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The Best Episodes of American Experience Season 25

Every episode of American Experience Season 25 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of American Experience Season 25!

Binge this in 7h 20m•Peaking at 8.1/10

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    American Experience Season 25 Episode 1 - The Abolitionists: 1820s-1838
    8.1/10(165 votes)

    #1 - The Abolitionists: 1820s-1838

    S25:E1

    The story of how abolitionist allies William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown and Angelina Grimke turned a despised fringe movement against chattel slavery into a force that literally changed the nation.

    Director:Rob Rapley
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. American Experience Season 25 Episode 2 - The Abolitionists: 1838-1854
    8.0/10(132 votes)

    #2 - The Abolitionists: 1838-1854

    S25:E2

    See how the activities of the five principals intersect and affect the anti-slavery movement.

    Director:Rob Rapley
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. American Experience Season 25 Episode 3 - The Abolitionists: 1854-Emancipation and Victory
    8.0/10(100 votes)

    #3 - The Abolitionists: 1854-Emancipation and Victory

    S25:E3

    Examine the forces leading to war and to the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.

    Director:Rob Rapley
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. American Experience Season 25 Episode 4 - Henry Ford
    7.7/10(100 votes)

    #4 - Henry Ford

    S25:E4

    An absorbing life story of a farm boy who rose from obscurity to become the most influential American innovator of the 20th century, Henry Ford offers an incisive look at the birth of the American auto industry with its long history of struggles between labor and management, and a thought-provoking reminder of how Ford's automobile forever changed the way we work, where we live, and our ideas about individuality, freedom, and possibility.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. American Experience Season 25 Episode 5 - Silicon Valley
    7.8/10(291 votes)

    #5 - Silicon Valley

    S25:E5

    Led by physicist Robert Noyce, Fairchild Semiconductor began as a start-up company whose radical innovations would help make the United States a leader in both space exploration and the personal computer revolution, changing the way the world works, plays, and communicates. Noyce's invention of the microchip ultimately re-shaped the future, launching the world into the Information Age.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. American Experience Season 25 Episode 6 - War of the Worlds
    7.8/10(222 votes)

    #6 - War of the Worlds

    S25:E6

    A broadcast that struck fear into an already anxious nation, Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio broadcast was the most famous alien invasion that never happened.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. American Experience Season 25 Episode 7 - JFK (Part 1)
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #7 - JFK (Part 1)

    S25:E7

    A two-part profile of John F. Kennedy begins with his early years, detailing the health challenges he faced; his heroism after his PT boat was hit by an enemy destroyer during World War II; his first run for Congress; and the 1960 presidential race, which featured the first televised presidential debates. Among those sharing insights are his sister Jean Kennedy Smith and niece Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; presidential biographers Robert A. Caro and Robert Dallek; and historian David Nasaw.

    Director:Susan Bellows
    Writer:Mark Zwonitzer

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  8. American Experience Season 25 Episode 8 - JFK (Part 2)
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - JFK (Part 2)

    S25:E8

    Conclusion. John F. Kennedy's White House years, including the Bay of Pigs fiasco; Cuban Missile Crisis; handling of civil rights; and decision to travel to Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, to shore up support for the 1964 election. The successes and failures of his tenure in office are also weighed by Kennedy administration officials John Seigenthaler, Thomas Hughes and Harris Wofford; civil-rights leaders Andrew Young and Julian Bond; and journalists Evan Thomas and Richard Reeves.

    Director:Susan Bellows
    Writer:Mark Zwonitzer

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Season 25 Ratings Summary

"The Abolitionists: 1820s-1838" is the best rated episode of "American Experience" season 25. It scored 8.1/10 based on 165 votes. Directed by Rob Rapley and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/8/2013. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "The Abolitionists: 1838-1854".