History: Documentary & Archival Film

From the earliest interactions between Europeans and Native Americans to the efforts of pioneers and homesteaders to cultivate the frontier… from the harnessing of the Mississippi River for trade and travel to the dramatic moments of the Apollo 11 moon landing… this 12-part series reveals the conflicts and connections that have shaped U.S. history. With amazing visual detail and colorful computer-generated imagery, each episode guides viewers through a significant chapter in the growth and transformation of the country. At every turn, the series shows how Americans created new tools, mechanisms, and structures in order to blaze trails, build towns, and construct cities—eventually forging a distinct and diverse national culture. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. 12-part series, 60 minutes each.

This 13-part series documents the history of the United States—and celebrates America’s diversity—from the turn of the 20th century to the 1960s and beyond. Pivotal events unfold and key figures live again through archival video clips and photos, period recordings, full-color maps, and other primary source materials, while striking graphics and engaging narration contextualize the history of yesteryear, making it relevant to 21st-century students. Correlates to standards from the National Council for the Social Studies. Viewable/printable instructor’s guides are available online. 13-part series, 29-132 minutes each.

Ancient Worlds is a fascinating voyage of discovery through the birth of nations and nationhood, from the development of religion and first uses and abuses of power and inheritance, to the delicate balance between the rule of law and the freedoms of society. The six-part series covers the Middle East, Egypt, the Russian Caucasus, and the Mediterranean—all featured alongside interviews with eminent historians, local experts, and archaeologists. From the cities of Mesopotamia to the Bronze Age, the Persian Wars, Alexander the Great, and Rome, this landmark series brings kings, warriors, merchants, and philosophers back to life, showing how the successes and failures of the ancients shaped the world that we have inherited. A BBC Production. 6-part series, 50 minutes each.

This series tells world history through a few major dates, revisited through the prism of memory. Driven by the accessible and passionate delivery of historian Patrick Boucheron, history comes to life under our eyes with bold and entertaining graphics.

Bringing 70,000 years of human history to life, this epic eight-part series travels through time to the big stories of history. It is a human story populated with big characters in the places where the big events really happened. It is the story of civilizations, cultures, successes and crashing failures, a story that charts progress and development through the centuries. Each film explores a crucial turning point in history, featuring dramatic reconstruction, computer graphics and gripping story-telling. From the early settlers in Mesopotamia to the wonders of Egypt and Rome and from the French Revolution to the Industrial Revolution, viewers are within history; shoulder to shoulder with the people who have shaped the world as we know it today. A BBC/Discovery Channel/Open University Co-production. 8-part series, 50 minutes each.

The sweeping story of the American West as seen through the eyes of its mythmakers and mythologizers. Written by William H. Goetzmann, winner of a Pulitzer Prize in American History. Hosted and narrated by James Whitmore. 6-part series, 57 minutes each.

Hosted on YouTube, archives of the news from the Associated Press from over a century.

Archival news footage and early documentaries as old as 1910.

C-Span hosts a large collection of their video coverage of Congress.

Includes archival footage.

The EUscreen portal offers free online access to thousands of items of audiovisual heritage. It brings together clips that provide an insight into the social, cultural, political and economic events that have shaped the 20th and 21st centuries.

Ethnographic videos.

Folkstreams is a non-profit dedicated to finding, preserving, contextualizing, and showcasing documentary films on American traditional cultures.

A history in video of the use of video in political campaigns.

A large collection of independent documentary footage.

A collection of videos of historical importance from PBS and WGBH.

USC San Diego's collection of travel films.