The Cause: 1861

8.4/10 · 622 votesSep 23, 1990100 min

Ranked #4 of 9 in Season 1•−0.1 vs season avg

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 Harper's

Season 1 Episodes9

E1 8.4Now viewing

The Cause: 1861

E2 8.3

A Very Bloody Affair: 1862

E3 8.3

Forever Free: 1862

E4 8.4

Simply Murder: 1863

E5 8.6

The Universe of Battle: 1863

E6 8.4

Valley of the Shadow of Death: 1864

E7 8.4

Most Hallowed Ground: 1864

E8 8.6

War Is All Hell: 1865

E9 8.7

The Better Angels of Our Nature: 1865

Cast18

David McCullough

Narrator (voice)

Sam Waterston

Abraham Lincoln (voice)

Julie Harris

Mary Chestnut (voice)

Jason Robards

Ulysses S. Grant (voice)

Morgan Freeman

Frederick Douglass / John Boston (voice)

Paul Roebling

Joshua Chamberlain (voice)

Garrison Keillor

Walt Whitman (voice)

George Black

Robert E. Lee (voice)

Arthur Miller

William Tecumseh Sherman (voice)

Christopher Murney

Elisha Hunt Rhodes (voice)

Charles McDowell

Samuel R. Watkins (voice)

Horton Foote

Jefferson Davis (voice)

Crew3

Ken Burns

Writer

Ken Burns

Director

Geoffrey C. Ward

Writer

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Episode Summary

"The Cause: 1861" is episode 1 of The Civil War season 1. It scored 8.4/10 from 622 votes, ranking #4 of 9 episodes this season (season average 8.5). Directed by Ken Burns and written by Ken Burns, Geoffrey C. Ward, it aired on September 23, 1990.

The Cause: 1861

Seasons1

Season 1 Episodes9

Cast18

Crew3

Discussion

Episode Summary