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Slavery and the Making of America

Season 1
A history of American slavery from its beginnings through post-Civil War Reconstruction, this series examines the role slavery played in shaping America and challenges the long held notion that it was exclusively a Southern enterprise.
IMDb 7.620054 episodes
TV-PG
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Episodes

  1. S1 E1 - Part 1: The Downward Spiral
    February 8, 2005
    55min
    TV-PG
    In the 1620s, there were no limitations imposed on slaves. But by the early 18th century, the expanding slave trade caused many colonies to adopt strict "black codes," transforming the social system into one of legal racial oppression.
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  2. S1 E2 - Part 2: Liberty in the Air
    February 8, 2005
    55min
    TV-PG
    From the 1740s to the 1830s, slavery continued to support economic development, but the Revolutionary War revealed the contradictions of a nation seeking independence while denying freedom to its black citizens.
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  3. S1 E3 - Part 3: Seeds of Destruction
    February 16, 2005
    55min
    TV-PG
    While the Northern states adopted laws to abolish and phase out slavery, in the southern United States, slavery entered the period of its greatest expansion as cotton became the country's most valuable crop. The abolitionist movement, led by Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and others, gathered strength in the North, contributing to the widening fissure and imminent break-up of the nation.
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  4. S1 E4 - Part 4: The Challenge of Freedom
    February 8, 2005
    55min
    TV-PG
    The complexities of the Civil War and Reconstruction are chronicled through the experience of slave Robert Smalls. The rise of militant groups and new segregation laws show that slavery's eradication had not ended black oppression.
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Details

More info

Audio languages
EnglishEnglish Dialogue Boost: MediumEnglish Dialogue Boost: High
Subtitles
English [CC]
Directors
Chana GazitDante J. JamesGail PellettLeslie D. Farrell
Producers
Chana GazitDante J. JamesGail PellettLeslie D. FarrellJulie Schapiro ThormanWilliam R. Grant
Starring
Morgan Freeman
Studio
PBS
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