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U.S. History
Learn about the American Revolution with Arizona PBS
Take part in a fascinating exploration of history and science as we highlight the Boston Tea Party and other iconic events and people that led to the American Revolution.
America at 250
Join PBS in commemorating the country’s 250th Anniversary with content exploring how the United States came together, showcasing its rich history, treasured artifacts, and performances and art that define America.
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Specials from Ken Burns
Ken Burns Film
The American Revolution
Watch a trailer for “The American Revolution,” a film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, airing Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. The film examines how thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic Coast rose in rebellion, won their independence and established a new form of government that radically reshaped the continent and inspired centuries of democratic movements around the globe.
‘Benjamin Franklin,’ a film by Ken Burns
Ken Burns’ two-part, four-hour documentary “Benjamin Franklin” explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century’s most consequential and compelling personalities, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of electricity and helped create the United States.
stream now
Ken Burns
The American Revolution: An Inside Look
Step behind the scenes of Ken Burns’s new film to see how The American Revolution came to life. Through shooting locations, historical re-enactments, and exclusive video clips, meet the master storytellers who brought the story of the Revolution to life in a compelling visual story.
Learn about the American Revolution with PBS
Rogue History
The Colonial Mean Girl Who Almost Ended America
Was Peggy Shippen the real mastermind behind Benedict Arnold’s betrayal? Peggy successfully fooled the most powerful men in America, including George Washington, into believing she was just an innocent and naive creature. It wasn’t until 150 years later that her role in the plot was discovered, when pages of secret correspondence were uncovered.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Nova
Revolutionary War Weapons
How did a ragtag army defeat the most powerful army in the world to win American independence? Discover the key military technologies that helped propel the colonies to victory, from the Brown Bess musket to the world’s first military submarine.
Rhode Island PBS
True Beginnings?
Did a daring nighttime raid in the waters of Narragansett Bay launch the American Revolution? Rhode Island colonists attacked and burned the British revenue schooner Gaspee in 1772; eighteen months before the Boston Tea Party. So why don’t history books credit Rhode Island with being first to spark the rebellion? One local man heads to court to prove the Ocean State is a victim of identity theft.
Poetry in America
Phillis Wheatley: To the University
In 1770s Boston, Phillis Wheatley was at the same time enslaved and an international celebrity: a writer who mastered the most persuasive rhetoric of the day to publish enduring arguments about freedom. Presidential inaugural poets Amanda Gorman and Richard Blanco, writer Clint Smith, and scholars Glenda Carpio and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., join host Elisa New to read two of Wheatley’s poems.
ARIZONA Horizon
Author inspired by Founding Fathers’ pursuit of happiness
President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, Jeffrey Rosen, joined us to share what inspired him to write his book “The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America.” What started as a COVID reading project quickly spiraled to understanding the nation’s Founding Fathers’ beliefs on happiness and how it shaped our democracy.
A unique retelling of the stories of the American Revolution
We know about George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. But most Americans have never heard about Georgia mother Nancy Hart. During the American Revolution, Hart captured five British soldiers after getting them drunk off her homemade corn whiskey. And she’s not alone. Student journalists at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU who are part of the New Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab are working on an interactive project telling the stories of ordinary people who stepped up during the Revolution. Led by Retha Hill, Director of the Lab and also Professor of Practice at the Cronkite School, students discovered most of the names of these ordinary patriots are unknown except by their descendants and genealogists, who gladly shared these incredible stories with the students. Like Elizabeth Freeman who sued for her freedom from a violent mistress; she not only won in a Massachusetts court but forced the state to reconsider slavery altogether. These ordinary people were heroes of the American Revolution, now brought to life by the students. With the help of immersive technology and skillful journalism storytellers, ancestors in the third tier of interactivity will be represented as full 3D avatars that are capable of real time conversation. Watch for information here as the project develops.
In the meantime, watch a video about the making of this unique student project.
Stand on the dock and take part in the Boston Tea Party
On Dec. 16, 1773, American colonists, disgruntled with the tax on products from England including tea, boarded a merchant vessel in the Boston Harbor and dumped crates of tea overboard. King George III was not happy, and ordered his troops in Massachusetts to seal off the city. The Boston Tea Party is considered the opening volley that eventually led to the American Revolution. Take part in a re-creation by students from the New Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab, part of their immersive look at the Revolution and the regular people who fought for freedom.
Stand on the dock in Boston Harbor in this interactive 3D rendering.
For more on the commemoration of the Boston Tea Party’s anniversary, visit December16.org.
SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Be a virtual volunteer
Help transcribe Library of Congress documents
Volunteers at the Library of Congress create and review transcriptions to improve search, access and discovery of pages from history. There are various campaigns to choose from, and anyone can contribute.
Resources for parents and educators
PBS LearningMedia
Mission US
Mission US engages young people in the study of transformational moments in American history. Each mission consists of an interactive narrative game and curriculum materials aligned to national standards. The games immerse players in rich, historical seeings and empower them to make choices that illuminate how ordinary people experienced the past.
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