Movies/TV Shows/Streaming
Below is a list of things some of our members have found helpful or inspiring about the American Revolution or our Founding Fathers. Options for streaming/viewing are likely to change over time, please conduct your own search or verify independently. If you have an idea, let us know.
The American Revolution
Ken Burns, well known for his excellent and educational documentaries particularly about American History, is again partnering with PBS for a production about The American Revolution. This five-part, ten-hour series is slated for broadcast on PBS in 2025. More information is available online.
Sons of Liberty
Sons of Liberty originally aired on the History Channel in 2015. It is currently available on Amazon Prime, with three episodes about an hour and a half each.
The program shows ways in which the Patriots were dissatisfied, with high taxes and no representation, with the British taking possession of private homes, and much more.
John Adams
The life of the founding father whose independent spirit and vision steers America through a tumultuous period. Streaming on HBO Max and on Amazon Prime Video.
Turn: Washington’s Spies
A Long Island farmer bands together a group of childhood friends to form an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence. Streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and others.
Washington
You may think you know George Washington, but there’s more to our preeminent founding father than you’ve been told. Washington chips away the marble to reveal the man at the heart of our nation’s story. You’ll never look at George Washington, or the founding of our country, the same way again. Streaming on Amazon Prime and History Vault.
Ben Franklin: A Film by Ken Burns
Ken Burns’s four-hour documentary, Benjamin Franklin, explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century’s most consequential and compelling personalities, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of electricity and helped create the United States. “Write things worth reading,” he said in Poor Richard’s Almanack, “or do things worth the writing.” Benjamin Franklin did both. Available on Amazon Prime and PBS Streaming.
Hamilton
The original Broadway production of the award-winning musical that tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, first secretary of the treasury, blending hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway styles, filmed from the Richard Rogers Theater in New York. Streaming on Disney+.