In 1846, a large wagon train left Springfield, Illinois for California. In July of that year, following the advice of The Emigrants' Guide to Oregon and California written by a pro-emigration promoter named Lansford Hastings, the Donner party left the main body of emigrants to take a never before tried "shortcut" across the Great Basin. The Donner Party arrived at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, the last mountain pass before California, weeks behind schedule and short of food. The first blizzard of the season started only one day before they planned to head up and over the Sierra Nevada. With 95% of their journey already completed, they would be forced to wait months to make the final push, enduring the most unfavorable Sierra Nevada winter in history. The group was trapped on the eastern side of the Sierra for five months, culminating in death and cannibalism. Of the 87 men, women, and children in the Donner Party only 46 survived to reach California.

The personal development of George Washington is the focus as Producer David Sutherland brings to life a uniquely human Washington who transformed himself from social climber into a patriot willing to give up everything for a higher cause.

The historic battle discussed from the perspective of both sides that participated in the conflict.

The story of "march king" John Philip Sousa and the connections between his music and the mood of the nation during his time.

The NAACP and future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall build a Supreme Court case against the policy of segregation.

The short but notable career of the coach and his team with stories from some of those who remember him.

The story of Walter Reuther and the struggle to unionize the automobile workers of the US in the 1930s.

A profile of the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma - once a flourishing but segregated community.