In 1860, as the American Experiment threatened to explode into a bloody civil war, there were as many as four hundred thousand slave-owners in the United States, and almost four million slaves. The nation was founded upon the idea that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The nation would pay a bloody cost for denying that right to more than twelve percent of its population.
This portion of the series talks about the causes of and start of the Civil War; the evolution of the drive to win on each side of the conflict and of President Lincoln's bold step towards freedom for all slaves in the United States.
This section of the series looks at the conclusion of the War Between the States and the effects of the outcome for slaves, slave owners and the entire country.
