Liberty!

Last updated
Liberty! The American Revolution
Directed by Ellen Hovde
Muffie Meyer
Written byRonald Blumer
Produced byEllen Hovde
Muffie Meyer
CinematographyJames Brown

Robert Elfstrom
Boyd Estus
Tom Hurwitz
Joel Shapiro

Joe Vitagliano

Contents

Edited byEric Davies

Donna Marino

Sharon Sachs
Music by Mark O'Connor
Production
company
Middlemarch Films
Distributed by Public Broadcasting Service
Release date
November 23, 1997 (1997-11-23)-November 25, 1997 (1997-11-25)
Running time
360 minutes
LanguageEnglish

Liberty! The American Revolution is a six-hour documentary miniseries about the Revolutionary War, and the instigating factors, that brought about the United States' independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was first broadcast on the Public Broadcasting Service in 1997.

The series consists of six hour-long episodes. Each episode is introduced by Forrest Sawyer and narrated by Edward Herrmann. Period photographs and location filming are intercut with stage and screen actors in appropriate period costume reading as figures of the time, including Campbell Scott (Thomas Jefferson), Philip Bosco (Benjamin Franklin), Victor Garber (John Dickinson), Alex Jennings (King George III), Roger Rees (Thomas Paine), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Joseph Plumb Martin), Terrence Mann (Gen. John Burgoyne), Colm Feore (Alexander Hamilton), Sebastian Roché (The Marquis de Lafayette), Donna Murphy (Abigail Adams), Austin Pendleton (Benjamin Rush) and Peter Donaldson (John Adams). Stephen Lang read the words of George Washington, but is not seen on camera.

British and American historians and authors, including Carol Berkin, Bernard Bailyn, Ron Hoffman, Claude-Anne Lopez, Pauline Maier, George C. Neumann, Richard Norton Smith, Gordon S. Wood (U.S.) and Jeremy Black, Colin Bonwick, John Keegan, and N.A.M. Rodger (U.K.) add historical background, explaining life and society of the time while interpreting events from the perspectives of the two sides of the conflict. Historical perspectives also include the status of black slaves and freemen, the participation of American Indians, and the strivings of American women as events progress.

Episodes

  1. "The Reluctant Revolutionaries" (1763-1774): Introduction of the major players, life as British colonists, the Stamp Act, The Declaratory Act, the Boston Massacre, taxation without representation, The Boston Tea Party
  2. "Blows Must Decide" (1774-1776): The Coersive/Intolerable Acts, military reinforcement of Boston, the first Continental Congress, the battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill, loyalists and the Olive Branch Petition, Common Sense , The Declaration of Independence
  3. "The Times That Try Men's Souls" (1776-1777): The British army arrives under General Howe, Washington's formation of an American army, division of colonies as patriot or loyalist, the defense of New York, fall of New Jersey, The American Crisis , the crossing of the Delaware River and the Battle of Trenton
  4. "Oh Fatal Ambition!" (1777-1778): Benjamin Franklin appeals for French assistance, Gen. Burgoyne's incursion from the north and the fall of Fort Ticonderoga, the war in New England, the Battle of Brandywine Creek, the Battle of Saratoga and Burgoyne's surrender, America signs a treaty with the French
  5. "The World Turned Upside Down" (1778-1783): The French alliance, Gen. Clinton's campaign in the south, the siege of Charleston, Gen. Cornwallis's strategy to conquer the south, Benedict Arnold joins the British, French troops under Gen. Rochambeau reinforce Washington's army, Gen. Nathanael Greene reclaims the south, the Battle of Yorktown, the British surrender
  6. "Are We to Be a Nation?" (1783-1788): Creating the new nation, Washington resigns his commission, Noah Webster standardizes American English, Shays' Rebellion, the Confederation Congress, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison envision a new system of government, the Constitution, Bill of Rights and formation of a central government

American singer-songwriter James Taylor sings the traditional song "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier" during the end credits. Original music was composed by violinist Mark O'Connor, who accompanies Taylor; the score, which blends new and traditional music, was performed by O'Connor, Taylor, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, trumpet player Wynton Marsalis and the Nashville Symphony. A collection of the music from the soundtrack was released as a companion album in 1997.

Liberty! was produced for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) by Twin Cities Public Television (TPT), and won a George Foster Peabody Award. The directors were Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, who also collaborated on the 2002 TPT production Benjamin Franklin .

