Curated Video
Life in the Colonies: Work
The Thirteen Colonies were built by a diverse workforce including skilled laborers, indentured servants, enslaved people, and criminals, in stark contrast to modern labor practices.
Curated Video
Emancipation Proclamation
Issued by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln almost three years into the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation played a crucial role in ending slavery across the United States and defining the principles that still govern the country today.
Curated Video
Juneteenth Explained
Also known as Freedom Day and Emancipation Day, Juneteenth celebrates the resilience of Black Americans and the historic achievement of abolition itself. But how did it come about?
The Guardian
Freedom or death': a slave rebellion returns to life
Performance artist Dread Scott recreates the largely untold story of the 1811 slave rebellion in southern Louisiana. Winding through old plantation country, petrochemical plants and the city of New Orleans, the Guardian followed...
John D Ruddy
American Civil War (Remastered Edition) - Manny Man Does History
What happened when America went to war against itself.
Curated Video
Rebels in the Records: The Life and Legacy of Samuel Sharpe by Jemima
National Archives: This films is part of a series called ‘Rebels in the Records’. The films in the series were created by young people in July 2021 and combine puppetry, model-making and animation. They explore stories of people and...
Curated Video
America's Journey Through Slavery: Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator
In 1861, the Civil War was a conflict that threatened to permanently divide the United States. Without President Abraham Lincoln's leadership, courage and determination to maintain the Union, our country may have ceased to exist. From...
Curated Video
Lives of the Enslaved During the Civil War
How did life change for enslaved people as the American Civil War raged around them?
Curated Video
Atlantic World: New World, New Possibilities
Paving the way for modern democratic society, the ancient Mediterranean world traded goods and ideas across three continents over thousands of years.
Curated Video
What is the Significance of 1619?
The year 2026 marks the bicentennial of a landmark year in US history – when the first European women and enslaved people arrived on North American soil, and US democracy was born.
Curated Video
Slavery in Democracies: The Greatest Hypocrisy
How could democratic societies claim to support equality while holding humans in bondage? The legacy of slavery tests the democratic ideal that everyone has an equal right to freedom and self-governance.
Curated Video
America's Journey Through Slavery: Harriet Tubman and Her Escape to Freedom
Millions of enslaved African-American men, women and children lived in the United States less than 200 years ago. During that period of American history, many brave men and women attempted an escape to freedom. Harriet Tubman overcame...
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Did you know? The Amistad Mutiny
Learn about a group of captured Africans who sailed to freedom.
Curated Video
The Story of American Barbecue
Today, barbecue is a big part of American culture. But did you know that this staple of the great American menu is actually older than the United States itself?
Curated Video
Mary Fields aka Stagecoach Mary
Mary Fields, also known as Stagecoach Mary and Black Mary, was the first African-American female star-route mail carrier in the United States. Born Mary Fields in around 1832, Fields was born into slavery, and like many other enslaved...
Curated Video
The Largest Slave Uprising in Colonial America
The Stono Rebellion of 1739 saw enslaved people rise up using coded sounds that sowed the seeds of jazz, blues and hip hop.
Mazz Media
Heroes of Freedom: Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks
Written and developed for young learners, the life and times of Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks will come alive for children in this live-action program about two of America's most enduring heroes of freedom. Stirring dramatizations and...
Curated Video
Emancipation Proclamation Exposed
The Emancipation Proclamation is one of the most important and misunderstood documents in US history. So, what did it actually proclaim?
Curated Video
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is one of the most important documents in US history. Issued at the height of the American Civil War, it granted freedom to enslaved people living in the eleven breakaway states of the Confederacy.
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Britannica Q&A: Juneteenth
Discover the history of Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
Mazz Media
America's Journey Through Slavery: The Life of An Enslaved Person
What was life like for an enslaved person in America? This program explores the daily life and customs of enslaved children and adults from Colonial Times through Emancipation. What foods did they eat? How did they celebrate marriage?...
Curated Video
Thomas Garrett and the Underground Railroad
By day he worked as an iron merchant – but by night, Thomas Garrett helped thousands escape slavery as a station master on the Underground Railroad.
Curated Video
Harriet Robinson Scott: A Personal Fight for Emancipation with National Ramifications
The story of the enslaved woman who challenged slavery in the highest court in the United States.