Morgan Freeman Movie:

		List Price: $79.99		Label: Ambrose Salesrank: 32235 Released: February 9, 2005
		Our Price: $52.86
		Used Price: $56.58
		MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
SLAVERY AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA is a landmark, four-part series that examines the history of slavery in the United States and the integral role it played in shaping the new country's development.

Breaking with conventional documentary production approaches, the series producers, PBS's Thirteen/WNET New York, have used dramatic re-enactments to take viewers back in time and deep into the slave experience. Much of the story is presented from a unique vantage point - through the eyes of the enslaved.

As factually represented in this series, American slavery evolved from a loosely defined labor system which provided some protection under the law, into the tightly regulated enslavement without recourse, based solely on race.

Underscoring how slavery impacted the growth of this country's Southern and Northern states; the series examines issues still relevant today. The variety of cultures from which the slaves originated provided the budding states with a multitude of skills that had a dramatic effect on the diverse communities. From joining the British in the Revolutionary War, to fleeing to Canada, to joining rebel communities in the U.S., the slaves sought freedom in many ways, ultimately having a far-reaching effect on the new hemisphere they were forced to inhabit.

Acclaimed actor Morgan Freeman narrates the series, which features a score by Michael Whalen.

Programs in this series:
Program 1: The Downward Spiral
Program 2: Liberty in the Air
Program 3: Seeds of Destruction
Program 4: The Challenge of Freedom

Features:
English Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired,
Spanish Subtitles

Slavery and the Making of America Reviews:
Comprehensive and very well done...
2009-12-03 - The information provided in the cds was thorough, diverse, and accurate. It gives the viewer the impression that the series was produced with the care that only serious lovers of pure history can provide. I also appreciated that the historians featured on the various cds were not solely of African American lineage. There were well-rounded views and opinions expressed.

HS Teacher Says 5 Stars For This Production...and For Morgan Freeman!
2008-01-17 - I have watched and re-watched this series on PBS, and with each episode I always go away having learned something. The researchers and writers were thorough, the re-enactments are well-played*, and the tempo of each segment is appropriate. Morgan Freeman is the perfect choice for a narrator (even better than Whoopie Goldberg in Unchained Memories); he speaks like a wise, maturing uncle versed in the intricacies of a long, unpleasant family history.

My favorite segments are those on David Walker's call to resistance; a certain Miss Freeman, who successfully sued for her freedom; and Col. Tye's band of 18th century guerilla warriors.

*Such re-enactments, when accurately presented, are essential to helping viewers understand the realities of the era, as there are so few photographs and no moving pictures in existence from this lengthy period in American history. (As the narrator says, "America was a slave-holding society longer than it has been a 'free' society.")

An Inconvenient Truth II
2007-01-25 - I watched this over and over so that I could justify using it as a teaching tool to college and HS students. I grew tired of presentations on slavery ignoring or missing America's economic gain. Therefore, I was most impressed by this PBS series mentioning it. Yes, its inconvenient to say that the Industrial Revolution would not have happened without the free labor of slaves. (oh, yes, some African/Blacks did get 40 acres and a mule but, it was taken away by a former confederate soldier who later became a government official...). Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, or even Bill Gates, hang on the coattails of the "planters" who made big money directly from African slave labor. The "planters" created the first IMAGES of superiority because they had more money, more control/power over many, and a "position." Believe me, slavery was building America's economic FUTURE not just imposing a sense of superiority. In a morbid sort of way slavery worked out pretty good for the American economy we live in today! Trust me when I say this, it means something to have an image of finacial power, even if you are poor, its the indelible IMAGE of having money, position, and power, that is most effective. A professor told me once that America is "ahistorical" I like that word. America concedes that slavery existed at one time and is over(whew!)but, the idea that some have benefitted financially, directly and indirectly from American slavery, might be an inconvenient truth. See "Centrix Financial...apologizes...slavery..." Something like that.

Rip off for black history month
2007-01-13 - I have kept my eyes on this for a entire year. I noticed one thing, I wasnt willing to pay 80.00 for this it was going to be used several times with adults to share with children, so I thought I would wait. Sometime in August it was down to $54.00 right here on amazon and at that time I was just about to get it. Now that it's martin luther king day and going to be black history month, the price will be HIGHER until about april and then your see a dramatic change.Keep your eyes open, people will onyl tell you what they want you to know. PBS has been asking for money for past 20 years that I can remember. One or two things should have happended. Either they got richer or they got poorer. Which one do you think happened?
This is a excellent tool to teach children and adults, please note that the high price has nothing to do with PBS, it's the system designed to make you think otherwise.

Please wait until this product goes down, cause it will.

PBS - By the Public - For the Public
2005-05-23 - When you pay the high price for a PBS production, you are helping PBS to pay for their cause. You are not being ripped off. This is a worthy reason why the cost is higher per minute of programming than other productions. The reviewer below apparently does not take this into account. Today DVD's cost $1 each or less in cost for the actual manufacturing of the disc. When a DVD is made and sold, the retail price pays for many things such as actors, production, and profit. If you look into how PBS spends their money, you will clearly note, it is not a profit making venture. This is an excellent series, worthy of the price. Yes, you can get a good deal here, lower than the retail price, from a Marketplace seller... or get yourself an even better deal (at a higher price) direct from the PBS web site, by supporting their cause... and the many more public productions to come. PBS... Possible Through Support From Viewers LIKE YOU.