In the wake of such difficult events as the attacks of 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Enron scandal, and the war in Iraq, America has been struggling to regains its standing in the world as “land of the free and home of the brave”.

Shot against the backdrop of the recent US Presidential election, historian Simon Schama reveals how voters, anxious about a shaky prosperity and an on-going war, have become disillusioned with their government in numbers that haven’t been seen since Watergate.

Schama takes a look at four of the critical issues facing the country: war, religious or moral fervor, immigration, and the relationship between the expectations of prosperity and the reality of economic and environmental limits.

Simon Schama is a University Professor of Art History and History at Columbia University and one of British television’s most popular historians.