Ken Burns: The West · S1, E4
Death Runs Riot
For those who ventured there from somewhere else, the West had come to symbolise hope and new beginnings. But during the years 1856 to 1868, western pioneers brought with them the nation's oldest and most divisive issue - slavery - and the rough frontier supplied the sparks that ignited the Civil War, and a brave Mexican-American rancher declared his own republic in southern Texas.