America: A Personal History of the United States

Last updated

America: A Personal History of the United States
Genre Documentary
Written by Alistair Cooke
Presented by Alistair Cooke
No. of episodes13
Production
Producer Michael Gill
Production companies
Original release
Network BBC2
Release12 November 1972 (1972-11-12) –
4 February 1973 (1973-02-04)

America: A Personal History of the United States is a British 13-part documentary television series about the United States and its history, commissioned by the BBC and made in partnership with Time-Life Films. It was written and presented by Alistair Cooke, and first broadcast in both the United Kingdom and the United States in 1972. [1] The producer was Michael Gill, who had the idea for the series and chose the presenter. A related book, Alistair Cooke's America , sold almost two million copies. [2]

Contents

The series was a great success in both countries and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA. [3] [4] It also resulted in Cooke's invitation to address the joint Houses of the United States Congress as part of the Bicentennial celebrations. Cooke said that, of all his work, America was what he was most proud of; it is the result and expression of his long love for the country. (Once, asked how long it took him to make the series, Cooke replied "I do not want to be coy, but it took 40 years.") He worked with Sir Denis William Brogan.

Episodes

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"The First Impact"12 November 1972 (1972-11-12) [5]
A memoir of Cooke's infatuation with the United States, through early contacts as a child and as a visiting fellow after university, and its effect on his life.
2"The New Found Land"19 November 1972 (1972-11-19) [6]
Follows the lives, settlements, and influence of the Spanish in the west and the French in the east.
3"Home from Home"26 November 1972 (1972-11-26) [7]
Relates the settlement of America by English dissenters and adventurers in the 16th and 17th centuries, from the Jamestown Settlement to the Pilgrim Fathers.
4"Making a Revolution"3 December 1972 (1972-12-03) [8]
Looks at the American Revolutionary War, the military struggle to break free of British control.
5"Inventing a Nation"10 December 1972 (1972-12-10) [9]
Chronicles the forging of the federal government through the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and the great debate between the national and individual state governments.
6"Gone West"17 December 1972 (1972-12-17) [10]
About the pioneers, from Daniel Boone to the "Forty-Niners"; expansion through the Louisiana Purchase; and the dispossession of Native Americans.
7"A Firebell in the Night"24 December 1972 (1972-12-24) [11]
Tells of slavery and life in the Southern states and of the events, causes, and effects of the American Civil War.
8"Domesticating a Wilderness"31 December 1972 (1972-12-31) [12]
Deals with the great push westward by the settlers, including the Latter-day Saints; the crossing of the continent by railroad; the myth of the cowboy; the domestication of the land by settlers local and foreign; and the final conquest of the Native Americans after much warfare.
9"Money on the Land"7 January 1973 (1973-01-07) [13]
Addresses the rise and effects of business and machines, touching Chicago, the reaper, Thomas Edison, oil, John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, and the moneyed classes.
10"The Huddled Masses"14 January 1973 (1973-01-14) [14]
Covers the rise and influence of mass immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the current "melting pot".
11"The Promise Fulfilled and the Promise Broken"21 January 1973 (1973-01-21) [15]
Surveys life, prosperity, and politics in the 1920s, leading to the Great Depression and the New Deal.
12"Arsenal"28 January 1973 (1973-01-28) [16]
Examines the rise of the reluctant United States to world military power, the growth of the United Nations, and the United States as a nuclear power.
13"The More Abundant Life"4 February 1973 (1973-02-04) [17]
Concludes the series by looking at contemporary America in the 1960s and early 1970s, and how it had diverged from the original aims of the settlers, and its hope for the future.

[18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirley Bassey</span> Welsh singer (born 1937)

Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists in Britain. In 1999, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.

