Ourstory
- 1975-1977
- 1 season
- Documentary
Season 1 Episode Guide
9 Episodes 1975 - 1976
Episode 1
The Peach Gang
Mon, Sep 29, 1975 45 mins
A truly unusual series of historical reenactments of actual concerning little known but significant Americans, begins tonight' with "The Peach Gang." It's a tale you will be mulling over with care because you, the viewer, are cast in the role of the jury. Tune in for the trial of Arthur Peach, held in the Narragansett Indian territory of Colonial times. Peach. dissolute young man of 18, who has already made a serving girl pregnant, is being tried for the murder of an Indian whom he and his friends had robbed. Although the program itself starts slowly, the scene of the trial is absolutely fascinating, illustrating as it does the thoughtfulness, sincerity and pragmatism of the judges--the most important people in the community - and their concern for justice as they see it.
Episode 2
Eliza
Mon, Oct 6, 1975
A dramatization of Eliza Lucas Pinckney, who at 16 in 1738 inherited responsibility for a 2,000-acre plantation in South Carolina, and succeeded in cultivating first American Indigo by discovering the secret of extracting dye from indigo plants. Despite drought, runaway slaves, malaria, smallpox and sabotage, she succeeds where others failed.
Episode 3
The World Turned Upside Down
Tue, Nov 4, 1975
James Armistead was a black slave who waited on tables in the camp of Great Britain's General Cornwallis. This was his attempt to win his freedom by serving as a spy for the colonists during the Revolution. With his invaluable knowledge of the countryside, he joined Lafayette in 1781 and later infiltrated the British camp. After the war, he took the name Lafayette and returned to slavery. In 1786, the Virginia Legislature purchased his freedom.
Episode 4
The Last Ballot
Tue, Dec 16, 1975
The election of 1800 ended in a fluke tie vote in the Electoral College between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, throwing the choice of President into the House of Representatives. After seven days of deliberation, many of them around the clock, and 35 ballots, the House still could not agree. This program tells the story of a little-remembered politician, Congressman James Bayard of Delaware, who cast the tie-breaking vote in the Presidential election of 1800.
Episode 5
The Devil's Work
Tue, Jan 20, 1976
The little known story of an itinerant theater company and the Illinois lawyer, Abraham Lincoln, who defended it in 1838. A small-town preacher tries to run out a traveling theater company by linking acting with the devil.
Episode 6
Erie War
Thu, Mar 25, 1976
The story of the 1868 battle for control of the Erie Railroad in New York State.
Episode 7
The Queen's Destiny
Sat, Apr 17, 1976
The overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by American colonists.
Episode 8
Jade Snow
Tue, May 4, 1976
The story of a Chinese American, Jade Snow Wong, an accomplished ceramicist of the 1920s.
Episode 9
Pieces of Eight
Sun, Jun 6, 1976
Combines highlights from the first eight productions in an essay on "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."