[2] The film, which first aired in October 1985, was narrated by historian David McCullough.

[3] The film includes readings by Jeremy Irons and Arthur Miller, among others.

Mario Cuomo, former congresswoman Barbara Jordan, director Miloš Forman, writers James Baldwin[5] and Jerzy Kosiński, historian Vartan Gregorian, musician Ray Charles, and poet Carolyn Forché are among those interviewed.

Paul Simon's 1973 song "American Tune" is heard at the beginning and end of the film.

[6] Also included are vintage clips dealing with the Statue of Liberty from the films The Immigrant (1917), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Anything Can Happen (1952), and Planet of the Apes (1968).