The History Channel

You may think you know the president, but do you know what it's like to be the President? From the mundane tasks to the madness we'll reveal the perks and perils of being the most powerful man in the world. We reveal secret details of the President's every day life inside the White House. Featuring interviews with past presidents, rarely seen recordings, and home movies, this two-hour special explores and exposes the day-to-day lives of our Commanders in Chief. Get a fresh perspective on the men you thought you knew. A look that trades everyday politics for their everyman side.

During America's Age of Reconstruction, from Andrew Johnson (Lincoln's vice president) to Chester A. Arthur, the ruptured nation faced the difficult task of rebuilding a union after four years of civil war and a presidential assassination. This period was also known as the era of "The Ohio Generals"--three of the five presidents featured in this hour were generals in the Civil War, all from the state of Ohio. Defining moments include the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson (by a margin of one, the Senate voted not to convict him), the triumphant ascendancy of Ulysses S. Grant, the back-room politics of Rutherford B. Hayes, the unrequited aspirations of James Garfield, and the civil service reforms of Chester A. Arthur.

Marked by polar opposites, this hour scrutinizes a fractious era of the presidency--from Taylor to Lincoln--one of the most turbulent in US history, when the volatile issues of states' rights and slavery erupted in civil war. We highlight the rough-hewn style of Zachary Taylor, the second president to die in office, through the compromising weaknesses of Millard Fillmore and Franklin Pierce (Barbara Pierce Bush's fourth cousin four times removed), the near-treasonous James Buchanan administration, to Abraham Lincoln, savior of the republic to some, destroyer of the nation to others. The episode ends with the first presidential assassination on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, when Southern sympathizer and actor John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the head at Ford's Theater in Washington during a performance of Our American Cousin.

In Part 2, America's leadership changes hands from the Founding Fathers to a new breed of Founding Sons. The period marked rapid growth and contentious politics, including the bitterest election in US history and first decided by popular vote--the election of 1828. The imposing figure of Andrew Jackson dominates as he impresses his will upon the nation, heralding the era of the Common Man and Manifest Destiny. We also peruse the putrid politics of John Quincy Adams' presidency; Battle of the Petticoats; Indian Removal Act; Bank War; economic turmoil during Martin Van Buren's term; William Henry Harrison's death, the first succession crisis, elevation of Vice President John Tyler ("His Accidency"), and the first impeachment resolution against a president; and exploits of James K. Polk, who took the US to war with Mexico and expanded the nation "from Sea to Shining Sea."

Based on the book To the Best of My Ability, this 8-part series provides an insightful look at the exclusive group of men from all walks of life and parts of the country who have led America from the Oval Office. Part 1 probes the Constitutional Era, when the fledgling nation's revolutionary Founding Fathers became its first administrators. From George Washington, who defined the presidency, to James Monroe, the last of the Revolutionary War heroes, the office of president evolves and is tested as the United States undergoes growing pains. Defining moments include Washington's Whisky Rebellion, John Adams' XYZ Affair, Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase, James Madison's War of 1812, and the Monroe Doctrine. We also examine the human side of the Presidents, offering a look at their strengths and weaknesses, their families, and accomplishments.

Embrace and celebrate Thomas Jefferson's complicated life and legacy. Thomas Jefferson is the most researched, most written about, most referenced, and most quoted of our Founding Fathers. And yet, somehow, he remains the most stubbornly inscrutable. His life is a seemingly impenetrable thicket of contradictions: he enshrined the words "All Men are Created Equal," and yet was a lifelong slave-owner; he was simultaneously a "man of the people," and the personification of the Virginia aristocrat; he was a die-hard American revolutionary who was also a dedicated lover of European culture and art; he advocated ruthless fiscal responsibility as President, yet his own finances were mired in debt. This documentary embraces and celebrates Thomas Jefferson's complicated life and legacy. It is the story of an American icon who remains, in historian Joseph Ellis' memorable phrase, "a great American Sphinx."

It starts with a spark, but some ideas catch fire and in the process change the world. Necessity is the mother of invention--from darkness, man found light (the candle) and from even the farthest distances we can still find each other (the telephone). But some inventions have transformed our lives far beyond our homes (the steam engine), our planet (the telescope), and our wildest dreams (the Internet). This countdown highlights how human ingenuity comes in all shapes and sizes. Some were born from the humblest means (the hammer) while others push the limits of what was ever believed possible (the airplane). But regardless of the ratio of inspiration to perspiration, each invention to make the cut was destined to change our lives forever.

From breakthrough technologies to never before seen weapons and defense systems, Secret Access: Superpower is an all-access pass to America's military might, featuring the most modern weapons taking on the age old challenges of terrorism, war, bomb threats, close combat, the deepest missions of sea and death-defying airborne fights. Hosted by actor/director and military enthusiast, Peter Berg, along with Peter Singer, the noted defense expert and NY Times best-selling author, this two-hour special leads viewers down the war path of America's most remarkable munitions of past and present in an exciting and surprise-filled journey behind the scenes of the world's last remaining superpower.

Part two of the deadly saga of the Solomons plays out at the Santa Cruz Islands. In one terrible day of vicious combat, Enterprise loses her sister ship USS Hornet and suffers dozens of casualties as bombs nail her flight deck. When the smoke clears, Enterprise is the only American carrier left in the Pacific. For the U.S. Navy at Santa Cruz, survival becomes the ultimate battle.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

He called himself Oliver Protector, while many said he was a cruel traitor, usurper, and hypocrite. Still others found him broad-minded, tolerant, passionately religious, and ferociously moral. Cromwell's influence as a military commander and politician during the English Civil War dramatically altered the British Isles' landscape. His suppression of Royalists in Ireland during 1649 still resonates. The massacre of nearly 3,500 people in Drogheda after its capture--comprising around 2,700 Royalist soldiers and all the men in the town carrying arms, including civilians, prisoners, and Catholic priests--has fuelled Irish-English strife for over three centuries. Cromwell felt justified in ordering the massacre because the city's defenders had continued to fight after the walls had been breached. With cunning precision and military mastery, Cromwell effectively brought Ireland to its knees.

Long before the Mafia, Murder Inc., and the African-American gangster,'Paddy was plundering and pilfering the stars and stripes. Once called the'National Scourge ,'The Shame of the Cities , and'The White Man's Burden , the Irish rose from hellish beginnings riddled with disease, vice, and death. The Potato Famine or'Ireland's Genocide had wiped out a third of their population--America offered hope. They arrived in swarms, starving and destitute, with their notorious Celtic stubbornness and toughness. In a land where man had to fight for his piece of the pie and fight harder to keep it,'Paddy was almost unbeatable. From the 19th century gang wars to the 20th century wars with the Italians,'Paddy whacked their way to a mythical status. We trace the legacy of the Irish Mob, deeply rooted in the diabolical power trio of'Gangster, Politician, and Lawman feeding and festering off one another.