<i>The Waltons</i> American 1972–1981 television series

The Waltons is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book Spencer's Mountain and the 1963 film of the same name. The series aired from 1972 to 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Globe Awards</span> Award of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association

The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed, for excellence in both American and international film and television, by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), an organization representing international journalists who reported on the American entertainment industry. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lulu (singer)</span> Scottish singer

Lulu Kennedy-Cairns is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alistair Cooke</span> British-American journalist and broadcaster

Alistair Cooke was a British-American writer whose work as a journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster was done primarily in the United States. Outside his journalistic output, which included Letter from America and America: A Personal History of the United States, he was well known in the United States as the host of PBS Masterpiece Theatre from 1971 to 1992. After holding the job for 22 years, and having worked in television for 42 years, Cooke retired in 1992, although he continued to present Letter from America until shortly before his death. He was the father of author and folk singer John Byrne Cooke.

Clodagh Rodgers is a retired singer from Northern Ireland, best known for her hit singles including "Come Back and Shake Me", "Goodnight Midnight", and "Jack in the Box".

Tina Heath is a British actress and former television presenter. She and husband Dave Cooke have two children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie Beacham</span> English actress

Stephanie Beacham is an English actress, businesswoman and former model. In a career spanning almost six decades, she has a wide number of credits to her name on film, television, stage and radio in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

<i>Watch with Mother</i> British childrens television series (1952–1978)

Watch with Mother was a cycle of children's programmes created by Freda Lingstrom and Maria Bird. Broadcast by BBC Television from 1952 until 1975, it was the first BBC television series aimed specifically at pre-school children, a development of BBC radio's equivalent Listen with Mother, which had begun two years earlier. In accordance with its intended target audience of pre-school children viewing with their mothers, Watch with Mother was initially broadcast between 3:45 pm and 4:00 pm, post-afternoon nap and before the older children came home from school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Foster</span> English actress

Julia Foster is an English stage, screen, and television actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Foy</span> British actress (born 1984)

Claire Elizabeth Foy is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix drama series The Crown (2016–2022), for which she won a Golden Globe, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

This is a list of British television related events from 1991.

This is a list of British television related events from 1986.

This is a list of British television related events from 1981.

This is a list of British television related events from 1980.

This is a list of British television related events from 1974.

This is a list of British television related events from 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dougie Squires</span> English choreographer (1932–2023)

Douglas William Squires was an English choreographer, known best for his work in television from the mid-1950s. He was born in Nottingham.

<i>Chronicle</i> (British TV programme) British archaeology television series

Chronicle is a British television programme that was shown monthly and then fortnightly on BBC Two from 18 June 1966 until its last broadcast on 29 May 1991. Chronicle focused on popular archaeology and related subjects, and was considered an influential programme and a landmark in early television presentation of archaeology. The programme was commissioned by David Attenborough in 1966, and was produced by the Archaeological and Historical Unit headed by Paul Johnstone and later edited by Bruce Norman. Among the presenters of the programme were Magnus Magnusson, Colin Renfrew, David Drew, and John Julius Norwich.

<i>The Night Manager</i> (British TV series) 2016 British television serial based on a novel by John le Carré

The Night Manager is a British television serial directed by Susanne Bier and starring Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander, David Harewood and Elizabeth Debicki. It is based on the 1993 novel of the same title by John le Carré and adapted to the present day by David Farr. The six-part series began broadcasting on BBC One on 21 February 2016. In the United States, it began on 19 April 2016 on AMC. It has been sold internationally by IMG to over 180 countries.

References

  1. ↑ See BBC Promotional page for Region 2 DVD set.
  2. ↑ Nick Clarke Obituary: Alistair Cooke, The Guardian, 31 March 2004
  3. ↑ "Golden Globe Awards for 'America'". The Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Television: Factual Series in 1973". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 12 November 1972". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 19 November 1972". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 26 November 1972". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 3 December 1972". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 10 December 1972". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 17 December 1972". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  11. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 24 December 1972". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 31 December 1972". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 7 January 1973". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  14. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 14 January 1973". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 21 January 1973". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 28 January 1973". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  17. ↑ "Genome: BBC Two 4 February 1973". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  18. ↑ "Alistair Cooke's America".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.