History WesternAnimation / LibertysKids

Although the series was created for a juvenile audience, it nevertheless takes a relatively sophisticated look at the American Revolution, which highlights not only the heroes and achievements of the independence movement, but also its less palatable aspects such as the role of slavery, mob violence and the privations the Native Peoples of America suffered in this conflict.

* WhatTheHellHero: The basic plot for Sarah visiting ThomasJefferson's home and discovering that the writer of "All men are created equal" is a slaveholder.
** Sarah actually calls out Washington after the Siege of Yorktown when he says that the slaves who fought for the British would be returned to their masters.
** Something they didn't go into would be the fact that Jefferson also raped some of the black women in his "employ" (because he ''owned'' them and they couldn't say no unless they wanted to be lynched). Who also had children by him. Yes, that Jefferson [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade the one everyone loves today]]...revolutionary, Founding Father, visionary, serial rapist.
*** And yet, he was actually ''nicer'' to his slaves than plenty of slaveholders.
*** An interesting fact there: The slave in question? Was the slave of his wife Martha, and also her half-sister. And Thomas only took interest in her after Martha's death.
*** Another interesting fact: Jefferson's white descendants ignored or denied the slave's descendants when they claimed to be descended from Jefferson, until finally genetic testing pretty much proved the slave's descendants right.
*** Yet another interesting fact: him being the father of the children is debatable, even with the genetic testing.
** That's even digging into the fact that, while Washington [[PetTheDog freed his slaves upon death and provided for them afterward]], Jefferson's slave population TRIPLED and he only freed the five who resulted from his sexual escapades.

*** Not to mention his complete reversal of opinion and policy in regards to slavery in the early 1800s and his reactions to the Haitian Revolution. Notable example: '''He wanted to place an embargo on Haiti and STARVE the country out!'''

* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah becoming a Patriot in "Not Yet Begun to Fight."
** There's also a couple who are loyalist... until some British soldiers ransack their food and supplies for their own needs while the Revolutionaries had passed by an hour or so back and didn't take a think. The commander even ordered them not to harm the land at all.

** One of them black. [[SarcasmMode Must've been one tolerant Philadelphian neighborhood.]] Along with every inn and house they stayed at on their travels.

** That's even digging into the fact that, while Washington [[PetTheDog freed his slaves upon death and provided for them afterward]], [[SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes Jefferson's slave population TRIPLED and he only freed the five who resulted from his sexual escapades.]]

* [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch Complaining About Pamphlets You Haven't Read]]: An in-universe example when Sarah villifies Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" even when she meets the author personally. Once she gives it a read, she learns to at least appreciate it.

* HistoricalDomain Character: Heaps of them, naturally.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Averted very well with BenedictArnold, who is shown to be an invaluable part of the colonial army before he switched sides. The section of the series that focuses on him explains the events surrounding his turn better than a course on American history is likely to.

''Libertys Kids'' is a Creator/{{PBS}} series created by Creator/DICEntertainment, the producers of WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake, that follows the adventures of three teenagers, two of whom were in the employ of Creator/BenjaminFranklin's newpaper/publishing business, as they find themselves witnesses to the TheAmericanRevolution from the Boston Tea Party in 1773 to the signing of the US Constitution in 1787.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Averted very well with Benedict Arnold who is shown to be an invaluable part of the colonial army before he switched sides. The section of the series that focuses on him explains the events surrounding his turn better than a course on American history is likely to.

* StuntCasting: ''Liberty[='s=] Kids'' is a prime example. Walter Cronkite had a recurring role as Creator/BenjaminFranklin; other celebrities playing revolutionary heroes included DustinHoffman as Benedict Arnold, Annette Bening as Abigail Adams, Billy Crystal as John Adams, BenStiller as ThomasJefferson and MichaelDouglas as Patrick Henry. Others include General Norman Schwarzkopf as George Rogers Clark, LiamNeeson as John Paul Jones, SylvesterStallone as Paul Revere, Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger as Friedrich von Steuben, and WhoopiGoldberg as [[SweetPollyOliver Deborah Sampson]].

''Libertys Kids'' is a Creator/{{PBS}} series created by DICEntertainment, the producers of WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake, that follows the adventures of three teenagers, two of whom were in the employ of Creator/BenjaminFranklin's newpaper/publishing business, as they find themselves witnesses to the TheAmericanRevolution from the Boston Tea Party in 1773 to the signing of the US Constitution in 1787.

* AdobeFlash: The "Liberty News Network" segments are clearly animated in flash, while the rest of the show is tradition animation.

* GreenEyedRedhead: Sarah.

* HairOfGold: James fits most of the criteria for the male version of this trope.

* TheGump: The premise, basically. The kids are involved in every event of the Revolution that could form the plot of a show.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous: The soldiers are outraged at Baron von Steuben for demanding such unreasonable things as drilling for battle, having discipline, keeping the camp clean, and winning the devotion of their underlings.

** There's also a couple who are loyalist... until some British soldiers ransack their food and supplies for their own needs.

''Libertys Kids'' is a {{PBS}} series created by DICEntertainment, the producers of WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake, that follows the adventures of three teenagers, two of whom were in the employ of Creator/BenjaminFranklin's newpaper/publishing business, as they find themselves witnesses to the TheAmericanRevolution from the Boston Tea Party in 1773 to the signing of the US Constitution in 1787.

