Product Description

Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 01/30/2001 Run time: 200 minutes Rating: Nr

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19240 in DVD
• Brand: A&E
• Released on: 2001-01-30
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 200 minutes

Amazon.com
The four programs from the History Channel in this set profile America's Founding Fathers, noting right at the outset they were a "mismatched group of quarrelsome aristocrats, merchants, and lawyers." The story of how these disparate characters fomented rebellion in the colonies, formed the Continental Congress, fought the Revolutionary War, and wrote the Constitution is told by noted historians, and the production is enhanced with beautifully photographed reenactments as well as intelligent use of period paintings and engravings. The story begins with Samuel Adams and John Hancock in Boston, whose protests against British taxation led to the Boston Tea Party. Moving on to the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, the brilliant delegates from the South, particularly George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, appear on the scene, and the story is told of how an improbable cohesion between the colonies began. Other main characters, including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, appear in turn, and each of the major participants is portrayed in a biographical profile. How these men all came to act together, despite the stark differences in their backgrounds and temperaments, becomes the main thread of the story. They were all quite human, as the historians who appear in interviews remind us. Some of them drank too much, some had illegitimate children, some owned slaves, and some could hardly get along with anyone. Yet these men with complicated private lives worked together and performed heroically. This is an intelligently rendered and captivating look at the men who formed the American nation. --Robert J. McNamara

Customer Reviews

A must for students of the Revolution
If you are interested in early American history, specifically the period of the Revolution, I recommend this series of tapes. The four episodes are a recent series carried by The History Channel and although the tapes can be ordered from that Channel's website, you are better off ordering from Amazon since Amazon offers a discount. The series humanizes the founding fathers. For example, did you ever realize that dour John Adams was a very hot young lover deeply in love with Abigail and whose letters to Abigail were tinged with coded sexual references? I found particularly engaging the treatment of Samuel Adams and John Hancock. The two were so very different yet they combined into a powerful voice for the revolution. Hancock was very wealthy and part of his reason to support the Revolution was to protect his interests and, perhaps, to avoid the payment of taxes. Samuel Adams, on the other hand, was a failed businessman and a frumpy dresser (whereas Hancock was always perfectly dressed). However, the two worked together to form a passionate voice. In this series we learn how close the Revolution was to failure as Washington had only a few troops whose terms of enlistment were due to expire. However, these troops were rallied by Thomas Paine's famous words, "These are the times that try men's souls." Paine earlier had rallied the populous with "Common Sense." but equally important was his rallying of the troops. All of the founding fathers, Washington, Jefferson, Henry, Franklin etc. are presented in an engaging way. They are humanized and their contributions to our fledgling nation are illuminated. This series is particularly well suited to a middle school or high school history class. I recommend it highly.

Decent Overview of the Founding Father's life
First of all, this DVD is NOT about the American Revolution. If you want to know about the American Revolution and how the country was built, then "Liberty: The American Revolution" from PBS is a much better choice. Nevertheless, this is still a decent DVD, if you want a quick overview of the biography of the Founding Fathers. Each Founding Fathers biography is covered equally in length. They are Samuel Adams, John Hancock, John Adams, Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. You will learn that each Founding Fathers has different reason to join the revolution, not all of them get along with each other, they came with many flaws just like humans, and not all of them were respected after the end of the revolution. The DVD is begin with the seed of the revolution, why each Founding Fathers decided to join the revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and the creation of the U.S constitution along with the Bill of Rights. Overall, this is a decent DVD. My only complains are sometimes they talk about the Founding Father's character that are not important to the revolution and there is very little coverage about the war. But overall, this is a good DVD if you want a quick overview of the life of the Founding Fathers.

Good Cover, No Meat
What a waste of time. I wanted to learn about the founding of America, instead I am force-fed moronic "professors" obviously chosen for their willingness to say stupid things. One said he was surprised the Founding Fathers were able to function because they were so drunk, using about four different descriptive slang terms rather than "intoxicated." Another said that John Adams was a candiate for Prozac and implied that the first child he had with his wife may have been illegitimate despite being born 9-10 months after the wedding (married in October, baby born in July).

I am so sick of the tripe A&E and the History Channel release. The History Channel used to seem more legitimate than A&E, now it's just the same nonsense. Something calling itself "The HISTORY Channel" should do more than try to revise it.

Don't waste your money.