African Americans in the Thirteen Colonies (Cornerstones of Freedom: Third Series)

For nearly 250 years, African people were treated as property and forced to perform difficult labor, day in and day out.
Even before the first glorious ring of the Liberty Bell, America was a land of freedom and promise. The Cornerstones of Freedom series explores what inspires people from all over the world to start life anew here, endure the economic and social upheavals, and defend the land and rights that are unique to the United States of America.

In 1619, the first recorded African slaves arrived on the shores of the English colony of Jamestown in North America.