Up Next
Back to Show
The American Revolution
Liberty for Whom? Slavery, Protest and the Ideals of the Revolution
Committees of Correspondence form in hundreds of Massachusetts towns linking advocates of resistance and spreading the message and ideals of revolution. Eventually, the network spans into all colonies. While revolutionaries praise liberty, thousands suffer under the bondage of slavery including Phillis Wheatley, who becomes the first African American writer to publish a book while enslaved.
Support Provided By
Unlock with PBS Passport
2:10:41
Victory at Yorktown secures independence. Americans aspire for a more perfect union.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:53:53
The war drags on and moves to new theaters: at sea, in Indian Country, and in the South.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:55:38
Philadelphia falls, but the American victory at Saratoga allows France to enter the war.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:54:35
Washington abandons New York City and flees across New Jersey, before attacking Trenton.
Unlock with PBS Passport
2:04:18
Washington takes command of the Continental Army. Congress declares American independence.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:56:09
Political protest escalates into violence. War gives thirteen colonies a common cause.