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Movie Review The colonial history of North Carolina is filled with numerous outbreaks of violence, due to independent spirit of people who lived in this part of America at the time. This is because it was much harder for colonial administration to maintain their authority there then anywhere else, since the area was scarcely populated, with lack of reliable means of communication and only a few roads. (1) The Battle of Alamance many consider as a prelude to American War for Independence, which broke out a few years later, yet there werent a specific historical studies conducted, in regards of this event, up until recently, when the first part of North-Carolina history television series was introduced to public on 1996. The plot of this documentary appears to be very simple: the alleged leader of Regulators rebellion Herman Husband finds himself in the wilderness, hiding, when he encounters two strangers that also turn out to be affected by the rebellions aftermath. This leads to a conversation between them, where Husbands recollections of the events are presented in the form of flashbacks. He begins his story by giving a numerous examples of colonial administrators injustice towards the local people. According to Husband, Royal Governor William Tryon and his aide Colonel Edmund Fanning were only concerned with enriching themselves at the cost of community's well-being.
We see these two as being totally deprived of morals. Fanning do not feel any remorse after expropriating a horse from one poor family, over its alleged inability to pay taxes, which were collected only a month prior to this. This character is represented as a true villain and as story unravels, we see that it was him who insisted on firing artillery salvos at unorganized and mostly unarmed crowd of Regulators, during the Battle of Alamance in 1771. The other major character in Husbands tale is Governor Troy. His motivations appear to be quite different from Fanning's. Hes still a predator, as we can see from the fact that he was going to build himself a palace in New Bern, while many ordinary citizens in Orange county were often deprived of basic living essentials.
Nevertheless, hes also concerned about maintaining civilization in this Gods forsaken land. He thinks that the North Carolina would inevitably sink in social chaos, if Regulators were allowed to proceed with their demands. In my opinion, the character of Herman Husband is the most accurate in this documentary, from historical point of view. Although many refer to him as the leader of rebellion, his most radical action was printing out some anti-Governors leaflets.
After all, he was an elected official and thought of thy shall not kill commandment in literal terms. Husband appears to be the person whos inner divided between serving those who elected him and trying to keep his office. Hes not a revolutionary, although at one point in documentary, hes shown to be leading a violent band of Regulators, who were going to interrupt court proceedings. It looks like producer wanted to make the story more appealing, by attributing Husband with psychological traits that he never possessed. In one episode, Husband inspires farmers to rob tax collectors in the Robin Hoods style As a matter of fact, historical Husband always tried to prevent Regulators from perpetrating acts of violence. (2) The most positive aspect of this film is the fact that its creators wanted to popularize the part of our countrys history. This is important, because colonial era rebellions have laid the ground for what we associate now with principles of American civil freedoms.
This film shows that that rights are not given theyre taken. Many of our predecessors had sacrificed their lives so that contemporary Americans could enjoy certain civil rights and freedoms. These freedoms were not easy to obtain, therefore it appears to be a very alarming symptom that many contemporary Americans are willing to give away these rights, in exchange for security. There are also a many shortcomings can be found in this film.
One of them is that its authors decided to use a very simplified approach in describing events of Regulators rebellion. The formula good vs. evil is considered as a sign of very bad taste in movie making industry. In my opinion, the intelligent viewer will be less likely to watch other parts of documentary, after getting a taste of this initially. The characters of Husband, Tryon and Fanning are represented in one-dimensional manner. From the very beginning we realize that they are just going to follow a certain behavioral patterns, so we get the idea of what this film is all about, without even watching it to the end.
The critical review of this film in H-Net Multimedia appears to be quite neutral. Nevertheless, Grieg Friend also points out to the over-simplification of historical events, as the films main shortcoming. He rightly notices that there were only hundred actors engaged in the battle scene, while historical documents tell us of close to 2000 troops participating in the battle on each side (3) Despite the fact that Alamance is far from being a perfect film, Id still recommend it for viewing. The best thing about it is not that it broadens our understanding of American history, but the fact that it encourages people to learn history on their own. (4) The understanding of civil liberties is essential when it comes to analyzing the events of colonial era.
It is up to us interpreting our own history The War of Independence can only appear as a result of tea taxes dispute for anyone who studies American history from afar. Yet, for any true American, there is no doubt that there were more idealistic considerations involved. In our materialistic times we tend to think of colonial period as non-progressive and unfair. The contemporary promoters of universal peace and tolerance simply cannot find even a hint of political-correctness in those times. But only blind cant see that American citizens back then, possessed something of even greater value an unconditional resolution to defend their civil liberties. Bibliography: Fitch, William. 1905.
Some Neglected History of North Carolina. New York, Neale Publishing Company. Friend, Graig. 2005. Review of Alamance (online). H-Net Reviews.
June, 1998. Available from web Lefler, Hugh. 1953. Orange County and the War of Regulation. in Orange County, Chapel Hill: Treshold Publications. Nelson, David. 1990.
William Tryon and the Course of an Empire: A Life in British Imperial Service. The University of North Carolina Press. Footnotes: Hugh Lefler, Orange County and the War of Regulation. in Orange County (Chapel Hill: Treshold Publications. 1953) p. 35. William Fitch, Some Neglected History of North Carolina (New York: Neale Publishing Company. 1905) p. 50. Graig Friend, Review of Alamance 1998.
web Many critics point out that British documentaries on American history are the most objective from historical point of view. This, of course, cannot be considered as normal situation.
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Research essay sample on Colonial Era Civil Liberties
