History of The American West videos

Use online videos to study the fortune seekers and pioneers of the American West. Use the video subtitles to improve Reading and Literacy skills .... simultaneously!

Use these online American History videos entitled The American West to study how the dreams of fortune seekers forged the western frontier and eventually tamed the Wild West.

Learn about how the belief in Manifest Destiny and the dreams of fortune-seekers forged the western frontier. Use these 3 online educational video titles to learn how the mythic West popularized in literature and movies differ from the West of historical fact. Examine the heavy-handed methods used by the government to acquire western lands, the failed dreams of pioneers and gold prospectors, and the brutal clashes between white settlers and Native Americans.

Learning Objectives:

• Survey the development of the mythical western hero as portrayed in literature and on-screen, from Natty Bumppo to the Virginian to Shane and the Lone Ranger.
• Understand the hardships of life faced by settlers on the frontier Gain insight to the heavy-handed methods used by the U.S. government to acquire western lands; the brutal clashes between white settlers and Native Americans; and the failed dreams of pioneers and gold prospectors.
• Explore legends that grew up around the real-life exploits of frontiersmen such as Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, and Kit Carson.

• History > American History > The American West
• The Myths (Runtime: 15:02)
• The Reality (Runtime: 20:14)
• A Blurred Image (Runtime: 16:43)