This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces a major debate during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia which focused on the balance of power between the state and federal governments. Alexander Hamilton proposed to abolish the states.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the establishment of the Georgia colony by philanthropist James Oglethorpe as a refuge for criminals from England's debtor prisons. At first he banned slavery for fear of an African insurrection, but eventually relaxed his rules to attract more immigrants.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the Philadelphia meeting of the Second Continental Congress, shortly after the American Revolution began. Benjamin Franklin proposed independence from Britain, and George Washington was appointed to lead the Continental Army.
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The ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in December 1865 abolished slavery in the United States, formally, officially, and legally. A century and a half after Emancipation, however, the question of slavery still roils the waters of American life. This seminar, led by Ira Berlin, will view the development of chattel bondage in mainland North America from the perspective of the larger Atlantic world. Topics include the nature of the slave trade, the distinction between societies with slaves and slave societies, the evolution of plantation slavery, the transforming face of the Age of Revolutions, the remaking of slavery in the 19th century, and the contemporary debate about the meaning of slavery for American life.
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the Great Awakening, which broke out in America when several new religious leaders, such as George Whitefield, emerged to revive the church. This brought about new ways of worshiping and ultimately new religious sects such as Baptists and Presbyterians.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces the Quakers, or the Society of Friends, who sought a refuge in America where they could practice without persecution. Quaker William Penn found a permanent settlement in Pennsylvania.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary describes a rebellion against the landed class of Virginia, led by Nathanial Bacon, a poor farmer. It came to be known as Bacon's Rebellion.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces the Puritan Roger Williams, a Separatist, and his establishment of the state of Rhode Island after leaving Massachusetts. Other Separatists also formed new settlements throughout New England.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the departure of a group of Puritan Separatists from England aboard the Mayflower to settle a colony in America. In Plymouth, MA, they signed the Mayflower Compact, promising that all decisions of the new colony would be made by the majority.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the early 1500s in New Spain, when the issue of slavery became controversial. Dominican priest Bartolome de Las Casas issued reports of brutal savagery by the conquistadors against the Native Americans.
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