THE WAR THAT MADE AMERICA brings to television a vastly important but often misunderstood period of American history - a period that set in motion forces that would culminate in the American Revolution. The four-hour dramatic documentary tells the story of the French and Indian War (1754-1763), which began in the wilderness of the Pennsylvania frontier and spread throughout the colonies and into Canada. Narrated and hosted by Graham Greene, an Academy-Award nominee for Dances With Wolves and an Oneida Indian whose ancestors fought in this war, the series airs on PBS Wednesdays, January 18-25, 2006, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET. Check local listings. THE WAR THAT MADE AMERICA combines a commitment to historical accuracy with a compelling filmed portrayal, shot in HD, of the dangerous world of the 18th-century frontier. A central figure is George Washington, then a brash and ambitious young officer in his twenties, hoping to make his reputation in the military, whose blunders actually trigger the war. A primary focus of the series, and a story that has long been distorted or forgotten, is the critical military importance and strategic diplomacy of Native Americans in the conflict between the English and French for the expansion of their colonial empires. This was a war the British won, but the fruit of their victory contained the seeds of the Revolutionary War. As the first episode, "A Country Between," begins, the Declaration of Independence is read to the Continental Army on the eve of the Revolutionary War, and General George Washington thinks back to his first military experiences more than 20 years before, when he was a young officer fighting for the British to control the western territories of Pennsylvania and beyond for colonial expansion. Washington was a pivotal figure in the start of the French and Indian War in 1754, a conflict that pitted England's goals for empire in the New World against French interests. Caught between were the Indian nations, whose leaders, like the Half King, struggled to negotiate between these two European forces to protect their own people's interests. After a disastrous skirmish that leaves a French diplomatic envoy dead, and a resounding defeat in his first full-scale battle at Fort Necessity, Washington becomes an aide to General Edward Braddock, who is sent from England with a large force to evict the French from the strategic Forks of the Ohio. By equal measures arrogant and inexperienced, Braddock is overwhelmingly defeated by the French and their Indian allies, and dies of battlefield wounds. Britain becomes more determined to win the war and sends thousands more troops, setting the stage for the next phase of the war. In the second hour, "Unlikely Allies," the war unfolds and moves to upstate New York as relations among the French, British, Indians and colonial settlers become increasingly tense and the frontier grows more dangerous. Indians see the war between the French and English as an opportunity to regain control of their territory, and begin to attack settlements, taking women like Mary Jemison captive as part of their spiritual mourning tradition for lost warriors. French and English officers are disgusted by Indians, whom they perceive as barbarians, but they are forced into uneasy alliances with them. Interesting characters emerge, like British general Andrew William Johnson, an Irish fur trader who has an exceptional ability to bridge the cultural divide, and his friend, the Mohawk Chief Hendrick. As the front lines stretch from North Carolina to Canada, it is far from clear who the victors will be. In episode three, "Turning the Tide," the British start to tighten the noose on the outnumbered French forces, and the tide turns after three years of defeats. Although British Major-General James Abercromby is defeated by the Marquis de Montcalm at Fort Ticonderoga, France is no longer supplying the resources for victory and the war is taking a terrible toll on their allied Indian tribes, decimated by disease and hunger. The British dispatch General John Forbes to conquer Fort Duquesne at the Forks of the Ohio, where the French have been entrenched since Braddock's defeat. Forbes is determined to carve a road through the wilderness, protected by a series of forts. An Eastern Delaware chief named Teedyuscung proves instrumental in securing victory for Forbes. Washington, at the center of action once again, is almost killed in a "friendly fire" incident, and wonders if Providence spared him for a higher purpose. The series concludes with "Unintended Consequences." British troops push north into Canada and lay siege to the impregnable hilltop fort at Quebec. In a daring strategic maneuver, British General Wolfe orders his troops to scale the cliffs at night; the surprise attack defeats the French at last. Wolfe is mortally wounded, but General Jeffrey Amherst continues the British pressure on Canada. Decisively aided by the Iroquois, he brings the war, and French influence in Canada, to an end. But in the aftermath of victory, the British treasury is drained and tensions between the colonies and Britain escalate as Parliament imposes taxes on the colonies to help recover the costs of the long war. Struggling to control a vast North American empire, they also make a treaty with the Indian nations, which were attacking frontier settlements, to prevent further colonial encroachment. George Washington, now a civilian planter and member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, chafes at these British actions, as do many other Americans. They feel betrayed and disrespected as partners in the victory and loyal British subjects, and their economic interests in the western territories are at stake. With the Stamp Act and the tax on tea, the time arrives to declare independence from the Crown that they had been so willing to serve just 20 years before. Washington puts on his military uniform once more - this time to lead the Continental Army.
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