The West — Season 1
For those inhabiting it, the West initially encompasses everything—the entirety of their known world. It transforms into a New World with the arrival of Europeans, a realm fractured by fundamentally different understandings. And nearly thre…
Across the nation, Americans journeyed westward by numerous routes—drawn into the mountains by the fur trade, battling for independence in Texas, pursuing religious sanctuary in Utah, or simply seeking opportunity along the Oregon Trail. Ye…
The Gold Rush drew people from across the globe to the West, as hopeful prospectors – known as "49ers" – arrived from Asia, South America, and the eastern states, all vying for “a share of the rocks.” This influx scattered mining towns acro…
The shadow of civil war falls early across the West. In "Bleeding Kansas," proponents of abolition clash over free soil. Further west, in Utah, federal soldiers advance against the practice of Mormon polygamy. And along the Rio Grande, Mexi…
A testament to human endeavor, the transcontinental railroad heralds a new age for the West, delivering settlers across the prairies, guiding cattlemen along the trails from Texas, contributing to women’s suffrage in Utah, and ushering buff…
The reach of the federal government extends ever further across the West, yet three figures stand against it – Sitting Bull, foretelling a glorious triumph for his people while powerless to avert their final loss; Brigham Young, compelled t…
Millions now arrive each year, ushering in a fresh wave of conformity across the West. Indian children are instructed to relinquish their ancestral traditions; Mormons are urged to set aside a core belief; and new legislation excludes Chine…
As settlers hurried to stake claims on ancestral lands, Native Americans embraced the Ghost Dance, clinging to its promise of reviving a vanished way of life—a hope tragically extinguished at Wounded Knee. The new century ushered in a fresh…
Los Angeles pilfers its water, a tide of migration carries millions of Mexicans northward, and Hollywood starts to mold both the Western landscape and the nation’s perception of it.
