AllMovie

This four-hour report traces the history of slavery in the U.S. and explores the economic impact of "the founding fathers you never knew," as narrator Morgan Freeman puts it. Part 1 covers the first 115 years, beginning with the arrival of the first "African creoles" in New Amsterdam in the 1620s, and tells stories of individual slaves. At first, slavery was "undefined," says Freeman. It was harsh enough, but after it became better defined it's inhumanity was locked into place.