This video is a selection of segments from the Freedom:  A History of US series that cover the American Revolution and early presidents, the Louisiana Purchase, the abolition movement, and the Civil War.  The full series is superb and strongly recommended for school libraries, although it is rather pricey.  (See the description elsewhere on this site.)  If you do not buy the full series, however, this program offers quite a bit of great content at a bargain price.  Like the series, this program is divided into short segments that are great for classroom use.  The DVD version (2 hours total - $29.98) has some additional content not on the VHS version (90 minutes total - $24.98.)

   Both DVD and VHS versions are available from the on-line PBS Teacher Shop at:

http://teacher.shop.pbs.org/home/index.jsp

       (Be sure to go to the on-line PBS Teacher Shop, not just the regular PBS on-line store, which may not show all available items.  It's worth checking Amazon.com as well.)