“This is the side of history we didn’t learn in school. Upsetting to some, but profound for those who think for themselves.”
-Oliver Stone
PART 1
Chapter 1: WW II
This new one-hour series features human events that at the time went under-reported, but crucially shaped America’s unique and complex history. The first chapter explores the birth of the American Empire by focusing on Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Through examination of key decisions during World War II, discover unsung heroes such as American Henry Wallace and explore the demonization of the Soviets.
Chapter 2: ROOSEVELT, TRUMAN & WALLACE
Highlights from the historical upset of Harry Truman replacing Henry Wallace as Roosevelt’s Vice President during his fourth term – this dramatic shift in leadership propelled the U.S. toward empire-building. Exploration of the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and the beginnings of the Cold War. The relationships between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill are an integral part of postwar Europe’s division at the Yalta conference.
Chapter 3: THE BOMB
The strategies behind the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan are explored, as well as the new mythology that emerged from the war. The bombing haunted the Soviets and mistrust toward the Allies grew quickly. The consequences of beginning a process that could end life on the planet are examined.
PART 2
Chapter 4: THE COLD WAR
The equation changes: specific month-by-month causes of the Cold War. Highlights include Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech, the civil war in Greece and the Red Scare that prompts the rise of Joseph McCarthy, the House Un-American Activities Committee and the FBI.
Chapter 5: THE ’50s: EISENHOWER, THE BOMB & THE THIRD WORLD
Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles replace Truman. Stalin dies but relations with the Soviet Union turn colder. The H-bomb and the doctrine of nuclear annihilation are explored, as are the Korean War and U.S. rearmament. McCarthyism grows and so does the ruthlessness of U.S. policy toward the Third World. Eisenhower emerges as a game changer.
Chapter 6: JFK: TO THE BRINK
JFK and the Bay of Pigs; on the brink of total war during the Cuban Missile Crisis; early Vietnam; JFK’s attempts at peace with Khrushchev; JFK assassinated.
Chapter 7: JOHNSON, NIXON & VIETNAM: REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
Cataclysm in Vietnam as the war reaches a turning point – there’s no going back. The betrayal by Richard Nixon.
PART 3
Chapter 8: REAGAN, GORBACHEV & THE THIRD WORLD – RISE OF THE RIGHT
Carter’s dreams of change give way to Ronald Reagan’s secret wars in Afghanistan and Central America. Gorbachev emerges. Fresh opportunities for peace arise. The debate over Reagan’s legacy.
Chapter 9: BUSH & CLINTON: SQUANDERED PEACE – NEW WORLD ORDER
Russia introduced to American Capitalism. U. S. goes to war in Middle East. New World Order shaped.
Chapter 10: BUSH II & OBAMA – AGE OF TERROR
George W. Bush’s doctrine of an “endless war” against terrorism manifests in the Department of Homeland Security, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in a worldwide global Security State. The cannibalization of the U.S. economy continues. Obama and the destiny of the American Empire.
PART 4
BONUS MATERIAL
Prologue – Chapter A: WORLD WAR I, THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION & WOODROW WILSON: ROOTS OF EMPIRE
How did the United States become an empire? A look back at the election of 1900 and the Spanish-American War – climaxing with World War I and the Russian Revolution as the mother of the ensuing conflict between the British, Soviet, and newborn American Empire.
Prologue – Chapter B: 1920-1940: ROOSEVELT, HITLER, STALIN: THE BATTLE OF IDEAS
Franklin Roosevelt inherits a divided nation rife with conflict. Struggle leads to change in the United States, Hitler rises to power in Germany, and World War II pushes the U.S. and the Soviet Union toward an uneasy alliance.
A CONVERSATION WITH HISTORY: TARIQ ALI AND OLIVER STONE
In this companion film to The Untold History of the United States, Oliver Stone and author/political philosopher Tariq Ali discuss a wide range of topics, accompanied by archival footage not found in the series, in a probing, hard-hitting conversation on the politics of history.
(from the enclosed booklet)