* StuntCasting: '''Libertys Kids''' is a prime example. Walter Cronkite had a recurring role as Creator/BenjaminFranklin; other celebrities playing revolutionary heroes included DustinHoffman as Benedict Arnold, Annette Bening as Abigail Adams, Billy Crystal as John Adams, BenStiller as ThomasJefferson and MichaelDouglas as Patrick Henry. Others include General Norman Schwarzkopf as George Rogers Clark, LiamNeeson as John Paul Jones, SylvesterStallone as Paul Revere, Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger as Friedrich von Steuben, and WhoopiGoldberg as [[SweetPollyOliver Deborah Sampson]].

* StuntCasting: '''Libertys Kids''' is a prime example. Walter Cronkite had a recurring role as Creator/BenjaminFranklin; other celebrities playing revolutionary heroes included DustinHoffman as Benedict Arnold, Annette Bening as Abigail Adams, Billy Crystal as John Adams, BenStiller as ThomasJefferson and MichaelDouglas as Patrick Henry. Others include General Norman Schwarzkopf as George Rogers Clark, LiamNeeson as John Paul Jones, SylvesterStallone as Paul Revere, ArnoldSchwarzenegger as Friedrich von Steuben, and WhoopiGoldberg as [[SweetPollyOliver Deborah Sampson]].

''Libertys Kids'' is a {{PBS}} series created by DICEntertainment, the producers of WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake, that follows the adventures of three teenagers, two of whom were in the employ of BenjaminFranklin's newpaper/publishing business, as they find themselves witnesses to the TheAmericanRevolution from the Boston Tea Party in 1773 to the signing of the US Constitution in 1787.

* '''James Hiller''', a young reporter who is an enthusiastic supporter of the colonial resistance who has to learn that there are hard realities in the events around him that fly in the face of his ideals.
* '''Henri Richard Maurice Dutoit [=LeFebrve=]''', a young French orphan troublemaker who finds himself swept up the politics of the day.

* BigEater: Henri and his pastries.

* CoolOldGuy: BenjaminFranklin, much like in RealLife.

* GreaseMonkey: Moses.

* HeroesWantRedheads: James in regards to Sarah, anyone?

* KickTheDog: Various historical characters get their own moment. However, one of the most obvious is during the American siege of Yorktown. In order to conserve supplies, Cornwallis leaves the blacks who joined his army to fend for themselves.

* OppositesAttract: James, the poor, orphaned, American patriot, and Sarah, the rich English loyalist.
* ParentalAbandonment: None of the main teenage characters live with their parents. Sarah is the only one whose parents are still alive.

* SickEpisode: Sarah contracts Smallpox in "An American In Paris."

* StuntCasting: '''Libertys Kids''' is a prime example. Walter Cronkite had a recurring role as BenjaminFranklin; other celebrities playing revolutionary heroes included DustinHoffman as Benedict Arnold, Annette Bening as Abigail Adams, Billy Crystal as John Adams, BenStiller as ThomasJefferson and MichaelDouglas as Patrick Henry. Others include General Norman Schwarzkopf as George Rogers Clark, LiamNeeson as John Paul Jones, SylvesterStallone as Paul Revere, ArnoldSchwarzenegger as Friedrich von Steuben, and WhoopiGoldberg as [[SweetPollyOliver Deborah Sampson]].

* TarAndFeathers: James watches as an innocent man is tarred and feathered by a mob and joins in their mocking. This lasts until he is later informed how horrific the act can be and meets the man being treated for it, near-death.

* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: Well, Philadelphia.

* {{Tsundere}}: Sarah is often a Type A towards James throughout their {{story arc}}s, and this element to her personality brings the underlying {{UST}} in their relationship.
* VagueAge: The characters' ages are rather unclear, considering how many years are passing during the context of the show despite everyone's appearances not aging at all.

** The DVD release thankfully takes the same route but includes them in the extras.

* VocalEvolution: While the three kids' physical designs don't change, their voices do sound somewhat more mature with the show's progression.
** They probably didn't ''think'' they looked older and that's why.

** Something they didn't go into would be the fact that Jefferson also raped some of the black women in his "employ" (because he ''owned'' them and they couldn't say no unless they wanted to be lynched). Who also had children by him. Yes, that Jefferson [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade the one everyone loves today]]...revolutionary, Founding Father, visionary, serial rapist.

* [=~Sorry That I'm Dying~=]: Nathan Hale, [[TruthInTelevision of course]].
* StuntCasting: ''[=~Liberty's Kids~=]'' is a prime example. Walter Cronkite had a recurring role as BenjaminFranklin; other celebrities playing revolutionary heroes included DustinHoffman as Benedict Arnold, Annette Bening as Abigail Adams, Billy Crystal as John Adams, BenStiller as ThomasJefferson and MichaelDouglas as Patrick Henry. Others include General Norman Schwarzkopf as George Rogers Clark, LiamNeeson as John Paul Jones, SylvesterStallone as Paul Revere, ArnoldSchwarzenegger as Friedrich von Steuben, and WhoopiGoldberg as [[SweetPollyOliver Deborah Sampson]].

* FoeYay: You could say this is how James and Sarah started out.