America: Our Defining Hours

From the very beginning, America is a nation shaped by adversity. These are the stories of the challenges that helped shape a nation. ..

In the mid-1800s, America faces its darkest hour yet. Abraham Lincoln is elected President of a United States on the brink of Civil War; the nation that emerges now creates great wealth -- but not for everyone; Teddy Roosevelt steps forward, bringing fierce leadership on behalf of the working man -- his aim: to hold the nation together.

As the 20th century continues, America faces perhaps its most daunting challenges yet. The 1930s brings the greatest economic crisis in its history; Pearl Harbor is a lightning bolt to the American soul; the U.S. elects its youngest commander-in-chief, 46-year-old John F. Kennedy; and on a bridge over the Alabama river, Martin Luther King's fight for equal rights will face its fiercest test. Then, on a September morning in 2001, America faces a new crisis.