battle severely decimated the Pequot Indian tribe. Over the years, the tribe living on their reservation had diminished to merely three people. They would go on to take on the American government, getting land and federal recognition. Their tribe has been able to make a resurgence thanks to the controversial construction of a bingo hall and eventually a casino in the northeast.
Episode 3
Einstein's Letter
Mon, Apr 10, 2006 60 mins
On July 16, 1939, at the insistence of Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner, legendary physicist Albert Einstein signed a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, personally warning the President of Nazi Germany's scientific research of the atomic bomb. His letter to President Roosevelt would convince Roosevelt of the importance and the danger of this type of weapon in the hands of Adolf Hitler, and Roosevelt immediately created the Advisory Committee on Uranium. After some time had passed, Einstein was forced to send another letter to Roosevelt because the government was not fully funding the committee because Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner were both born outside of the U.S. and were considered possible security risks. Roosevelt immediately ordered the government to give them the needed funds, and this brought about the Manhattan Project. After realizing the bomb would likely be used, Einstein regretted signing the letters to Einstein. Although a pacifist, Einstein never wanted the Nazis to be the ones who had this powerful and dangerous weapon.
Episode 4
Murder at the Fair: The Assassination of President McKinley
Mon, Apr 10, 2006 60 mins
While attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, President William McKinley was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz on September 6, 1901. Although doctors were able to remove the bullet, but his health declined soon thereafter because the medical practice at the time was not familiar with the concept of introducing intravenous fluids, as used in modern medicine. The assassination would bring Theodore Roosevelt into the Presidency, and would mark a major political shift in the White House.
Episode 5
When America Was Rocked
Tue, Apr 11, 2006 60 mins
Elvis Presley's appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 09, 1956 signified a whole new culture that involved teenage independence, sexuality, race relations, and a new form of music. These changes truly scared older generations of Americans.
Episode 6
Gold Rush (January 24, 1848)
Tue, Apr 11, 2006 60 mins
The effects of gold being discovered are explosive.
Episode 7
Scopes: The Battle over America's Soul
Wed, Apr 12, 2006 60 mins
July 21, 1925 marked the start of the Scopes Monkey Trial. At issue was the Butler Act, which had been passed a few months earlier by the Tennessee General Assembly. The law said "... that it shall be unlawful for any teacher in any of the Universities and all other public schools of the State which are supported in whole or in part by the public school funds of the State, to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals". The debate of evolution and divine creation is one that continues to this very day, and this trial is often referenced to.
Episode 8
The Homestead Strike
Wed, Apr 12, 2006 60 mins
On July 6, 1892, the union working at Carnegie Steel Company went on strike due to pay cuts and poor working wages. Just before the strike, Andrew Carnegie left for a trip to Scotland, leaving the company in the hands of his manager, Henry Clay Frick, who was well-known to be very anti-union. Frick would bring in replacement workers and used Pinkerton agents to safeguard their arrival. When the workers attempted to go to work, the strikers and the Pinkerton agents got into a gunfight, leaving ten people dead. Two brigades of Pennsylvania state militia were called out to restore piece. In an attempt to get rid of Frick, anarchist Alexander Berkman tried to murder Frick, but he was unsuccessful, and ended up turning public opinion away from the striking workers. Carnegie Steel Company would go on to resume operations without the union, using mostly unskilled immigrant laborers.
Episode 9
Freedom Summer (June 21, 1964)
Thu, Apr 13, 2006 60 mins
The passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act followed the murder of three civil rights workers by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
Episode 10
Shays' Rebellion: America's First Civil War
Thu, Apr 13, 2006 60 mins
With the American Revolution over, the farmers of Massachusetts were upset about growing debt and increasing taxes. Failure to repay debt often resulted in imprisonment in debtor's prisons, which angered many people. Upset about this, a farmer, Daniel Shays decided to form a group of rebels to rebel against the Massachusetts government. Shays' rebellion would grow to include over 9,000 rebels, and was able to close down many courthouses, which meant no one would be sent to debtor's prisons. When retired General George Washington heard about the rebellion, he, with the encouragement of Henry Knox, decided to come out of retirement and be more active in public life. The rebellion resulted in the reevaluation of the Articles of Confederation at the Constitutional Convention, where the US Constitution was finished, creating a new, stronger government.
