EPISODE 1: “The Reluctant Revolutionaries” 1763-1774

In 1763, the capitol city of America is London, George Washington is lobbying for a post in the British army, and no one thinks of Boston harbor when they hear talk of tea parties. In a dozen years, the colonies are on the brink of rebellion. What happens to bring this country so quickly near war with England?

About the Series

LIBERTY! The American Revolution is a dramatic documentary about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation. The George Foster Peabody award-winning series brings the people, events and ideas of the revolution to life through military reenactments and dramatic recreations performed by a distinguished cast. Click on a topic to learn more.

LIBERTY! is a six-part series of one-hour documentaries for PBS. It describes how the American Revolution evolved and how a new nation was born in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, using actors, Revolutionary era scholars, and eyewitness accounts of the time.

LIBERTY! is hosted by award winning journalist and ABC news anchor, Forrest Sawyer. Edward Herrmann is the narrator. It was originally broadcast Nov. 23 - 25, 1997.

Episode Descriptions

EPISODE 1: “The Reluctant Revolutionaries” 1763-1774

In 1763, the capitol city of America is London, George Washington is lobbying for a post in the British army, and no one thinks of Boston harbor when they hear talk of tea parties. In a dozen years, the colonies are on the brink of rebellion. What happens to bring this country so quickly near war with England?

EPISODE 2: “Blows Must Decide” 1774-1776

A total break from Great Britain remains hard for Americans to imagine, even after shots are fired at Lexington and Concord. Words push matters “Over the Edge” in 1776. Common Sense argues that it is the natural right of men to govern themselves. The Declaration of Independence declares this same idea a “self-evident” truth. For Americans, there is no looking back. There will be war with England.

EPISODE 3: “The Times That Try Men’s Souls” 1776-1777

Days after the Declaration of Independence is signed, a British force arrives in New York harbor. Washington and his troops are driven to New Jersey. With only a few days of enlistment left for many of his volunteers, a desperate Washington leads his army quietly across the Delaware River on the day after Christmas, 1776, to mount a surprise attack on a sleeping garrison in Trenton.

EPISODE 4: “Oh Fatal Ambition” 1777-1778

The “united” states remain in dire need of funds and military support. Congress dispatches Benjamin Franklin to France in hopes of creating an alliance which will provide both. Meanwhile, a British army marches down the Hudson River trying to cut off New England from the other colonies. The British are crushed by Americans at Saratoga. The French enter the conflict on the American side.

EPISODE 5: “The World Turned Upside Down” 1778-1783

The British hope to exploit the issue of slavery and to enlist the support of loyalists in the south. They fail. After a series of brutal engagements, the British army heads for Virginia, only to be trapped by the miraculous convergence of Washington’s army and the French fleet at Yorktown. The end of the war is at hand.

EPISODE 6: “Are We to Be a Nation? 1783-1788

Peace comes to the United States, but governing the world’s newest republic is no simple task. Congress is ineffectual and individual states act like sovereign nations. By the time the Constitutional Convention convenes in 1787, many wonder if the country can survive. The long ratification process helps define what sort of nation the United States is to be—a process that continues to this day.

Chronicle of the Revolution

	BOSTON 1774 The defiant act of dumping tea into Boston harbor has incited the British to close Boston’s port and send troops to control Massachusetts. Will bitter relations between America and Britain continue to steep?
	PHILADELPHIA 1776 America declares independence and defies Britain, but the colonists’ military fortitude may not be strong enough to defend such a daring proclamation.
	TRENTON 1776 Could the fervor of freedom be waning? As winter drones on, American troops tire of defeat and poor conditions in the face of their well-equipped enemy.
	SARATOGA 1777 Hope may be reborn for Americans. Over 7,000 British soldiers surrendered at Saratoga, strengthening the chances of a French-American alliance.
	YORKTOWN 1781 The world turned upside down indeed! Britain has surrendered to Americans at Yorktown. The six and a half year struggle for independence may finally prove victorious for Americans.
	PHILADELPHIA 1791 What does it mean to be American? Today, Congress tried to answer that question with final passage of The Bill of Rights, which secures individual freedom for all citizens.

The Men and Women of Liberty

LIBERTY! brings the American Revolution to life through a distinguished cast of actors including: Tony Award-winning actor Roger Rees (Nicholas Nickleby, Cheers), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Cold Mountain, Magnolia), Victor Garber (Titanic, Legally Blonde), and Tony Award-winning actress Donna Murphy (Passion, Wonderful Town). Read on to learn about other actors in Liberty and the characters they play.

Click Here to Watch Video Clips of the Actors Playing the Characters Listed Below

Abigail Adams | Wikipedia Page

Daughter of a New England parson, wife of John Adams, she is one of the most influential American woman of her time, both socially and politically. Her letters to her husband paint a vivid picture of the era, and are filled with insightful comments on politics and government.

John Adams | Wikipedia Page

Born to a modest family of Massachusetts farmers, John Adams chooses to practice law. By 1776, Adams is a veteran member of the First and Second Continental Congresses, and a leading advocate of independence from England. During the Revolution, Adams serves as a diplomat in Europe, but finds time to write the pathbreaking Massachusetts Constitution of 1780. He becomes the first American minister to Great Britain, the first Vice President of the United States, and its second President.

