Video: Slavery and the Making of America - Liberty in the Air
Summary:
From the
1740s to the 1830s, the institution of slavery continued to support economic
development. As the slave population reproduced, American planters became less
dependent on the African slave trade. Ensuing generations of slaves developed a
unique culture that blended elements of African and American life. Episode two
follows the paths of several African Americans, including Thomas Jefferson's
slave Jupiter, Colonel Tye, Elizabeth Freeman, David Walker, and Maria Stewart,
as they respond
to the increasingly restrictive system of slavery. At the core of this episode
is the Revolutionary War, an event which reveals the contradictions of a nation
seeking independence while simultaneously denying freedom to its black citizens.
(1 hour)