The Revolution

Relive the drama in this exciting documentary series that explores the founding of the United States. The opening episode dramatizes the controversies and conflicts leading to war--the Stamp Act riots, Boston Massacre, and Boston Tea Party.

The Revolutionaries lay siege to Boston. Explore Ethan Allen and the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, the formation of the Continental Army and the conscription of slaves by both sides.

1776: Noble ideas and dreams of independence ring out as America is born. However, dark and devastating struggles will quickly challenge these hopes and leave few believing that the glorious cause will survive.

The newly proclaimed nation stares at the stark realization that it could soon be dead. Desperate and determined, General George Washington gambles on a brilliant yet dangerously daring stroke to save his army and America.

Diplomat Benjamin Franklin tries to convince the French to join the fight against Britain; Philadelphia falls to the British; the Americans win a stunning victory at Saratoga and gain a new ally.

George Washington's losses are adding up and some in Congress begin to question his leadership. Washington's main concern, however, is sustaining and rebuilding his ragged, starving, and dwindling army through the frigid winter at Valley Forge.

Heroic General Benedict Arnold turns his back on his nation, forever sealing his legacy as a traitor. George Washington burns the Iroquois Indians out of New York State, leaving a wake of devastation.

Failing to defeat the tenacious George Washington, the British change course, turning their attention southward. In a last ditch effort to quell the rebellion, they surround and lay siege to Charleston, South Carolina.

After the fall of Charleston, the Revolutionary War explodes into the Carolina backcountry, touching off a brutal civil war, and Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton's dragoons spread terror throughout the region.

In this hour, Washington faces two mutinies in the Continental Army. Congress is broke and the army desperately needs more help from the French.

King George III is forced by the parliament to sue for peace. Examine the signing of Treaty of Paris, the political and economic chaos following the war and the writing of the Constitution.

After leading the rebellious British colonies in America to a most unlikely victory in the War for Independence, George Washington is called into service again. But this time to lead the newly born nation he helped create as its first president.

George Washington completes his 8-day trip from his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia to New York City where he is inaugurated as the first president of the newly created United States of America.