The West
The West
TV ShowEnded

The West

8.4 / 10
1996
1 season
9 episodes
Documentary

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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Where to Watch(AU)

PBS Documentaries Amazon Channel
PBS Documentaries Amazon Channel

Streaming data provided by JustWatch via TMDB.

Cast

Seasons

  • The People (1500-1806)

    1.The People (1500-1806)

    10.0
    15-09-199680m

    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 la...

  • Empire Upon The Trails (1806-1848)

    2.Empire Upon The Trails (1806-1848)

    10.0
    16-09-199680m

    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...

  • The Speck Of The Future (1848-1856)

    3.The Speck Of The Future (1848-1856)

    10.0
    17-09-199680m

    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 town...

  • Death Runs Riot (1856-1868)

    4.Death Runs Riot (1856-1868)

    18-09-199680m

    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, oppres...

  • The Grandest Enterprise Under God (1868-1874)

    5.The Grandest Enterprise Under God (1868-1874)

    19-09-199680m

    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,...

  • Fight No More Forever (1874-1877)

    6.Fight No More Forever (1874-1877)

    20-09-199680m

    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 u...

  • The Geography Of Hope (1877-1887)

    7.The Geography Of Hope (1877-1887)

    21-09-199680m

    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 thei...

  • Ghost Dance (1887 -1914)

    8.Ghost Dance (1887 -1914)

    22-09-199680m

    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....

  • One Sky Above Us (1887-1914)

    9.One Sky Above Us (1887-1914)

    23-09-199680m

    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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