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American Experience

The Polio Crusade

Season 21 Episode 2 | 52m 01s

In the summer of 1950 Wytheville, VA realized the nation's worst medical fears. An outbreak of Infantile Paralysis, commonly known as Polio, swept through a small town of 5,500 in which 40 percent of residents had not yet reached their eighteenth birthday. Highly contagious, just in time for summer vacation, the devastating neurodegenerative disease had chosen its next target.

Aired: 03/30/20 | Expires: 01/06/28
Corporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Carlisle Companies. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Extras
Watch • 2:24
American Experience
Trailer | Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act
The dramatic story of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.
Preview: S37 E2 | 2:24
Watch • 8:50
American Experience
Chapter 1 | Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP
Watch a preview of Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP.
Clip: S37 E1 | 8:50
Watch • 3:33
American Experience
This flag helped end lynching in the U.S.
How did a flag on the streets of Manhattan help end lynching in the United States?
Clip: S37 E1 | 3:33
Watch • 2:15
American Experience
Trailer | Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP
The story of one of the most influential yet forgotten civil rights figures, Walter White.
Preview: S37 E1 | 2:15
Watch • 2:00
American Experience
Who is Walter F. White?
He put his life on the line for civil rights but many don't know his name. Do you?
Clip: S37 E1 | 2:00
Watch • 2:00
American Experience
Trailer | American Coup: Wilmington 1898
The little-known story of the deadly 1898 race massacre and coup d’etat in Wilmington, NC.
Preview: S36 E7 | 2:00
Watch • 2:58
American Experience
When is a photo an act of resistance?
Beautiful, intimate photographs of a society in the crosshairs of white supremacy.
Clip: S36 E7 | 2:58
Watch • 3:32
American Experience
The coalition that challenged white supremacy in the Old South.
Just decades after the Civil War, a multi-racial political alliance won control of North Carolina.
Clip: S36 E7 | 3:32
Watch • 8:24
American Experience
Chapter 1 | American Coup: Wilmington 1898
Watch a preview of American Coup: Wilmington 1898
Preview: S36 E7 | 8:24
Watch • 2:03
American Experience
Trailer | The American Vice President
What happens when the president is unable to serve? Explore the dramatic period between 1963 and 197
Preview: S36 E6 | 2:03
All
  • All
  • American Experience Season 37
  • American Experience Season 36
  • American Experience Season 35
  • American Experience Season 34
  • American Experience Season 33
  • American Experience Season 32
  • American Experience Season 31
  • American Experience Season 30
  • American Experience Season 29
  • American Experience Season 28
  • American Experience Season 27
  • American Experience Season 26
  • American Experience Season 25
  • American Experience Season 24
  • American Experience Season 23
  • American Experience Season 22
  • American Experience Season 21
  • American Experience Season 20
  • American Experience Season 19
  • American Experience Season 18
  • American Experience Season 17
  • American Experience Season 16
  • American Experience Season 15
  • American Experience Season 14
  • American Experience Season 13
  • American Experience Season 11
  • American Experience Season 10
  • American Experience Season 7
  • American Experience Season 6
  • American Experience Season 4
  • American Experience Season 3
American Experience
Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act
The dramatic story of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.
Episode: S37 E2
Watch • 1:52:47
American Experience
Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP
The story of one of the most influential yet forgotten civil rights figures, Walter White.
Episode: S37 E1 | 1:52:47
Watch • 1:51:27
American Experience
American Coup: Wilmington 1898
The little-known story of the deadly 1898 race massacre and coup d’etat in Wilmington, NC.
Episode: S36 E7 | 1:51:27
Watch • 52:36
American Experience
The American Vice President
A look at the US vice presidency, from constitutional afterthought to position of political import.
Episode: S36 E6 | 52:36
Watch • 1:53:04
American Experience
The Riot Report
When US inner cities erupted in violence in 1967, LBJ created a commission to investigate.
Episode: S36 E5 | 1:53:04
Watch • 1:52:30
American Experience
Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal
The story of housewives who led a grassroots movement to galvanize the Superfund Bill.
Episode: S36 E4 | 1:52:30
Watch • 52:54
American Experience
The Cancer Detectives
The untold story of the people who fought tirelessly to save women from cervical cancer.
Episode: S36 E3 | 52:54
Watch • 1:52:39
American Experience
Fly with Me
The lively but neglected history of the women who changed the world while flying it.
Episode: S36 E2 | 1:52:39
Watch • 52:32
American Experience
Nazi Town, USA
The story of the German American Bund, a pro-Nazi group active across the US in the 1930s.
Episode: S36 E1 | 52:32
Watch • 51:27
American Experience
The War on Disco
Explore the culture war that erupted over the spectacular rise of disco music.
Episode: S35 E9 | 51:27