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Revolutionary War</span> 1775–1783 American war of independence

The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the military conflict of the American Revolution. American Patriot forces, organized as the Continental Army and commanded by George Washington, defeated the British, leading to the Treaty of Paris in 1783, in which the British recognized the independence and sovereignty of the United States. In the war, American Patriot forces eventually gained the support of the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Spain. The British and Loyalist forces also included Hessian soldiers from Germany. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Revolution</span> 1765–1791 period establishing the US

The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution based on the principles of the American Enlightenment that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1783. It created the environment for the American Revolutionary War, which lasted from 1775 to 1783, whereby the Thirteen Colonies secured their independence from the British Crown and consequently established the United States as the first sovereign nation state founded on Enlightenment principles of the consent of the governed, constitutionalism and liberal democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Burgoyne</span> British general and playwright (1722–1792)

General John Burgoyne was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, most notably during the Portugal campaign of 1762.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe</span> British general (1729–1814)

William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe,, was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brothers who had distinguished military careers. In historiography of the American war he is usually referred to as Sir William Howe to distinguish him from his brother Richard, who was 4th Viscount Howe at that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the United States (1776–1789)</span> Aspect of history

As a result of the American Revolution, the thirteen British colonies emerged as a newly independent nation, the United States of America, between 1776 and 1789. Fighting in the American Revolutionary War started between colonial militias and the British Army in 1775. The Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781 to form the Congress of the Confederation. Under the leadership of General George Washington, the Continental Army and Navy defeated the British military, securing the independence of the thirteen colonies. The Confederation period continued until 1789, when the states replaced the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution of the United States, which remains the fundamental governing law of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the American Revolution</span> Timeline of the political upheaval

Timeline of the American Revolution—timeline of the political upheaval culminating in the 18th century in which Thirteen Colonies in North America joined together for independence from the British Empire, and after victory in the Revolutionary War combined to form the United States of America. The American Revolution includes political, social, and military aspects. The revolutionary era is generally considered to have begun with the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 and ended with the ratification of the United States Bill of Rights in 1791. The military phase of the revolution, the American Revolutionary War, lasted from 1775 to 1783.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedrich Adolf Riedesel</span> German military officer

Freiherr Friedrich Adolf Riedesel Freiherr zu Eisenbach was a German officer who served in the Seven Years' War and American War of Independence. He was the commander of the Braunschweiger Jäger, a regiment of soldiers from the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel that was among the German units hired by the British during the American War of Independence. He then commanded all German soldiers in the Saratoga Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loyalist (American Revolution)</span> Colonists loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution

Loyalists were colonists in the Thirteen Colonies who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War, often referred to as Tories, Royalists or King's Men at the time. They were opposed by the Patriots, who supported the revolution, and called them "persons inimical to the liberties of America."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">France in the American Revolutionary War</span>

French involvement in the American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783 began in 1776 when the Kingdom of France secretly shipped supplies to the Continental Army of the Thirteen Colonies when it was established in June 1775. France was a long-term historical rival with the Kingdom of Great Britain, from which the Colonies were attempting to separate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia campaign</span> 1777–78 British offensive during the American Revolutionary War

The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British effort in the American Revolutionary War to gain control of Philadelphia, the Revolutionary-era capital where the Second Continental Congress convened and signed the Declaration of Independence, which formalized and escalated the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania in the American Revolution</span>

Pennsylvania was the site of many key events associated with the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War. The city of Philadelphia, then capital of the Thirteen Colonies and the largest city in the colonies, was a gathering place for the Founding Fathers who discussed, debated, developed, and ultimately implemented many of the acts, including signing the Declaration of Independence, that inspired and launched the revolution and the quest for independence from the British Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Associators</span> Military unit

Associators were members of 17th- and 18th-century volunteer military associations in the British American thirteen colonies and British Colony of Canada. These were more commonly known as Maryland Protestant, Pennsylvania, and American Patriot and British Loyalist colonial militias. But unlike militias, the associator military volunteers were exempt from regular mandatory military service. Other names used to describe associators were "Associations", "Associated", "Refugees", "Volunteers", and "Partisans".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franco-American alliance</span> Alliance between the Kingdom of France and the United States

The Franco-American alliance was the 1778 alliance between the Kingdom of France and the United States during the American Revolutionary War. Formalized in the 1778 Treaty of Alliance, it was a military pact in which the French provided many supplies for the Americans. The Netherlands and Spain later joined as allies of France; Britain had no European allies. The French alliance was possible once the Americans captured a British invasion army at Saratoga in October 1777, demonstrating the viability of the American cause. The alliance became controversial after 1793 when Britain and Revolutionary France again went to war and the U.S. declared itself neutral. Relations between France and the United States worsened as the latter became closer to Britain in the Jay Treaty of 1795, leading to an undeclared Quasi War. The alliance was defunct by 1794 and formally ended in 1800.

The following bibliography includes notable books concerning the American Revolutionary War. These books are listed in the bibliographies of books by prominent historians as shown in the footnotes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Army during the American Revolutionary War</span>

The British Army during the American Revolutionary War served for eight years in campaigns fought around the globe. Defeat at the siege of Yorktown to a combined Franco-American force ultimately led to the loss of the Thirteen Colonies in eastern North America, and the concluding Treaty of Paris deprived Britain of many of the gains achieved in the Seven Years' War. However, several victories elsewhere meant that much of the remaining British Empire remained intact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Charlottetown (1775)</span>

The Raid on Charlottetown of 17–18 November 1775, early in the American Revolutionary War, involved two American privateers of the Marblehead Regiment attacking and pillaging Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, then known as St. John's Island. The raid motivated Nova Scotia Governor Francis Legge to declare martial law. Despite the raid's success, George Washington immediately freed senior colonial officials the privateers had brought back as prisoners to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the American Revolutionary War.