America: The Story of Us (2010– )

A six-night miniseries presenting the history of how the United States was invented, looking at the moments where Americans harnessed technology to advance human progress -- from the rigors... See full summary »

Stars:

Daniel Webb, Liev Schreiber, James Meigs

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 6 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Daniel Webb	...	Narrator (11 episodes, 2010)
Liev Schreiber	...	Himself - Narrator (10 episodes, 2010)
James Meigs	...	Himself (9 episodes, 2010)
H.W. Brands	...	Himself (9 episodes, 2010)
Annette Gordon-Reed	...	Herself (9 episodes, 2010)
Tom Brokaw	...	Himself (8 episodes, 2010)
Brian Williams	...	Himself (8 episodes, 2010)
Michael Douglas	...	Himself (8 episodes, 2010)
Colin Powell	...	Himself (8 episodes, 2010)
Richard Machowicz	...	Himself (6 episodes, 2010)
Rudolph W. Giuliani	...	Himself (6 episodes, 2010)
Al Sharpton	...	Himself (6 episodes, 2010)
Michael Strahan	...	Himself (6 episodes, 2010)
John Lasseter	...	Himself (5 episodes, 2010)
David Baldacci	...	Himself (5 episodes, 2010)
Jeannette Walls	...	Herself (5 episodes, 2010)
Donald Trump	...	Himself (5 episodes, 2010)
Henry Louis Gates	...	Himself (5 episodes, 2010)
Jimmy Wales	...	Himself (5 episodes, 2010)
William Bodette	...	Himself (5 episodes, 2010)

Storyline

A six-night miniseries presenting the history of how the United States was invented, looking at the moments where Americans harnessed technology to advance human progress -- from the rigors of linking the continent by transcontinental railroad to triumphing over vertical space through the construction of steel-structured buildings. The series also is a story of conflict, with Native American peoples, slavery, the Revolutionary War that birthed the nation, the Civil War that divided it, and the great world war that shaped its future.

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

America: The Story of the US

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nutopia

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Mankind the Story of All of Us (2012)

User Reviews

Supeficially attractive, but the many flaws greatly outweigh the merits.

I declare an interest. I am British, so take what I say with a pinch of salt, or tea, if you like. The history is more like propaganda for an idea of American history than an assessment of it. For example, General Colin Powell makes the pint that African-Americans fought in the Revolution, on the side of the colonists. True. But it is also true that more of them fought on the British side and for a very good reason. It was clear that the British were moving towards abolishing the slave trade and slavery itself, after the Sommersett case, whereas the colonists were clearly going to keep slavery. In fact the theme of the series is the "story of freedom", or rather the American project to achieve freedom for all, based on individual character, hard work etc. But why did it remain a "project" for so long, rather than the reality? The slaves worked hard, but they didn't get the reward. And the US was the last country but one in the West to abolish slavery, the last being Brazil. The film is no doubt well-intentioned and believes in its own theme. But history is always more complicated than simple narratives can convey. The truth is that the colonists were more concerned with breaking out of the 13 colonies to move West, taking the Indians land in the process. The colonists had been confined to the 13 colonies by the royal decree of George III which declared all other land to be native title. And the southern states fought to preserve slavery. And why contributions from actors such as Michael Douglas? because he played the president in a film? Why not have professional historians, even disagreeing with each other? And it curious that more he positive points are not made: that in the nineteenth century the US was the most democratic country in the world?