If you have missed the first two episodes of the three-part PBS documentary The Abolitionists, you should check them out as well as the third and final part that airs this Tuesday on PBS (and is also available on DVD
). The American Experience series — written, directed and produced by Rob Rapley — is an entertaining and informative look at some important people that you may not know much about.
The series focuses on some of the men and women who, leading up to the Civil War, fought for the cause of abolishing slavery. Through re-enactments by excellent actors and well-written narration, viewers learn about the hurdles, struggles, heartbreak, and victories of William Lloyd Garrison, Angelina Grimké, Frederick Douglass, John Brown, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Of course, many other abolitionists worked for the cause and a three-part series has to simplify the complicated story. But the focus on the individuals was a wise choice, making the anti-slavery movement more personal to the viewer.
In the first two parts, you learn about how the death of a child helped lead Harriet Beecher Stowe to write one of the most important novels in American history. You watch how the leading abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison became friends with former slave Frederick Douglass and how the two had a falling out, resulting in personal attacks and the two men not speaking to each other.
Despite the focus on individuals, the series also provides a good understanding of the years leading up to the Civil War and the steps that further divided the United States. The episodes accomplish that task while paying deserved attention to some important women and men in U.S. history. As the New York Times notes, when William Lloyd Garrison published the first issue of The Liberator in 1831, Abraham Lincoln was working as a store clerk. And while it is easy for us to watch today and believe that we would have been on the side of the abolitionists, the series helps show how difficult it is to be a hero too.
What did you think of the first episodes of The Abolitionists? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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