‎The American West: History, Myth, and Legacy - Apple TV

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Shining a light on the American frontier; revealing the grit and grandeur of an epic period in U.S. history; uncovering new historical angles on everything from the last stand at the Alamo to the creation of America's first national parks.

Educational · 2017 · 31 min

Starring Patrick N. Allitt

EPISODE 1

Westward the Course of Empire

Some of the ways people think about the American West; how this vast, fascinating region comes into being; how it is shaped by centuries of myth-making; what about westward expansion fascinates every generation of Americans.

30 min · 1 June 2020
EPISODE 2

The West in the Colonial Era

Understanding the mark left on the American West by its earliest colonists; the Spaniards, who introduce horses; the French, who develop a complex trade system; the English, who have little interest in colonizing the west of the Appalachians.

30 min · 1 June 2020
EPISODE 3

Venturing Beyond the Appalachians

After the Revolutionary War, the land between the Appalachians and the Mississippi becomes part of the new republic; how the territory is organized; the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 creates a new set of rules that clashes with old realities.

30 min · 1 June 2020
EPISODE 4

Discoveries of Lewis and Clark

The journey of the two explorers who map the Louisiana Purchase between 1804 and 1806; how Lewis and Clark fit into the tradition of explorers looking for a water route to the Pacific; the political and geographic history of the Louisiana Purchase.

31 min · 1 June 2020
EPISODE 5

The Fur Trade and the Mountain Men

Fur traders and mountain men play an integral part in exploring and mapping the American West; why fur is a precious commodity; how John Jacob Astor dominates the American fur trade; how famous mountaineers like Jedediah Smith become legends.

30 min · 1 June 2020
EPISODE 6

Trail of Tears

One of the most dismal episodes in the story of the American West; the forced migration of the "Five Civilized Tribes" under the Indian Removal Act of 1830; it is this ordeal that the Cherokee come to call the "Trail of Tears".

29 min · 1 June 2020

Patrick N. Allitt

Host