8.0
The Civil War
1990
The American Revolution was at once a war for independence, a war of conquest, a civil war, and a world war, fought by neighbors on American farms and between global powers an ocean or more away. It impacted millions from Vermont’s Green Mountains to the swamps of South Carolina, from Indian Country to the Iberian Peninsula. In defeating the British Empire and giving birth to a new nation, the American Revolution turned the world upside-down. Thirteen colonies on the Atlantic Coast united in rebellion, won their independence, and established a republic that still endures. The American Revolution will present the story of the men and women of the Revolutionary generation, their humanity in victory and defeat, and the crisis that they lived through.
In Order to Be Free (May 1754 – May 1775)Nov 16, 2025 · 116m · ★ 3.8Opposition in colonial North America to British policies over taxes, land and sovereignty escalates into violent confrontation; war gives 13 colonies a common cause.
An Asylum for Mankind (May 1775 – July 1776)Nov 17, 2025 · 124m · ★ 3.6Congress puts George Washington in command of a new Continental Army; Congress declares American independence in July 1776.
The Times That Try Men's Souls (July 1776 – January 1777)Nov 18, 2025 · 115m · ★ 4.0British General Howe defeats General Washington, forcing the Americans to abandon New York; Washington's army regroups in New Jersey before attacking an outpost at Trenton.
Conquer by a Drawn Game (January 1777 – February 1778)Nov 19, 2025 · 116m · ★ 3.6General Howe takes Philadelphia, but the Americans' surprising victory over General Burgoyne at Saratoga encourages France to support the U.S.
The Soul of All America (December 1777 – May 1780)Nov 20, 2025 · 114m · ★ 3.6The French-American alliance changes the war and moves it to other theaters; navies battle off England and in the Caribbean, while armies advance in Indian Country and the South; the British take Charleston.
The Most Sacred Thing (May 1780 – Onward)Nov 21, 2025 · 131m · ★ 3.7British General Cornwallis struggles to pacify the southern states; supported by the French, a victory at Yorktown secures independence for the Americans.
The American Revolution was at once a war for independence, a war of conquest, a civil war, and a world war, fought by neighbors on American farms and between global powers an ocean or more away. It impacted millions from Vermont’s Green Mountains to the swamps of South Carolina, from Indian Country to the Iberian Peninsula. In defeating the British Empire and giving birth to a new nation, the American Revolution turned the world upside-down. Thirteen colonies on the Atlantic Coast united in rebellion, won their independence, and established a republic that still endures. The American Revolution will present the story of the men and women of the Revolutionary generation, their humanity in victory and defeat, and the crisis that they lived through.
Peter CoyoteNarrator (voice)
Adam ArkinJames Parker / Ashbel Green / Andrew Hunter / Enoch Anderson / Timothy Dwight / Robert Morris (voice)
Josh BrolinGeorge Washington (voice)
Hugh DancyHugh Percy / John Burgoyne / Banastre Tarleton / Comte de Vergennes (voice)
Claire DanesAbigail Adams (voice)
Tom Hanks(voice)
Damian LewisKing George III / Nicholas Cresswell / John Andre / Bartholomew James (voice)
Tobias MenziesEdmund Burke / Ambrose Serle / Cornwallis / William Pitt (voice)
Liev SchreiberSamuel Adams / Nathaniel Greene / Lewis Beebe (voice)
Kenneth Branagh(voice)
Josh CharlesJoseph Warren / John Peters / David Ramsey (voice)
Alden EhrenreichJoseph Plumb Martin (voice)
Craig FergusonJohn Murray / John Jones / John Purrier / Martin Hunter / William Harcourt (voice)
Paul GiamattiJohn Adams (voice)
Maya HawkeBetsy Ambler (voice)
Laura LinneySarah Logan Fisher / Sarah Morris Mifflin / Eliza Wilkinson / Eliza Lucas Pickney (voice)
Edward NortonBenjamin Rush / Philip Vickers Fithian / Philip Schuyler (voice)
Matthew RhysThomas Paine (voice)
Charlotte HackeFriederike Riedesel / Hannah Davis / Lucy Knox / Martha Reeves (voice)
Ethan HawkeAnthony Wayne / John Andrews (voice)
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A lot of it is actually pretty good... and then you get to the 1619 Revisionist history BS. The Native Americans inspired American democracy not the Greeks who the Founding Father's cited multiple times. Then slavery slavery slavery, evil white people, the American Revolution was about colonizing America and not shaking off it's colonial rulers. By the time you're done with it, you realize that he wasn't making a documentary, he was using the American Revolution to push far left revisionist propaganda.
It's clear some are upset with facts presented clearly and concisely. Another smashing success from Mr. Burns.
Americans that absolutely despise themselves, their history, their fair skin, and their country should not make a 'documentary' about how America started. It will never be factual or even fair. This TV show proves they will never be unbiased, in fact, quite the opposite. So I agree with the other reviewer, GenerationOfSwine. This is utter horsesh*t and laughable. I'm not even American by birth and I noticed several glaring omissions from the makers of this crap. It's the typical self-loathing and customary screeching we've all come to expect from PBS.
Very informative! There was so much I didn't know. It gives a real sense of feelings and motivations that I didn't gleam from textbooks and lectures in school. And with quite a cast to read quotes from history! I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a better understanding of how America started.
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