Discover the real story behind the most famous family conflict in U.S. history - the battle between the Hatfields and McCoys. Much more than a tale of two warring families, the film goes beyond the myth to show the forces that ignited the feud.
American Experience: The Feud The feud between the Hatfields and McCoys is perhaps the most famous family conflict in American history. As legend has it, two neighboring families in the backwoods of Appalachia waged a crude and bloody war against each other over a stolen hog, an illicit romance, and longstanding grudges. Yet the events that took place near the end of the 19th century between the Hatfields and McCoys are part of a much richer and more complex narrative of the American experience.
Anderson Hatfield and Randolph McCoy, the patriarchs of the legendary feud, were entrepreneurs seeking to climb up from hardship after fierce economic competition and rapid technological change had turned their lives upside down. When members of both families took their grievances to court, their dispute escalated into a war between two families and a struggle between two states. The Feud reveals more than an isolated story of mountain lust and violence between "hillbillies" - the Hatfield-McCoy feud was a microcosm of the tensions inherent in the nation’s rapid industrialization after the Civil War.
Producer: Rebecca Taylor, Randall MacLowry, Susan Bellows
Executive Producer: Mark Samels
Production Year: 2019
Copyright Year: 2019
Rating: TV-PG
Narrator: Michael Murphy
Writers: Randall MacLowry
Number of Discs: 1
Length: 53 minutes
Subtitled: Y
Subtitle Languages: English (SDH)
Audio Format: 5.1 Surround
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Widescreen
VIDEO USAGE RIGHTS
Why the AV version? Because it provides additional usage options for PBS videos. AV versions come with limited performance rights so they can be shown in classrooms, at PTA meetings, during after school programs, and transmitted on a closed-circuit system within a building or on a single campus. They also can be enjoyed in admission-free public screenings, which also makes them ideal for use by library patrons and businesses involved in community clubs and organizations.