GBH Openvault

Africans In America; Revolution (1750–1805); Interview with Thomas J. Davis, 1996

Part of Africans in America.

05/19/1996

Thomas J. Davis is interviewed about Venture Smith and the relationship between slave and slave holder, Venture's loss of his family and the purchase of their freedom, the difference between a free Negro and a free person, the importance of waterways in colonial life, Venture Smith's acquisition of land, the significance of the Revolutionary War, Venture Smith as slave owner, The Constitution's sanction of slavery and what it meant to Venture Smith

Series

Africans In America

Program

Revolution (1750–1805)

Program Number

102

Title

Interview with Thomas J. Davis, 1996

Series Description

Broadcast: October 1998 This series explores the central paradox that is at the heart of the American story: a democracy that declared all men equal but enslaved and oppressed one people to provide independence and prosperity to another. The series opens in the 16th century on Africa's Gold Coast with the European and African trade, and ends on the eve of the American Civil War in 1861. Africans in America examines the economic and intellectual foundations of slavery in America and the global economy that prospered from it. The series reveals how the presence of African people and their struggle for freedom transformed America. Series release date: 10/1998

Program Description

102 Revolution (1750–1805)--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 while the new nation's Constitution codifies slavery and oppression as a national way of life. Producer: Noland Walker.

Duration

00:42:39

Asset Type

Raw video

Media Type

Video

Genres

Interview

Topics

Race and Ethnicity

History

Creators

Smith, Llewellyn (Series Producer)

Contributors

Davis, Thomas J. (Interviewee)

Publication Information

WGBH Educational Foundation

Rights Summary

Rights Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation

Citation

Chicago: “Africans In America; Revolution (1750–1805); Interview with Thomas J. Davis, 1996,” 05/19/1996, GBH Archives, accessed December 4, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_CC935560DC10431686AFFD1640A549A9.

MLA: “Africans In America; Revolution (1750–1805); Interview with Thomas J. Davis, 1996.” 05/19/1996. GBH Archives. Web. December 4, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_CC935560DC10431686AFFD1640A549A9>.

APA: Africans In America; Revolution (1750–1805); Interview with Thomas J. Davis, 1996. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_CC935560DC10431686AFFD1640A549A9