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The West
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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.
Highest-rated episodes all ranked
- 01
The People (1500-1806)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. - 02
Empire Upon The Trails (1806-1848)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. - 03
The Speck Of The Future (1848-1856)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.
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Episodes by season
Season01
- S01E01Season's bestThe People (1500-1806)September 15, 1996The West begins as the whole world to the people who live there. It becomes a New World when Europeans arrive, a world shaken by incompatibl
- S01E02Empire Upon The Trails (1806-1848)September 16, 1996Americans head west along many pathways -- following the fur trade into the mountains, fighting for self-determination in Texas, seeking rel
- S01E03The Speck Of The Future (1848-1856)September 17, 1996The 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 rock
- S01E04
Death Runs Riot (1856-1868)September 18, 1996—Civil war comes early to the West. In “Bleeding Kansas,” abolitionists battle for free soil. In Utah, federal troops march against Mormon po - S01E05
The Grandest Enterprise Under God (1868-1874)September 19, 1996—A triumph of the human spirit, the transcontinental railroad opens a new era in the West, carrying homesteaders onto the prairies, bringing - S01E06
Fight No More Forever (1874-1877)September 20, 1996—The federal government tightens its grip on the West, but three bold spirits remain defiant -- Sitting Bull, who prophesies his people's gre - S01E07
The Geography Of Hope (1877-1887)September 21, 1996—Newcomers arrive by the millions, bringing a new spirit of conformity to the West. Indian children are taught to forsake their heritage, Mor - S01E08
Ghost Dance (1887 -1914)September 22, 1996—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 - S01E09
One Sky Above Us (1887-1914)September 23, 1996—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
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