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- In the waning days of the American Civil War, a wounded soldier embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina to reunite with his sweetheart.
- This is a 37-minute orientation film, filmed in the spring of 1956, for visitors to historic Colonial Williamsburg, and photographed in the area restored by the Rockefeller Foundation. The plot follows a fictional Virginia planter, John Fry (Jack Lord), who becomes a member of Virginia's House of Burgesses. Through contact with Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and other patriots, he gradually loses his ties with the pro-British faction and casts his lot with the rebels.
- It showed the process it took to write the Constitution of the United States.
- Oney "Ona" Judge was an enslaved servant of George and Martha Washington, and the details of her life and daring escape in 1796 were well-preserved through interviews by abolitionist newspapers later in her life. The Freedom Quest of Oney Judge is a fictionalized account of actual historic events, produced for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Virginia as part of its HERO Live. series. In this three act program, the story begins a decade after Oney's escape, when a smug and supercilious nephew of Martha Washington finds Oney and tries to bully her back to Mount Vernon. The tale proceeds in a series of flashbacks, showing why she decided to attempt escape and how she managed to leave her life of slavery behind. It also chronicles the efforts of President Washington to re-capture Oney years later using maddeningly hush-hush methods in hopes of avoiding public scrutiny and censure. The slave owners are shown as cheerful and insipid, later dismayed that a well-treated slave would repay them with such ingratitude by running away. While she was not physically mistreated, Oney (Mary Carter), like all other slaves, was considered no more than possessions equivalent to, say, livestock or furniture, something Oney feels keenly and resents deeply. But when Oney is sent with the family to Philadelphia, she witnesses a place where Black people live and work as free men and women, a place where there are few slaves and Black children even attend school. A local Black cobbler mentions to Oney that Pennsylvania law says that any slave brought to the state must be freed after six months. Oney, who has been in Pennsylvania for more than two years, realizes the Washingtons have probably been circumventing the law by taking her out of the state every so often, effectively restarting the "six-month clock" each time. Outraged, Oney bides her time until she sees the opportunity to slip away and pursue a new life as a free woman. The quest leads her to freedom, but not to a life of peace, as she must continue to evade her former slave masters and the law, even after she is married and has a child.
- Backdraft is the story about fire in the 18th century, but more that that, it's the story of how Colonial Williamsburg's historians and historic tradespeople worked together to replicate an 18th century fire engine that can still put out a fire. Consider the threat of fire in a world of wooden buildings, where candles provided light, fireplaces furnished heat, and open stoves were used for cooking. Fire was a danger to everyone. Students learn that it was the duty of every citizen to help fight fires. Students will also learn the scientific principles behind the state of the art 18th century fire engine and how Colonial Williamsburg historians and tradespeople recreated the tools and acquired the skills to build a replica.
- Learn the story of the biggest turning point in the Revolutionary War. Follow the people who converged on the tiny village of York in October 1781: the military leaders, common soldiers, and civilians whose lives were changed forever by the siege. Join us to learn why Yorktown was the place where American independence was finally secured.
- To avoid interference from the royal governor of the colony and his marines, the Second Virginia Convention met in Richmond, Virginia on March 20, 1775 to discuss recent proceedings at the First Continental Congress. The meeting turned into a debate over whether or not to arm the colony to resist British forces whose numbers were steadily increasing in North America. Many members preferred to adopt conciliatory measures, but Patrick Henry delivered an impassioned speech, arguing Virginia needed a "well-regulated militia." It was imperative, he declared, that the colony be prepared to oppose King George III. He ended his oration with the phrase: "Give me liberty or give me death!" This documentary, filmed at site of the original convention, provides the historical context for the debates and recreates the most important speeches delivered during the meeting, concluding with Henry's famous address.
- The revivals of the Great Awakening shook Britain's North American colonies from spiritual slumber during the 1730s-1750s. In Virginia it touched men and women whose spiritual needs had been too long neglected by the legally established Anglican Church. In homes, meeting houses, and in open fields, rich and poor, black and white, men and women mingled to hear emotional messages of a personal God and salvation. The Great Awakening rattled and cracked the foundations of hierarchal authority and official religion from Georgia to New England, reverberating through the decades to the Revolution and the collapse of British rule.
- The Bill of Rights protect individual freedoms, but what if the government had too much power and there was no such thing as the Bill of Rights? Explore an alternate reality in which individual rights are limited and life is very different.
- Take a look at how history is written and reevaluated as new methods of study are introduced. Using the example of Jamestown in 1607, explore the myths and misconceptions of that era: revisit the documents, artifacts, and other evidence through archeology. Learn how every generation sees the evidence in new ways, and how this affects our understanding of the past.
