Black American Documentary Films in Streaming: Slavery

Slavery and the Making of America

1. The Downward Cycle: "Black and white indentured servants were treated similarly in the 1620s. By the early 18th century, the expanding slave trade caused many colonies to adopt strict 'black codes,' transforming the social system into one of legal racial oppression.'
2. Liberty in the Air: :Slavery continued to support economic development from the 1740's to 1830's; but the Revolutionary War revealed the contradictions of a nation seeking independence while denying freedom to its black citizens."
3. Seeds of Destruction: "The South saw its greatest expansion of slavery as the North adopted laws to abolish it. The abolitionist movement began to gather strength, contributing to the widening fissure and imminent break-up of the nation."
4. The Challenge of Freedom: "The complexities of the Civil War and Reconstruction are chronicled through the experience of slave Robert Smalls. The rise of militant groups and new segregation laws show that slavery's eradication had not ended black oppression."

(Seeds of Destruction)