The Founding Of America (2009)

The men who founded the United States are often remembered as marble statues and faces on currency. "The Founding Of America" brings them back to life as real people - ambitious, brilliant, flawed and willing to risk everything for an idea. This sweeping collection covers the personalities, battles, sacrifices and even the romances of the nation's earliest days in rich, engaging detail. "Founding Fathers" and "Founding Brothers" explore the complicated relationships among the very human men who staked their fortunes and their lives on independence. "The Revolution" traces the great battles of the war, from devastating defeats to victories that seemed nothing short of miraculous. "Ben Franklin" and "Benedict Arnold: A Question Of Honor" examine two men whose paths could hardly have diverged more, one remembered as a hero and the other as history's most notorious traitor. And "Washington The Warrior" and "The Crossing" pay tribute to the leadership of George Washington, whose steady resolve held a fragile army together. Featuring performances by Kelsey Grammer, Aidan Quinn and Jeff Daniels, along with rare archival material and insight from leading historians, the collection is history programming at its most comprehensive. Building a nation took patience, persistence and enormous courage, and this collection helps you appreciate just how close the whole experiment came to failing.