Samuel Adams | Wikipedia Page

A true revolutionary and a radical propagandist, Adams serves for nine years in the Massachusetts legislature, during which time he helps organize the Sons of Liberty, the Boston Tea Party, and other demonstrations against British rule. Though not a great orator, he is an earnest and shrewd champion of colonists’ rights.

Gen. John Burgoyne | Wikipedia Page

A gambler, playboy and sophisticate, British General John Burgoyne moves in the best social circles of London. Deeply ambitious, his dream is to return to England as the conqueror of the American rebels. The battle of Saratoga dashes that hope.

Benjamin Franklin | Wikipedia Page

Born to poverty in Boston, Franklin rises from a printshop apprenticeship to a career as a skillful politician and diplomat. He wins international fame as a scientist, inventor, and writer and comes to exemplify the self-made man. Slow to side with American patriots in the years before the Revolution, in time he becomes a full-fledged rebel.

Jehu Grant | Wikipedia Page

A slave in Rhode Island, he runs away from his loyalist master in 1777 and serves with the Continental army as a teamster. Eight months later, Grant is reclaimed into slavery.

Alexander Hamilton | Wikipedia Page

A brilliant and opinionated student from the British West Indies, Hamilton is a leading pamphleteer for the American cause while still in his teens. After the war, Hamilton becomes one of the leading advocates for the federalist cause and along with James Madison and John Jay, an author of the Federalist Papers.

Patrick Henry | Wikipedia Page

The pre-war speeches in the House of Burgesses establish Henry as one of the leading voices of the patriot cause, and he will ultimately serve five years as Virginia’s governor. But his antifederalist stance in the years after the war prevent him from ever achieving a national leadership role.

Thomas Jefferson | Wikipedia Page

The son of a Virginia planter, Thomas Jefferson grows up groomed for social and political leadership. As a young man, he becomes a leading member of the Virginia bar, and, in 1775, a Virginia delegate to the Second Continental Congress. His skill with the pen wins him the assignment for drafting the Declaration of Independence. His many other talents and skills serve him well through a lifetime of intellectual pursuit and public service, including two terms as president.

Marquis De Lafayette | Wikipedia Page

Orphaned at an early age, Lafayette inherits considerable wealth and becomes a rising member of the French nobility. Fired with enthusiasm for the American cause, he receives a commission from the Continental Army and leads his men skillfully in battle. Returning to France in 1779, he helps to persuade King Louis XVI to fully commit French support to the American cause.

James Madison | Wikipedia Page

A shy, retiring figure, Madison becomes a central character in national politics in 1787, with the Constitutional Convention. He is the principal architect of the Virginia Plan, which will serve as the basis for the federal constitution passed by theconvention.

Joseph Plumb Martin | Wikipedia Page

An American soldier from Connecticut who enlists at the age of 16, and serves in Washington’s Continental Army for most of the war. Martin’s diary is a priceless source for understanding the lives of Continental soldiers.

Thomas Paine | Wikipedia Page

Born to working-class parents in England, Paine tries and fails at several careers before arriving in Philadelphia in 1774. 2 years later, his best-selling pamphlet, Common Sense, helps transform the Revolution. Through the course of the war, he writes a series of brilliant essays called The Crisis Papers.

Baroness Von Riedesel | Wikipedia Page (of Her Husband)

Married to a Hessian general who fights in Burgoyne’s army. The Baroness von Riedesel’s diary offers a vivid picture of her travels with Burgoyne, the British army’s march from Canada, and its surrender at Saratoga.

Horace Walpole | Wikipedia Page

The son of the great British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, Horace Walpole is a brilliant and sardonic writer whose voluminous diaries are a priceless source of insight into London’s political, social and literary life—and Great Britain’s relationship with her American colonies.

Mercy Otis Warren | Wikipedia Page

A dramatist, poet and historian born to a prominent family in Massachusetts. She is a frequent and lively correspondent of Abigail Adams. Her Boston home becomes a center of opposition to British policy.

George Washington | Wikipedia Page

Born into a wealthy family of Virginia planters, the young Washington is fired with military ambition, and serves the French and Indian Wars. By the 1770’s, he is an ardent supporter of the American cause, and becomes a Virginia delegate to the First Continental Congress. In 1775, Congress chooses Washington to be commander-in-chief of the Continental Army — a position he shoulders for eight grueling years. By the war’s end, he is the chief hero of the Revolution and the symbol of America. In 1789, he is unanimously elected the first President of the United States.

Liberty The Series

The George Foster Peabody award-winning series brings the people, events and ideas of the revolution to life through military reenactments and dramatic recreations performed by a distinguished cast. Click on a topic to learn more.

	THE MAKING OF LIBERTY! Discover why Liberty! is considered a groundbreaking historical documentary, and read in-depth interviews with the producers.
	THE SCHOLARS Read about the acclaimed academics who appear in Liberty!
	THE MUSIC OF LIBERTY! Learn how folk melodies and original music combine to create the soundtrack of Liberty!, which includes performances by Yo-Yo Ma, James Taylor and Mark O’Connor.

Perspectives on Liberty

Get to know the people and times of the American Revolution by clicking on the activities below.

DAILY LIFE IN  THE COLONIES Discover what rural life was like on an 18th-century Colonial farm.

THE GLOBAL VILLAGE Find out what was happening in the world at the time of the Revolution.

MILITARY PERSPECTIVES Compare the real-life differences between American and British soldiers.

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