- Bravery. Loyalty. Sacrifice. Women of the Revolution possessed all of these qualities. Explore the excitement, peril, and individual stories of Deborah Sampson, Mary Perth, Martha Washington, and other women, on both sides of the conflict, who proved their mettle in America's war for independence.
- Ann Ashby tells the story of her life as a free black during the days of slavery. Discover a life delicately balanced between slave and white communities in this poignant reminder of what our freedom really means.
- Explore the story of the early days of American westward expansion. Daniel Boone recounts the exciting experiences and unexpected consequences associated with moving west. Learn abut the risks and grueling personal hardships of creating new settlements.
- Beginning with the American Revolution, this program explores the U.S. law of 1807 that abolished the transatlantic slave trade. Meet the people who were involved in or influenced by this pivotal legislation: the slaves, plantation owners, slave ship captains, common seamen, government officials, Navy officers, and antislavery activists.
- "Enslaved" traces the origins of the institution of slavery. In the earliest days of colonial America there were no slaves, but the need for labor led the colonists to seek workers anywhere they could be found. At first they used European systems of servitude-apprentices and indentured servants- but those contractual arrangements eventually gave way to a legalized system of slavery. "Enslaved" features a segment on indentured servants and a segment of the Punch case of 1640, in which a black indentured servant ran away with two white indentured servants. The white men were whipped for their crime, but the black man was sentenced to servitude for life. This was the first documented instance of lifetime servitude on the American colonies. The program also traced the legal progression of slavery in colonial America.
- "No Master Over Me" is a story of freedom, but freedom without equality. Students will discover that not all black people were slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries, but racial intolerance created barriers that affected even free blacks. Matthew Ashby was a free man of mixed racial heritage who lived in Williamsburg just before the Revolution. Although he was free, his wife and children were not. Students will learn how Matthew worked through the legal system to ultimately buy his family and ultimately free them from slavery. "No Master Over Me" is also the story of a black couple who lived in Indiana following the Civil War. The man was a professional and they were not slaves, yet they still faced racially imposed barriers.
- A cat and mouse game ensues when a man faces his greatest enemy: A Cigarette.
- A free, public education for all Americans was not always the standard. In "A Publick Education," Horace Mann traces education methods, which varied depending on economic status, from the colonial period to the one-room schoolhouses of the 1840s where standardized education for all in the community began. The changing role of education in the young democracy is also examined.
- Of Kith and Kin: The Trials and Triumphs of African American family life focuses on Paris, whose stories help students understand the family life of African American slaves during the eighteenth century. We watch a group of slave children learn the songs and rhythms of Africa that relate to the work of the plantation. We are guests at a traditional jumpin' the broom wedding ceremony and learn the sense of hope and fear that accompanies these unofficial marriages. Of Kith and Kin approaches slavery from the slaves' perspective and illustrates the role individuals and families played in a society that recognized the rights of neither.
- In the 18th and 19th centuries, most Americans were farmers. Explore the rural traditions, self-reliance, economy, and seasonal rhythms of farming life.
- Building History demonstrates how Colonial Williamsburg tradesmen and researchers restore and build its houses and structures, and also rediscover the secrets of 18th-century builders.
- Starting as a trading post at the crossroads of several trade routes, the town of Ninety Six grew into a small, but vitally important town on South Carolina's frontier. It became the focus of attacks by Native Americans during the French and Indian War and, during America's Revolutionary War, the site of several pitched battles to determine if the Patriots or the Tories would control the state's backcountry including the first land battle in the South and the longest siege of the conflict. This film tells the stories of the farmers, Indians, traders, regulators and soldiers who lived in and fought for the town.
- What makes history come alive? Take a behind-the-scenes look at how historical African American portrayals are created for Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area. From research through performance,experienced museum interpreters share their techniques for bringing the past to life.
- Join a young merchant apprentice as he learns his lessons in money and accounts. Just as today, everyone in colonial America from gentleman to slave had access to coin, bills, notes, and credit. Discover how the colonial economy worked.
- Don't Wanna Slave No More is the story of Virginia's slaves on the eve of the American Revolution. Lord Dunmore, the last British governor of Virginia, proclaimed that any slave who fought for the British would be free. Slaves were left with important decisions to make. Could the British governor be trusted? What would happen if they were caught? What would become of families left behind? Students will discover how slaves were able to gather and pass along important news like the governor's announcement, and the factors that entered into their decision to flee or stay. They will gain a better understanding of the life of an 18th century slave.
