Skip to main content

The Birth Of A Nation

March 2023
1min read

Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot


directed by George Seaton, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, distributed by BARR Entertainment, 36 mins., $24.95 . CODE: BAR-1

The Story of a Patriot was made in 1957 as a sort of primer for tourists at the newly restored Colonial Williamsburg. It has been shown at the visitors’ center ever since. There’s a reason the foundation hasn’t seen fit to update the program. The half-hour film holds up remarkably well, thanks to a clever screenplay, good production quality, and a lead performance by Jack Lord, who went on to star as Detective Steve McGarrett in “Hawaii Five-0.”

The story is told through the eyes of John Fry, a fictional Virginia planter who has just been elected to the House of Burgesses. The action begins when he first travels to Williamsburg in 1769, just after the British have inflicted new taxes on the colonies in the form of the Townshend duties. Fry witnesses debates in the House and discussions in the taverns, at nearby plantation homes, and in back-room meetings with Thomas Jefferson. In the process the viewer is essentially taken on a tour of Colonial Williamsburg and given a full history lesson about the speech, mannerisms, and styles of the time, and the convincing scenes of Patrick Henry’s orations give a good idea of the issues that motivated the fledgling nation. By the film’s end Fry’s loyalty to England has been overwhelmed by his loyalty to the other colonies, and he supports a crucial vote for American independence. It’s fairly corny stuff, but in the last scene, when the American flag is raised over the Williamsburg Capitol, it’s truly affecting.

We hope you enjoy our work.

Please support this 72-year tradition of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to American Heritage.

Donate

Stories published from "October 1994"

Authored by: The Editors

Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley

Authored by: The Editors

A Celebration of Baseball’s Legendary Fields

Authored by: The Editors

The Evolution of the Ballpark

Authored by: The Editors

Clash of Wings
World War II in the Air

Authored by: The Editors

American Flight Jackets, Airmen & Aircraft: A History of U.S. Flyers’ Jackets from World War I to Desert Storm

Authored by: The Editors

Shot in the Heart

Authored by: The Editors

Bettmann Portable Archive

Authored by: The Editors

Pictures of the Pain
Photography and the Assassination of President Kennedy

Authored by: The Editors

Music by Elliott Carter, Gunther Schuller, Milton Babbitt, and John Cage

Featured Articles

Rarely has the full story been told about how a famed botanist, a pioneering female journalist, and First Lady Helen Taft battled reluctant bureaucrats to bring Japanese cherry trees to Washington. 

Often thought to have been a weak president, Carter was strong-willed in doing what he thought was right, regardless of expediency or the political fallout.

Why have thousands of U.S. banks failed over the years? The answers are in our history and politics.

In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln embodied leading in a time of polarization, political disagreement, and differing understandings of reality.

Native American peoples and the lands they possessed loomed large for Washington, from his first trips westward as a surveyor to his years as President.