American Experience: Into the Amazon DVD

As part of our homeschool curriculum we read the book Death on the River of Doubt and we were excited when there was a documentary about it. Our whole family loved this film. It was fascinating and well put together!

The Chinese were used on the Western railroad in the 1860s,I was told, not being alive then, that the poor whites got too sick from unsanitary personal and cooking habits. The Chinese immigrants boiled their tea water and did not get as sick and thus were able to work very hard and very dangerous jobs for dispicable railroad bosses. Also the larger issue of local native labor versus cheaper foreign labor is still with us, with Latinos for decades illegally crossing our US southern border. Mexicans I worked with for decades told me they dont want US citizenship, just work to send money to family and new homes in Mexico that they are eternally loyal. At least this biased documentary says that it was long illegal for Chinese to leave China until after the gold rush and the Burlingame Treaty. Another issue not explored is the significant differences in national and cultural values between people from China, now Communist, and the diverse states, no national language US. Brexit is symptomatic of this. The stretching of the 14th amendment for born and naturalized is discussed. But not the common habit of Chinese lying that they had relatives in SF and memorized 20-50 generations to prove the lie by 1000s for decades. The Chinese and the Mexicans or Latinos have not well assimilated but established district separate communities. Racism from ignorance and job competition and core values differences exists worldwide between many races, not just white against black but black against white,etc, on and on. Workers and Citizenship are 2 issues, with rich pregnant Chinese women paying huge sums in California mansion rentals and cash citizenship nowadays for awhile. Is China an Ally or good neighbor or something else, like an economic and political Hostile nation? This film condemns the violence against the Chinese but does not give balance to the job competition major issue. Americans have lost millions of jobs to China through tech, info deals, multinationals interests.

This part of history was largely ignored within all the history presented in my childhood through college. The Chinese Experience in America was and continues to be fraught with racial mistrust and hatred. This documentary put all the disconnected pieces together for me. I whole heartedly recommend it for anyone looking for information on this subject. I find it amusing that after such concerted efforts to keep Chinese from immigrating to the US, that Chinese products flood our homes. America and China are so historically intertwined. Immigration and Exclusion are again on the Government agenda. If we forget past injustices, we are doomed to repeat history.

I LOVE THIS SERIES!!! It made me feel better about our country in these troubled times. A good history, a good update for our future plans to revisit the moon.

I remember the landing, always loved planes, rockets, space!!! This could be my all time favorite movie!!! Am 73 yr. old Vietnam veteran and this video really hit me!!! Werner Von Braun, WOW,

This DVD will be a wonderful opportunity for my nieces and nephews to see a part of their heritage that they have only heard about from my siblings and myself. While I do not remember my father and grandfather performing under the big top, I do have fond memories of Clyde Beatty and the Wallendas. Thank you PBS!!

I was exhausted after finishing The Chinese Exclusion Act. It covered just about every aspect of this dark and cruel part of US racism aimed at the Chinese. So informative for me as a 3d generation Chinese American. I hadnt realized the depth of the historic wrongs, although there were many moments in the telling of the story that helped me understand the fears and concerns that my parents quietly expressed. Worth watching.

I am a 56 year old white American man. This show was very Informative and well made. I enjoyed learning about this part of US history but, it mad me feel dirty. It makes it uneasy for me to enjoy the liberties and freedoms in a new way. I revere Chinese people and culture like never before. Injustice and hypocrisy at its finest. Everyone should know this story. Democracy has an ugly side. Thanx to all the Chinese people who fought in our wars and made other numerous contributions to this country. I sincerely apologize for the choices of my ancestors.

I can say it was true because I was NASAs Moon Project Engineer and was very Happy to have sent 21 Men to the Moon after our first Launch Fire, Apollo 1 and killed our all 3 Astros. I was the last man out and helped then inside. -Grady Woodard, NASA MSFC, Huntsville, AL. I am ordering this DVD Now.

Riveting exploration on so many levels - and true! A must see

Excellent presentation. I was a U.S. Navy Saturation Diver from 1969 till I retired in 1985. I was involved in the experiments culminating in several 1000 fsw SAT dives.