# American Experience season 12

Season twelve of the television program American Experience originally aired on the PBS network in the United States on November 14, 1999, and concluded on May 22, 2000. This is the last season to feature David McCullough as the host, he had been with them since the show's debut in 1988. The season contained 15 new episodes and began with the first part of the miniseries New York: A Documentary Film, "The Country and the City".

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Categories | Original air date |
| 132 | 1 | "New York: A Documentary Film (Part 1)" | Ric Burns | Popular Culture | November 14, 1999 (1999-11-14) |
| Part 1: "The Country and the City" - The series begins with the founding of New Amsterdam, a Dutch trading post. The city starts to take shape as New Amsterdam becomes British New York. By the time of the Revolutionary War, the city becomes the site for several key battles. This episode also covers the building of the Erie Canal. ||||||
| 133 | 2 | "New York: A Documentary Film (Part 2)" | Ric Burns | Popular Culture | November 15, 1999 (1999-11-15) |
| Part 2: "Order and Disorder" - New York City has the largest port in the country. Waves of Irish and German immigrants flood into the city between 1825 and 1865 only to find that New York is not so welcoming to immigrants. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux shape the city with their design for Central Park but social unrest still ran high for the working classes, coming to a climax with the draft riots of 1863. ||||||
| 134 | 3 | "New York: A Documentary Film (Part 3)" | Ric Burns | Popular Culture | November 16, 1999 (1999-11-16) |
| Part 3: "Sunshine and Shadow" - The Gilded Age following the Civil War saw the rise of the robber barons and the schism between wealth and poverty widen dramatically. The political life of the city, exemplified by William M. Tweed and Tammany Hall descended into total corruption. As the turn of the century dawned, New York City annexes Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. ||||||
| 135 | 4 | "New York: A Documentary Film (Part 4)" | Ric Burns | Popular Culture | November 17, 1999 (1999-11-17) |
| Part 4: "The Power and the People" - As the city starts building the skyscrapers that would make its skyline iconic, 10 million immigrants arrive in New York. The immigrants lived in frequently squalid conditions and worked in the city's most undesirable jobs. In 1911, when 146 female Jewish and Italian immigrants died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the city was largely unified in the successful demand for legislation on new factory safety reforms and labor laws. ||||||
| 136 | 5 | "New York: A Documentary Film (Part 5)" | Ric Burns | Popular Culture | November 18, 1999 (1999-11-18) |
| Part 5: "Cosmopolis" - Following World War I, Manhattan becomes the cultural capital of the world, serving as the home to the brand new industries of radio broadcasting, magazines, advertising and public relations. Major cultural contributions were made by F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, and the Harlem Renaissance was the banner under which an explosion of African American culture and creativity lived. As the Great Depression dawned, the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building were completed. ||||||
| 137 | 6 | "Eleanor Roosevelt" | Sue Williams | Biographies, Politics, Presidents | January 10, 2000 (2000-01-10) |
| 138 | 7 | "Houdini" | Nancy Porter | Biographies, Popular Culture | January 24, 2000 (2000-01-24) |
| 139 | 8 | "Nixon's China Game" | Mark Anderson & Michael Simkin | Biographies, Politics | January 31, 2000 (2000-01-31) |
| 140 | 9 | "The Duel" | Carl Byker & Mitch Wilson | Politics | February 14, 2000 (2000-02-14) |
| 141 | 10 | "John Brown's Holy War" | Robert Kenner | Biographies, Civil Rights | February 28, 2000 (2000-02-28) |
| 142 | 11 | "George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire (Part 1)" | Daniel McCabe & Paul Stekler | Biographies, Civil Rights, Politics | April 23, 2000 (2000-04-23) |
| 143 | 12 | "George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire (Part 2)" | Daniel McCabe & Paul Stekler | Biographies, Civil Rights, Politics | April 24, 2000 (2000-04-24) |
| 144 | 13 | "Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory" | Llewellyn M. Smith | Civil Rights, Popular Culture | May 1, 2000 (2000-05-01) |
| 145 | 14 | "Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life" | Mark Zwonitzer | Biographies, Popular Culture | May 8, 2000 (2000-05-08) |
| 146 | 15 | "The Wizard of Photography" | James A. DeVinney | Biographies, Technology | May 22, 2000 (2000-05-22) |