Synopsis:
LIBERTY! is a six-part series of one-hour documentaries for PBS. It describes how the American Revolution evolved and how a new nation was born in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, using actors, Revolutionary era scholars, and eyewitness accounts of the time.

LIBERTY! is hosted by award winning journalist and ABC news anchor, Forrest Sawyer. Edward Herrmann is the narrator. It was originally broadcast Nov. 23 - 25, 1997. -- PBS.org

PBS synopsis

Part 1 The Reluctant Revolutionaries

In 1763, American colonists are happily British. They live in a hierarchical world of gentlemen and commoners and are proud to be subjects of King George III. With the end of the French and Indian War, American has become a land of opportunity, and the future founding fathers -- all powerful, ambitious men -- are poised to take advantage of it. In the midst of this tranquility, the British impose a seemingly routine tax -- the Stamp Act. It creates a firestorm throughout the colonies as Americans see their liberties -- and their power -- threatened. Benjamin Franklin finds himself in the center of controversy as relations between England and America begin to unravel.

Part 2 Blows Must Decide

By the fall of 1774, British troops occupy Boston. Its port has been closed. Thirteen colonies, which until now have had little in common with one another, take raltering steps to unite in reaction to this aggression... But even after shots are fired at Lexington, there is great disagreement about what to do next. A best-selling pamphlet, Thomas Paine's Common Sense, helps turn the tide toward independence. It further questions the very nature of monarchy, stating that it is the right of men to govern themselves. On July 2, 1776, independence is declared. Two days laer, Congress ratifies the Declaration of Independence, a document that introduces the idea that "all men are create dequal." A fight for independence is being transformed into a political revolution.

Part 3: The Times That Try Men's Souls

Days after the Declaration of Independence is signed, an immense British force drops anchor in New York harbor, pitting the largest professional army in the world against George Washington's army of untrained volunteers. Washington, the perfect gentleman, wants to conduct the war in proper 18th century style. Instead, after an early string of defeats, he realizes that to keep the Revolution alive, he must avoid fightling at all costs and keep his army on the run. On the day after Christmas, 1776, with just days of enlistment left for many recruits, a desperate Washington leads his Continentals quietly across the half frozen Delaware River, surprising a garrison of Hessian soldiers at Trenton. Washington becomes a hero and the American Revolution goes on.

Part 4. Oh Fatal Ambition!