Fight for Freedom

A century and a half ago, North battled South in a conflict that would kill more Americans than any other war. The outcome would change our nation forever, and no one had more to gain, or to lose, than American slaves. Join actor Dennis Haysbert as he looks at their struggles through the objects in the Smithsonians collection. From a childs shackles to the inkwell Lincoln used to write the Emancipation Proclamation, these artifacts transport us to a brutal and complicated time when our country tore itself apart.