The first Bicentennial Minutes episode aired in 1974, two years before the United States Bicentennial anniversary. CBS launched the series on July 4, 1974, and continued broadcasting it nightly through December 31, 1976.
The program was designed as a brief educational reminder of American history. Each minute usually connected a date in the broadcast year with an event from roughly 200 years earlier, especially episodes from the Revolutionary period. Its early start allowed viewers to follow the approach to the 1976 milestone.
The series was initially planned to end on July 4, 1976, but CBS extended it through the end of that year. That extension produced 912 total episodes, rather than limiting the program to the exact anniversary date.
Bicentennial Minutes were not the same as the later America250 campaign. They were a television project for the 200th anniversary, whereas America250 commemorates the 250th anniversary in 2026.