Between the first settlement at Jamestown and the final battle of the American Revolution at Yorktown lay 174 years and the development of an American spirit. This program traces the three distinct strains that made up that spirit—the slave-based, agricultural economy of the South, founded by seekers after wealth; the seekers after religious and political freedom who settled in Massachusetts and elsewhere in New England, armed with determination and the printing press; and, geographically between the two, the merchants of New York and Philadelphia. The program explains the frustrations and complaints of the colonists; outlines the events leading to the Declaration of Independence; covers some of the major events of the war; and culminates in the last major battle, the battle of Yorktown, with credit for the victory belonging equally to American and French troops, to Washington and Lafayette. It would be another two years before the British admitted defeat. (30 minutes)