Liberty on Trial in America: Cases That Defined Freedom

There is no toleration of religious dissent in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1600s; Anne Hutchinson shares with others her religious ideas and gathers a following; the governor puts her on trial for heresy; the trials and punishment of Anne.

Freedom of speech is not recognized liberty; speech critical of the powers can land one in legal trouble; the colonial history of press freedom; attempts to influence juries as they try to affect the libel trial of John Peter Zenger.

The citizens of the newly formed United States cannot agree on the moral issue of slavery; they are willing to take up its more narrow legal issues; how the legal system supports the institution of slavery; the trials of Anthony Burns and Celia.

John Brown's plan to end slavery comes to a tragic end at Harper's Ferry, Va.; Brown is charged with treason, murder and slave insurrection; John Brown's trial and execution play a significant role in the eventual end of slavery in the US.

Susan B. Anthony believes she is a citizen of the United States according to the Fourteenth Amendment and has the right to vote; after dropping her ballot into the box at the West End New Depot in Rochester, N.Y., on Election Day, she is arrested.

Labor tensions are at the boiling point in Chicago; someone throws a bomb at police officers; eight defendants are tried by a jury picked by the bailiff; seven are found guilty; this trial becomes a key event in the history of free speech in America.