EVERY THURSDAY American History

Land of the free and home of the brave. See the stories of bold visionaries who set a course for the new world and helped to build the American Experiment.

THURSDAY ON STORY

July 24, 2025

All times Eastern
Change Time Zone

8:00A

4:00P

12:00A

America: Our Defining Hours

A New Beginning

From the very beginning, America is a nation shaped by adversity. These are the stories of the challenges that helped shape a nation. See how our forebears survive the "starving time" of the first colonies; battle their mother country for independence; head out to the frontier and west into the unknown; and spark a resistance to slavery that brings the United States to the brink of civil war.

10:00A

6:00P

2:00A

America: Our Defining Hours

Birth of Freedom

America is forged in the fires of adversity. These stories chart the challenges that helped shape a nation. In the mid-1800s, America faces its darkest hour yet. Abraham Lincoln is elected President of a United States on the brink of Civil War; the nation that emerges now creates great wealth--but not for everyone; Teddy Roosevelt steps forward, bringing fierce leadership on behalf of the working man--his aim: to hold the nation together.

12:00P

8:00P

4:00A

America: Our Defining Hours

Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

As the twentieth century continues, America faces perhaps its most daunting challenges yet. The 1930s brings the greatest economic crisis in its history. FDR offers the troubled nation a New Deal, but there are clouds on the horizon. Pearl Harbor is a lightning bolt to the American soul, and in command of the allied invasion, General Dwight D Eisenhower. The U.S. elects its youngest commander-in-chief, 46-year-old John F. Kennedy. On a bridge over the Alabama river, Martin Luther King's fight for equal rights will face its fiercest test. Then, on a bright September morning in 2001, America faces a new crisis: sudden, overwhelming and deadly.

2:00P

10:00P

6:00A

Man, Moment, Machine

JFK & The Crisis Crusader

October, 1962: For thirteen days a desperate showdown puts the world on the brink of nuclear war.

3:00P

11:00P

7:00A

10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America

Scopes: The Battle Over America's Soul

The sensational courtroom battle between William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow over the teaching of evolution in a small Tennessee town underscored a deep schism within the American psyche -- religion versus science, church versus state.

By using our site, you agree that we and third parties may use cookies and similar technologies to collect information for analytics, advertising, and other purposes described in our Privacy Policy and agree to our Terms of Use