Join us Wednesdays at 6 PM for screenings and discussions on the history of the American revolutionary tradition.
Jefferson in Paris (1995) | February 4th
1873: Reconstruction-era Ohio: A reporter interviews a black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, telling their story. 1784-89: Leading up to the French Revolution, Thomas Jefferson is the U.S. ambassador to France, whose intellectuals, such as American Revolutionary War veteran Lafayette, join the revolt of the Third Estate, ...
Join us Wednesdays at 6 PM for screenings and discussions on the history of the American revolutionary tradition.
Jefferson in Paris (1995) | February 4th
1873: Reconstruction-era Ohio: A reporter interviews a black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, telling their story. 1784-89: Leading up to the French Revolution, Thomas Jefferson is the U.S. ambassador to France, whose intellectuals, such as American Revolutionary War veteran Lafayette, join the revolt of the Third Estate, hoping to follow the American example. Jefferson helps them compose the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, discussing his frustration at the American failure to abolish slavery. Jefferson begins a relationship and fathers a child with his slave Sally Hemings, sister of his deceased wife, promising to free her and her children.
Directed by James Ivory. Starring Nick Nolte, Thandie Newton, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Greta Scacchi. Written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Music by Richard Robbins.
Amistad (1997) | February 11th
1839-41: Two decades before the outbreak of the Civil War, a slave ship on course to the east coast of the United States is overtaken by a mutiny led by one of the slaves, Cinqué. Cinqué and his crew land in Connecticut, where they face trial in a courtroom and a country full of tensions. Former President John Quincy Adams representing Cinqué before the Supreme Court argues that a coming civil war over slavery will be the "last battle of the American Revolution."
Directed by Steven Spielberg. Starring Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou, Morgan Freeman, and Matthew McConaughey. Music by John Williams.
Glory (1989) | February 18th
1863: After the Union victory at Antietam, Lincoln orders the Emancipation Proclamation. Robert Gould Shaw, the son of an influential Abolitionist, is promoted to Colonel and given command of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first all-black regiment of Union soldiers organized by Frederick Douglass.
Directed by Edward Zwick. Starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and Cary Elwes. Music by James Horner.
Lincoln (2012) | February 25th
1865: As the Civil War rages on, the President struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet as well as in Congress over the passage of a Constitutional amendment to permanently abolish slavery.
Directed by Steven Spielberg. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, and David Strathairn. Written by Tony Kushner. Music by John Williams.
