The West

Empire Upon the Trails

Americans head west along many pathways -- following the fur trade into the mountains, fighting for self-determination in Texas, seeking religious freedom in Utah or a better life along the Oregon Trail. But whatever direction they travel, they move closer with every step to a “Manifest Destiny” that will make the West their own.

Empire Upon the Trails

1h 24m

  • One Sky Above Us: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    One Sky Above Us

    S1996 E9 - 1h 2m

    As the 20th century neared, Americans celebrated with the World Columbian Exposition, where they were told that the frontier had closed – symbolized by one state proudly displaying an entire heard of buffalo – stuffed. But in the real West, for every frontier story that ended, another one began.

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    Ghost Dance

    S1996 E8 - 58m 38s

    As settlers race to claim tribal lands, Native Americans take up the Ghost Dance, trusting in its power to restore a lost way of life until their hopes are crushed at Wounded Knee. The new century marks a new era in the West, an age of aqueducts and smelters. But the West remains what it has always been, a world waiting for a dream.

  • The Geography of Hope: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Geography of Hope

    S1996 E7 - 1h 24m

    Newcomers arrive by the millions, bringing a new spirit of conformity to the West. Indian children are taught to forsake their heritage, Mormons are told to abandon a tenet of their faith, and new laws deny Chinese and Mexican Americans a place in society. Yet the legend of the “Wild West” lives on, thanks to the greatest showman of the age.

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