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1861: "The Cause"

Season 1 Episode 1 | 1hr 40m 58s

Beginning with a searing indictment of slavery, this first episode dramatically evokes the causes of the war, from the Cotton Kingdom of the South to the northern abolitionists who opposed it. Here are the burning questions of Union and states' rights, John Brown at Harpers Ferry, the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the firing on Fort Sumter, and the jubilant rush to arms on both sides.

Aired: 09/06/15
Production made possible by grants from General Motors Corporation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation
Extras
Ken Burns shares how he gets A-list actors to narrate his films.
Ever wonder what it takes to produce a Ken Burns film?
Ken Burns shares his thoughts on the state of our country since the Civil War.
Ken Burns talks about the emotional moments during reunions among soldiers.
Long after Lincoln was nominated, politicians in his own party still hoped to reconvene.
Preview The Civil War, which was restored and remastered in high-definition in 2015.
Ken Burns shares how his interest in the Civil War developed.
Ken Burns talks about the benefits of restoring The Civil War series in 4K.
By mid-century, the country was deeply divided.
The feeling among the Southern members for dissolution of the Union becomes more general.