Essential American History Movies
This Fourth of July, America celebrates its 250th anniversary! That’s two and a half centuries of the American Dream, democracy, and bacon-wrapped hot dogs — and difficult memories like war, bigotry, and pineapple on pizza.
There’s no better time to reflect on our past than now, and films allow us to examine our most important historical figures and events through the lens of what we’ve learned in the past couple of centuries.
For our list of American history movies, we’re mostly focusing on movies about real-life important people, like Lincoln, Jackie, and Malcolm X, or events that may include fictional characters but center around actual historical events, like World Trade Center, Apollo 13, and Pearl Harbor. Each of these films paint a vivid picture of our country’s history, warts and all.
So when you’re done saying your pledge of allegiance, and the coals die down on the the grill, sit back and catch up on the last 250 years of America. — Bryce Marrero
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