- In the eighteenth century, tradesmen passed along their skills and knowledge, the art and mystery of their trades to their apprentices. With mechanization, many of those skills were lost, but through research and practice, the tradesmen and women of Colonial Williamsburg have re-learned those arts and mysteries. In this video, Colonial Williamsburg blacksmiths demonstrate some of the fundamental techniques used to shape hot iron. They show how each process leaves telltale signs that give wrought ironwork its distinctive character and allow modern day tradesmen to read how an antique piece was made. They apply these techniques to manufacture a fireplace and iron patterned after an 18th century original.
- Choosing Revolution explores how families were divided on the thorny issue of separation from Great Britain and the stereotypes of loyalist and patriot.
- Focuses on voting, the nature of representation, and type of government as key political issues.
- To win a war the military must keep its secrets and spies must risk their lives to uncover those secrets. In the General's Secret Service, an Electronic Field Trip to Colonial Williamsburg, explores spying techniques and the secret war of the American Revolution through the stories of three well-known British and American spies-Dr. Benjamin Church, Major John Andre, and James Armistead Lafayette. General George Washington narrates the program and offers his views on the importance, value, and necessity of espionage in the chess game of war.
- Modern man's interactions with domestic animals are dramatically different from those of his eighteenth-century ancestors. The Rare Breeds explores how work animals were used in colonial Virginia. this program also examines how Colonial Williamsburg preserves rare breeds to recreate the life and times of early America
- "A Day in the Life" focuses on three children in Colonial Williamsburg: an apprentice boy, a girl from a gentry family, and a slave boy. As the day proceeds the lives of the three young people intersect, allowing students to explore the education, work, and leisure activities of each of these three children. The program gives an overview of daily life in Williamsburg on the eve of the Revolution and helps students understand the political and social themes of 18th century history.
- "Discovering the Past" teaches students how we know what we know about the past. Students join Colonial Williamsburg archaeologists as they sort though history's remnants in order to tell the story of 18th century America. They may not be "Indiana Jones" but these real life archaeologists play a vital role in discovering and interpreting history. This "behind-the-scenes" field trip lets students visit real historic sites as archaeologists dig for bits of the past. It takes them inside archaeology labs to see how modern technology reveals important clues to our nation's history.
- A look at the life and art of naturalist Mark Catesby in colonial America.
- Choice, hope, and escape from slavery are highlighted in stories spanning three centuries. Examine the options for slaves willing to risk their lives for freedom. Where could they run? Whom could they trust? Learn how these answers changed over time, from the American colonies' first slave laws to the Underground Railroad before the Civil War.
- Charting the New World was the task of American surveyors and European mapmakers. This is a 21st-century look at the craftmanship and importance of 18th-century mapmaking that reveals for student historians the geography of a rapidly changing world.
- Enter the exciting world of early American scientists and their discoveries. Follow a young colonial boy in his exploration of science and the world around him. Discover the important scientific exploration that took place in the early years of America.
- Travel through Colonial Virgina the way they did in the 18th century. On horseback, in a carriage, and on foot, you'll traverse the lanes of time in this unique transportation experience.
- Jefferson's West, an Electronic Field Trip to Colonial Williamsburg produced in partnership with Monticello, explores the science, diplomacy, commerce, and exploration of the Louisiana Territory by Lewis and Clark's Corps of Volunteers for North Western Discovery. Hear the stories of this remarkable expedition through the voices of Lewis and Clark and the American Indians they encountered. Join Thomas Jefferson as he examines the flora, fauna, and Indian artifacts they collected and reflects on the significance of the expedition.
- In early America plantation owners exploited the labor of enslaved African-Americans to become wealthy in an agricultrual economy. Chained to the Land, an Electronic Field Trip to Colonial Williamsburg, examines the economic, social, and racial realities of plantation life. A master facing a financial crisis is forced to sell some of his slaves in order to save his plantation, lifestyle, and reputation and, in doing so, tears apart the slaves' families.
- Explores disease, treatment, and the state of medicine in colonial America.
- At the Brafferton School, Native American Indian children were brought to Williamsburg and taught to become "civilized Englishmen." Caught between two worlds, these children exemplify the clash of cultures that has continued throughout American history.
- Enlist in the 2nd Virginia Regiment with a young recruit Soldier of Liberty explores the everyday life of a soldier on the eve of the American Revolution. March with Nathaniel Hutcheson into battle for his first encounter with the noise, confusion, and horrors of war.
- Throughout America's history, advances in technology have revolutionized the nature of work several times over. This trip through three centuries examines technology's effects on labor, the family, and how people perceive their jobs.