10 That Changed America

Tour boat operator Jerry Gertz explains the crucial and often forgotten role played by the mules that pulled barges and boats along the Erie Canal in its early days.

Geoffrey takes viewers to the top of the Roebling Bridge to learn about the engineering feats that made it possible.

Amtrak still operates passenger trains over portions of the original Transcontinental Railroad route. Even today, navigating that treacherous path can present challenges for engineers.

Though considered futuristic when first constructed, much of the Interstate Highway System today is in need of repair.

Peek inside the warehouse in Tucker, Georgia, where AIDS Memorial Quilt panels are stored and repaired in between nationwide exhibitions.

Benny White of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry talks with Geoffrey Baer about the experience of being a Civil War reenactor in the 54th Regiment. “You feel the history of what our ancestors did,” he says.

Lula Red Cloud, great-great-granddaughter of Oglala Lakota Chief Red Cloud, explains what she sees as the relevance of honoring Lakota warrior Crazy Horse with a larger-than-life monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Jan Scruggs, the driving force behind the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, recounts the ways that the monument has helped him heal his war wounds.

AIDS Memorial Quilt volunteer Mark Ward talks about sewing a panel for his late partner, Dixon Tabla, who died in 1994, and how the NAMES project has evolved over the years.

Richard Campanella, professor of architecture and geography at Tulane University, talks about segregation in New Orleans, and how “separate but equal” accommodations came to be institutionalized.

Many historic remnants -- including taverns, mile markers, and even Native American artifacts -- can still be found along today's Boston Post Road.

Road historian Dan Marriott recounts the story of a gaffe for the ages, in which former President Martin Van Buren fell from his horse-drawn carriage in Indiana, delighting supporters of the National Road. During his presidency, Van Buren had opposed appropriations for the highway.