The West

1996 - 1996

The People (1500-1806)

15th September 1996

Episode 1

The West begins as the whole world to the people who live there. It becomes a New World when Europeans arrive, a world shaken by incompatible visions. And almost three centuries later, when Lewis and Clark venture west to find a Northwest Passage, this world becomes the testing-ground for a young nation's continent-spanning dream.

Empire Upon The Trails (1806-1848)

16th September 1996

Episode 2

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.

The Speck Of The Future (1848-1856)

17th September 1996

Episode 3

The Gold Rush brings the whole world to the West, as 49ers from Asia, South America and the eastern states scramble for “a share of the rocks,” littering the hills with mining towns and creating the West’s first metropolis. But in the push to strike it rich, many are violently pushed aside.

Death Runs Riot (1856-1868)

18th September 1996

Episode 4

Civil war comes early to the West. In “Bleeding Kansas,” abolitionists battle for free soil. In Utah, federal troops march against Mormon polygamy. And along the Rio Grande, oppressed Mexican Americans rebel. The war between North and South unleashes brute savagery in the West, and leaves behind an army prepared for total war against the native peoples of the plains.

The Grandest Enterprise Under God (1868-1874)

19th September 1996

Episode 5

A triumph of the human spirit, the transcontinental railroad opens a new era in the West, carrying homesteaders onto the prairies, bringing cowboys up the cattle trail from Texas, helping give women the vote in Utah and sending buffalo hunters onto the plains, where they drive a symbol of the West -- and a way of life -- to the brink of extinction.

Fight No More Forever (1874-1877)

20th September 1996

Episode 6

The federal government tightens its grip on the West, but three bold spirits remain defiant -- Sitting Bull, who prophesies his people's greatest victory but cannot prevent their ultimate defeat; Brigham Young, who must sacrifice a spiritual son to save his church; and Chief Joseph, who triumphs in defeat as an indomitable voice of conscience for the West.

The Geography Of Hope (1877-1887)

21st September 1996

Episode 7

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.

Ghost Dance (1887 -1914)

22nd September 1996

Episode 8

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.

One Sky Above Us (1887-1914)

23rd September 1996

Episode 9

Los Angeles steals its water supply, millions of Mexicans migrate north, and Hollywood begins to shape the West and the nation's image of it.

Top Cast

Peter Coyote•N. Scott Momaday•Murphy Guyer

Director

Stephen Ives

Writer

Geoffrey C. Ward

The West, sometimes marketed as Ken Burns Presents: The West, is a documentary film about the American Old West. It was directed by Stephen Ives and the executive producer was Ken Burns. The film originally aired on PBS in September 1996.

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Full Cast

Peter Coyote Image

Peter Coyote

Self - Narrator

N. Scott Momaday Image

N. Scott Momaday

Self - Writer

Murphy Guyer Image

Murphy Guyer

Self

John Trudell Image

John Trudell

Self

Eli Wallach Image

Eli Wallach

Self

Arthur Miller Image

Arthur Miller

Self

John Lithgow Image

John Lithgow

Self

Gary Sinise Image

Gary Sinise

T. P. Eagan

Jimmy Smits Image

Jimmy Smits

Self

Keith Carradine Image

Keith Carradine

Self

Adam Arkin Image

Adam Arkin

Self

Matthew Broderick Image

Matthew Broderick

Self - William Swain

Ossie Davis Image

Ossie Davis

Self

Jason Robards Image

Jason Robards

Self - Brigham Young

Full Crew

Stephen Ives Image

Stephen Ives

Director

Geoffrey C. Ward

Writer

Stephen Ives Image

Stephen Ives

Writer

Ken Burns Image

Ken Burns

Executive Producer

Paul Barnes

Editor

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