On June 24, 1948, the Soviets attempted to blockade the city of Berlin. This episode tells the story of how American General Lucius Clay attempted to feed starving Berliners by air, a feat that had never before been attempted.

As the Second world War rages, watch how America builds up its air power even before getting dragged into the conflict. As early as 1939, President Roosevelt stepped up the production of military aircraft, leading to decisive victories by American forces on both the Western and Pacific fronts after they entered the war in 1941.

This episode dramatically details the outbreak of the world's first jet war. On June 24, 1950, Communist North Korea invaded her sister to the south, forcing a war. Within days, America had F-80s knocking out Communist supply lines. By the fall, C-47s and C-199s pulled off one of the best-managed air drops in history - all on enemy territory.

Watch as a B-17 Flying Fortress and its crew fights its way over Nazi occupied Europe, battling the enemy's ME-109s and FW-190s. Witness all the fear and excitement of air combat as fighters spit out machine gun fire and brave deadly ground fire at the same time in the name of vitory for their country.

American cities were often badly planned and became overcrowded with ethnic and linguistic neighborhoods. Cities were severely polluted with smoke and ash; contaminated water supplies, poor sanitation, and large numbers of horses worsened public health conditions and shortened life expectancy. Reformers tried to Americanize urban immigrants and campaigned for city government reform.

The Homestead Act encouraged farmers to acquire land at almost no cost, and those who could overcome the loneliness, prairie fires, insect infestations, extremes of climate, and incessant winds were able to build prosperous lives. By 1890, they were growing massive annual surpluses, driving down the cost of food throughout the Western world and eliminating the danger of famine in America.

The money, credit, weapons, and French naval and military resources forced the British to shift the focus of their war. British field forces fell under a combined land-and-sea campaign conducted by Washington and the French at Yorktown, where the British surrendered. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 reluctantly conceded American independence.

World War II caused a dramatic redistribution of income. Consumer-goods manufacturers and advertisers took advantage of steady rises in available discretionary income. America sprawled in the 1950s and became the wealthiest society in the history of the world. The Soviet Union's surprise victory in the space race led to a new American dedication to education in science and technology.

With renewed war in Europe on the horizon, Napoleon offered to sell the entire Louisiana province for $15 million. Jefferson asked Congress to finance a secret scouting party under Lewis and Clark. Vice President Aaron Burr, who attempted to set up his own independent republic, was thwarted and saved from a treason indictment only by Chief Justice John Marshall.

Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin determined how to engage their forces over Europe and North Africa. A year of hard campaigning led to the defeat of Germany, a junction with Soviet forces in central Europe, and discovery of the Holocaust's full horror. America itself was transformed into a high-wage, high-employment economy, with women taking on jobs previously reserved for men.