After the arrival of the first Africans in Virginia in 1619, the British colonies lay the groundwork for a system of racial slavery which generate profits that ensure the colonies' growth and survival. While the American colonies challenge Britain for independence, American slavery is challenged from within, as men and women fight to define what America will be. When the War of Independence is won, black people, both enslaved and free, seize on the language of freedom, even as the new nation's Constitution codifies slavery and oppression as a national way of life. In Philadelphia, freedmen and fugitive slaves push the country to live up to the promises made in its Constitution. But with the invention of the cotton gin, slavery expands into America's western frontier, and a revolution in Haiti inspires slave rebellions throughout the southern United States.
Abolitionists struggle to bring the institution down, and the nation is tested as never before.
As tensions over slavery erupt into violence, Americans are forced to consider how long the country can continue as a democracy built on the profits of bondage. The CD-ROM version of the Africans in America Web site contains all the historical narratives, the images, documents, stories, biographies and commentaries in the Resources section, and the site's Teacher's Guide. Web browser software required. Single CD Songs featured in the original soundtrack, composed and compiled by singer, scholar and Sweet Honey in the Rock founder Bernice Johnson Reagon. The music is an integral presence in the viewing experience.