Plot Synopsis

America was created, shaped and invented by everything from natural events to the human spirit to historical conflicts to technological progress. This series documents events that span the ages -- from the time a meteor crashes through the Appalachian Mountains 300 million years ago to create the Cumberland Gap to the wide-open Western plains teeming with massive herds of buffalo to the transcontinental railroad through the Great Depression and the Second World War right up to present day. Special consultants include Professors Daniel Walker Howe, David M. Kennedy and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., while America's well-known personalities, such as Brian Williams, Buzz Aldrin, Colin Powell, Donald Trump, and Michael Douglas, reflect on the most pivotal events in American history.