The Media Library of Genesee Valley BOCES

Plymouth Rock is the most solid piece of history the United States has. Jean Fritz explores, with wit and wisdom, whether or not the First Comers or Pilgrims stepped on it when they landed in Plymouth Harbor. (Please Note: This title is also in the Fall Timely Topics video collection housed in your elementary school library from September through December.)

The powerful influences of family, social class, religion, and self-government in the colonies created a unique set of values. This program uses historical vignettes to reveal those values on the eve of the Revolution

This historical re-creation of the founding and first years of Plymouth Plantation was shot in authentic location and buildings at Plymouth, MA. It also tells the story of the first Thanksgiving from a unique perspective which emphasizes the Native Americans' contribution of their own autumn celebration to this national holiday and to the survival of the Plymouth Colony

Even though the availability of land gave American Colonists more self-determination than their European cousins, there were still class divisions. How these differences were overcome as the Revolution approached is explored in this program

This live-action program features realistic re-enactments, both in Elizabethan England and America, at the beginning of the European settlement in the New World. Strong acting plus historical costumes and sets add to the drama of the colony's disappearance

Shows how the Pilgrims followed their dreams to a place where "no religious persecution existed". Follows the plan from William Brewster's home to the exodus led by John Smith. The relationship with the Native Americans, the importance of the Mayflower compact and its governing rules, the Plymouth colony, and the creation of Thanksgiving are all explored

Searches out the roots of the Puritans and the Pilgrims and paints an accurate picture of the historical events that brought these religious exiles to America. Photographed at the actual historic sites in Europe and at the Plimoth Plantation

The relationship of children, parents, husbands and wives, and the role each played is portrayed in this colonial re-enactment. The close bonds of family members made this hard life endurable, and brought most work close to home

Traces the history of Dutch exploration and settlement worldwide in the 17th century, rivaling the English, French, and the Portuguese in scope. After the establishment of New Amsterdam, Henry Hudson's East India Company had a prominent role in commercial America under the direction of Peter Minuet. The program looks at the development of the Dutch Colony and Peter Stuyvesant's role in New Netherland

Follows events and people of the 17th century: Captain John Smith and Pocahontas, Sir Walter Raleigh, Francis Drake, and Jamestown. Explores how the Puritans, who had fled Europe to avoid religious perscecution, became the oppressors of those who refused to conform to their religious beliefs. Quakers and Jews were especially prone to be victims of this oppression