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Liberty's Kids

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Liberty's Kids
Created byDiC Entertainment
StarringReo Jones as Sarah
Chris Lundquist as James
Kathleen Barr as Henri
D. Kevin Williams as Moses
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes40
Production
Running time30 Minutes
Original release
NetworkPBS
ReleaseUnited States September 2, 2002 –
April 3, 2003

Liberty's Kids is a 40-part animated television series produced by DiC Entertainment, originally broadcast on PBS Kids from September 2, 2002 to April 4, 2003. Then after cancellation, aired reruns until August 16, 2004 when it was replaced by Cyberchase. The show has since been syndicated by DiC to affiliates of smaller networks such as The CW and MyNetworkTV and some independent stations so that those stations can fulfill FCC educational and informational requirements. In 2008 it ran on The History Channel. The series was based on an idea by Kevin O'Donnell, developed for TV by Kevin O'Donnell, Robby London, Mike Maliani and Andy Heyward.

Its premise is to teach its audience of 7 - 12-year-olds about the origins of the United States of America. Much like the CBS cartoon mini-series based on Peanuts; This is America, Charlie Brown years before, Liberty's Kids tells of young people in dramas surrounding the major events in the Revolutionary War days. Celebrity voices such as Walter Cronkite (as Benjamin Franklin), Sylvester Stallone (as Paul Revere), Ben Stiller (as Thomas Jefferson), Billy Crystal (as John Adams), Dustin Hoffman (as Benedict Arnold), and Arnold Schwarzenegger (as Baron von Steuben) lend credence to characters critical to the forming of a free country, from the Boston Tea Party to the Constitutional Convention.

Main Characters (Fictional Associates of Benjamin Franklin)

A bright-eyed fifteen year old young woman from England, Sarah comes to the Thirteen Colonies in search of her father, Major Phillips, who was last heard exploring the region of Ohio; upon her arrival, she is warmly welcomed by and lives as a guest of Benjamin Franklin. However, with the possibility of a war between the American colonists and the English mother country, she decides that she will become a reporter for Franklin's newspaper in order to offer a more balanced perspective to the press. Sarah believes firmly in the power of words and equal rights for all, and is never afraid to speak her mind. Later in the series, Sarah has a change of heart and realizes how much she has come to understand the people of the colonies and ends up supporting the Revolution. Some men know the way to her heart...and that is by having good manners (Nathan Hale and Udeny Wolf-Hutchinson are good examples); when this happens, James can seem almost jealous. Throughout the series, Sarah and James grow closer. At the end of the series, her mother, Lady Phillips, joins Sarah and her father in the United States and Sarah hopes to explore more of her adopted country.In one episode she pretends to be engaged to James so he can get away from the guards.
A young man orphaned in childhood because of a lightning storm, fifteen-year-old James greatly admires Benjamin Franklin, whose invention of the lightning rod saved many from the same tragedy. Zealous, street-smart and impulsive, James pursues the revolution from a slightly one-sided perspective - something that prompts Sarah to counter his views. An apprentice in Franklin's Print Shop, James believes firmly in the American cause and will do almost anything to ensure that the people receive an honest view of what is happening. In the process, he also faces the less positive aspects of the political conflict that eventually forces his patriotic fervor into a new maturity. He highly values his friends, Sarah and Henri. He can be a little protective of Sarah while he attempts to keep Henri out of trouble, acting somewhat like an older brother figure to Henri. He is often laid back and is constantly reminded of his bad etiquette by Sarah, toward whom he sometimes, inadvertently, shows feelings of what might be "more than friendship." At the end of the series, James intends to start his own newspaper, following in the steps of his mentor.Also in the second episode he sacrifices his mothers ring to make a locket for Sarah to thank her for saving them from some British soldiers.
A small, but comedic and energetic eight-year-old boy from France, Henri's parents died on the voyage to America and the ship's captain exploited Henri afterwards. James and Moses smuggled Henri off the ship and the boy found a home in Benjamin Franklin's workshop. While he speaks French fluently, Dr. Franklin has insisted that Henri learn to speak, read, and write in both English and French. Henri's small size has proved more than useful to Sarah and James, though he has a tendency to land himself in all sorts of trouble while not fully understanding the dangers of the war. His lookout on life is that of a "huge party for his benefit" and has been labeled a "magnet for trouble." Curious and fearless, the only thing Henri values more than his freedom is finding a family of his own. Near the end of the series Henri returns to his native France as the adopted son/ward of the Marquis de Lafayette, with whom he has developed a strong bond.
Born in Africa, Moses was brought in chains to America as a slave. Because of his ingenuity, Moses learned to read, forge metal, and buy his freedom from his master, thus freeing himself from the slavery of the American south. He eventually moved to Philadelphia and found work at Dr. Franklin's Print Shop. His brother, Cato, had not been so fortunate and escaped, later joining the British troops as a soldier. He looks out for Dr. Franklin's young wards, especially Henri. Like Henri, he values his freedom more than anything. Iron-willed Moses will never allow anyone to strip him of his dignity, despite his or her feelings on race. By working at the Print Shop, Moses hopes to educate children of all colors in the ideals of America so that everyone may one day be free. At the end of the series, Moses leaves to set up a school for children of all races.

Although the series spans 14 years from the Boston Tea Party in 1773 to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1787, Sarah, James and Henri never appear to age.

Historical Characters Depicted

Continental Army, Navy, and American militia

British Army & Navy

French officers

Spanish Army

Polish Volunteers

Native Americans

Turncoats

American Family members

American politicians

British politicians

Other Historical Figures

Theme

The opening theme to Liberty's Kids, 'Through My Own Eyes' is performed by Aaron Carter, who also voices Joseph Plumb Martin, and Kayla Hinkle, a country singer who voices also Sybil Ludington.

Episodes

The following are the Liberty's Kids episodes, with links to relevant historial articles.

  1. The Boston Tea Party
  2. The Intolerable Acts
  3. United We Stand
  4. Liberty or Death
  5. Midnight Ride
  6. The Shot Heard Round the World
  7. Green Mountain Boys
  8. The Second Continental Congress
  9. Bunker Hill
  10. Postmaster General Franklin
  11. Washington Takes Command
  12. Common Sense
  13. The First Fourth of July
  14. "New York, New York"
  15. The Turtle
  16. One Life to Lose
  17. Captain Molly
  18. American Crisis
  19. Across the Delaware
  20. American in Paris
  21. Sybil Ludington
  22. Lafayette Arrives
  23. The Hessians Are Coming!
  24. Valley Forge
  25. Allies at Last
  26. Honor and Compromise
  27. The New Frontier
  28. Not Yet Begun to Fight
  29. The Great Galvez
  30. In Praise of Ben
  31. Bostonians
  32. Benedict Arnold
  33. Conflict in the South
  34. Deborah Samson
  35. James Armistead
  36. Yorktown
  37. Born Free and Equal
  38. The Man Who Wouldn't Be King
  39. Going Home
  40. We the People

Trivia

  • In one episode about Paul Revere's ride, Moses is a part of a Fraternal society called Mechanics. This is obviously a spoof of the Freemasons, but couldn't use the actual name because of the Freemason Controversies.
  • In the episode "Across The Delaware", a Hessian mercenary played "Silent Night" at a Christmas Eve party, even though it wasn't written until over forty years later.
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