The West - Presented by Ken Burns (Pts 4-6 of 9) 1996

The West" is presented (and executive produced) by filmmaker Ken Burns, director of the acclaimed documentaries "The Civil War" and "Baseball." Here, director Stephen Ives examines the numerous ways in which the American psyche has been defined by "manifest destiny" and the trek westward. Using diaries, letters, archival footage and more, Ives provides a multi-layered history of this broad landscape. This epic covers the personalities, stereotypes, religious and racial issues associated with this part of the country, and the struggle of those who settled there. Finally, spectacular footage of the mountains, plains, rivers, and canyons of the West makes this documentary both a visual, as well as an informative, treat for all.

Episode Four (1856 to 1868)
Death Runs Riot

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.

Episode Five (1868 to 1874)
The Grandest Enterprise Under God

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.

Episode Six (1874 to 1877)
Fight No More Forever

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.