Special Features
- Primary Resources: The Diary of Patrick Breen
- Further Reading: Related Books and Websites
- Teacher's Resources: Teacher's Guide
- General Article: Call of the West
- Map, interactive: Map of the Donner Party Route
- Interview: Producer Ric Burns
Three years before the Gold Rush, 87 pioneers took a shortcut westward to California, only to get caught in the snows of the Sierra Nevada. The emigrants' fateful journey culminated in death and cannibalism.
Transcontinental Railroad
The remarkable story of how a railroad was built connecting California to the East.
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Las Vegas: An Unconventional History
Originally settled as a mail stop, Las Vegas changed from an Old West vacation town, to a mafia haven, to the "Atomic City" and "Sin City."
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Buffalo Bill
William "Buffalo Bill" Cody's legendary exploits helped create the myth of the American West that still endures today.
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Custer's Last Stand
The Last Stand, the final act of General George Custer's larger-than-life career, played out on a grand stage with a spellbound public engrossed in the drama. Part of the Wild West collection.
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The Iron Road
Begun during the Civil War, the transcontinental railroad employed 20,000 men, mostly immigrants, who built the iron road with their bare hands.
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Annie Oakley
As the star attraction of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, Annie Oakley thrilled audiences around the world with her shooting feats. Part of the Wild West collection.
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The Way West
A six-hour series on how the West was lost and won, from the Gold Rush in 1848 until Wounded Knee in 1893.
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The Gold Rush
The worldwide migration by eager gold-seekers turned California into a land of opportunity and fierce competition.
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