PBS History Shows: NOVA, History Detectives & More

Billy the Kid Ballad

American Experience

Wed Dec. 28, 2011

Writer Mark Lee Gardner performs a ballad about Billy the Kid during his interview for the film. Continue

Tulsa, OK (Hour Two) - Preview

Antiques Roadshow

Fri Dec. 30, 2011

A 1960 first-edition To Kill a Mockingbird; a collection of bronzes that may be Remingtons and Russells; and a rare 1924 Gibson F-5 "Lloyd Loar" mandolin. 1/9/2012 Continue

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story Trailer

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

Thu Dec. 29, 2011

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story is the story of a humble Philadelphia clerk who risked his life shepherding runaway slaves to freedom in the tumultuous years leading up to America’s Civil War. William Still was the director of a complex network of abolitionists, sympathizers and safe houses that stretched from Philadelphia to what is now Southern Ontario. Continue

Slavery and Freedom

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

Thu Dec. 29, 2011

As incredible as it sounds today, in the 1850s many Americans believed that slaves were incapable of thinking for themselves and could not survive on their own. They believed that the black man was created by God to serve a white master and found passages in the Bible to prove it. Some slave holders even argued that they were doing their slaves a favor by providing them with food and shelter. Continue

Fugitive Slave Act

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

Thu Dec. 29, 2011

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was the last attempt by the government in Washington to appease the southern slave states and shut down the Underground Railroad. It required every state and territory in the United States to assist in the return of fugitive slaves and gave slave owners the right to seek them out even in states that had abolished slavery. Continue

Punishment

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

Thu Dec. 29, 2011

Slaves who ran away from their masters and were re-captured suffered terrible punishments. A severe beating was the most common form of discipline, usually administered with a bull whip or a wooden paddle. The offender would be hung by the hands or staked to the ground and every slave on the plantation would be forced to watch the whipping to deter them from running away. Continue

Tulsa, OK (Hour One) - Preview

Antiques Roadshow

Tue Dec. 27, 2011

A signed note from Mother Teresa to a wood-carver; a custom model 1894 Winchester rifle; and a collection of late 17th/early 18th-century Chinese libation cups - grabbing the number one spot in the list of all-time highest value ROADSHOW appraisals. 1/2/2012 Continue

Growing Up in the South

Slavery by Another Name

Tue Dec. 27, 2011

Descendant Bernard Kinsey reflects on growing up in the South. Continue

Reflections on Emanicipation

Slavery by Another Name

Thu Dec. 22, 2011

Descendant Tonya Groomes reflects on how slaves must have felt at the end of the Civil War. Continue

Results of Reconstruction

Slavery by Another Name

Thu Dec. 22, 2011

Historian Khalil Muhammad explains how the mechanisms of dealing with race relations ended up producing new forms of slavery after Reconstruction. Continue

William Still's Place in History

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

Thu Dec. 29, 2011

Drawing from the diaries he'd secretly kept during his years as the Philadelphia stationmaster, William Still published his definitive book on the Underground Railroad and the freedom seekers who used it. His passion for the cause of freedom was so great that when he died in 1902, The New York Times called him "The Father of the Underground Railroad". Continue

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story Trailer No Air

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

Fri Dec. 30, 2011

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story is the story of a humble Philadelphia clerk who risked his life shepherding runaway slaves to freedom in the tumultuous years leading up to America’s Civil War. William Still was the director of a complex network of abolitionists, sympathizers and safe houses that stretched from Philadelphia to what is now Southern Ontario. Continue

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

Thu Dec. 29, 2011

Underground Railroad: The Williams Still Story is the story of a humble Philadelphia clerk who risked his life shepherding runaway slaves to freedom in the tumultuous years leading up to America’s Civil War. William Still was the director of a complex network of abolitionists, sympathizers and safe houses that stretched from Philadelphia to what is now Southern Ontario. Continue

Coded Spirituals

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

Thu Dec. 29, 2011

Many of the well-known Negro Spirituals popular in the United States during the mid-1800s are much more complex than they first appear. Historians of the Underground Railroad refer to them as "Coded Spirituals". What that means is that the words actually have two meanings; one that is immediately apparent and one that's hidden just below the surface. Continue

Origin of the name Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

Thu Dec. 29, 2011

Historians haven't been able to pin down how the Underground Railroad got its name. Many believe it was a slave-catcher who coined the term, when the runaway he was chasing seemed to just disappear as though he'd escaped on a mysterious underground rail line. But one thing is certain: the "railroad" that helped runaway slaves flee to the free states had nothing to do with steel rails. Continue

Tampa, FL (Hour One)

Antiques Roadshow

Tue Dec. 27, 2011

An autographed scrapbook documenting Joe DiMaggio's 1941 hitting streak; a marriage license issued to Davy Crockett for a wedding that never took place; a painting initially attributed to James E. Buttersworth but later identified as the work of late-19th-century artist Antonio Jacobsen. 1/2/2012 Continue

Reflections on Storytelling