1861: "The Cause"
1861: "The Cause" The Civil War
Beginning with a searing indictment of slavery, this first episode dramatically evokes the causes of the war, from the Cotton Kingdom of the South to the northern abolitionists who opposed it. Here are the burning questions of Union and states' rights, John Brown at Harpers Ferry, the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the firing on Fort Sumter, and the jubilant rush to arms on both sides.
About the Program
The Civil War
Between 1861 and 1865, Americans made war on each other and killed each other in great numbers if only to become the kind of country that could no longer conceive of how that was possible. What began as a bitter dispute over Union and States' Rights, ended as a struggle over the meaning of freedom in America.
Here’s your ticket to stream.
Stream the best of public television on demand with GPB Passport: MASTERPIECE dramas and mysteries, NOVA, Ken Burns documentaries, Finding Your Roots and more. Binge full seasons, get early access to new episodes before they air on television and catch up on programs you missed with this powerful donor benefit from GPB!
