Experiencing America: A Smithsonian Tour through American History

A tour of national treasures from the Smithsonian; the artifact that inspires the national anthem; the flag that flows over Fort McHenry when Francis Scott Key pens "The Star-Spangled Banner"; the battle for the fort and the history of the flag.

How some of the country's greatest leaders have seen themselves and been seen by the nation; Washington's uniform, swords and portraits; notable photographs of Lincoln; the history of Eisenhower's distinctive army jacket and his presidential look.

Smithsonian artifacts tell the story of the quest for religious freedom in America; a rare religious portrait from the colonial Southwest; Thomas Jefferson's compilation of the Gospels; the sunstone on the original Mormon Temple in Nauvoo, Illinois.

Starting with a set of slave shackles, tracing the history of slavery in the Americas; how the invention of the cotton gin helps expand slave labor; the story of African-American abolitionist Harriet Tubman; some of her treasured personal belongings.

Studying relics and documents related to the emancipation of slaves during the Civil War era; General Lee's surrender at Appomattox; poignant stories told by artifacts from the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The tale told by a tiny gold flake, which launches the California Gold Rush in the late 1840s. the Colt revolver has a profound impact; the West through the eyes of both settlers and natives in Albert Bierstadt's art; Sitting Bull's drawing book.