Films: The American West
Browse the entire American Experience series featuring over 250 films. Watch full films online, download teacher’s guides, go behind the scenes, and learn more about your favorite films.
Annie Oakley : 1 hr
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.
Battle for Wilderness : 1 hr
President Theodore Roosevelt was caught in the middle of the first major battle for wilderness preservation in Yosemite National Park.
Billy the Kid : 1 hr
The boy behind the myth, who in just a few short years transformed himself from a skinny orphan to the most feared man in the West and an enduring icon. Part of The Wild West collection.
Buffalo Bill : 1 hr
William "Buffalo Bill" Cody's legendary exploits helped create the myth of the American West that still endures today.
The Civilian Conservation Corps : 1 hr
The New Deal program CCC put three million young men to work in camps across America.
Custer's Last Stand : 2 hrs
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.
Dinosaur Wars : 1 hr
The epic battle waged over dinosaur fossils by rival paleontologists in the American West.
Do You Mean There Are Still Real Cowboys? : 1 hr
A year in the life of Wyoming cowboys and the ranching families of the American West.
The Donner Party : 90 mins
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.
Geronimo : 1 hr
The Chiricahua Apache medicine man and warrior who refused to accept white man's 'civilization.' Part of The Wild West collection.
Gold Fever
The Klondike Gold Rush in Canada's Yukon Territory saw 100,000 people make the treacherous journey in search of riches.
The Gold Rush
The worldwide migration by eager gold-seekers turned California into a land of opportunity and fierce competition.
Grand Coulee Dam : 90 mins
The contradictory history of a dam that became a statement of American power and prestige.
Hoover Dam : 1 hr
During the Great Depression, Americans built the Hoover Dam, one of the greatest engineering works in history.
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.
Kit Carson : 90 mins
The ultimate frontiersman, Carson inspired popular novels before being associated with the "Long Walk" of the Navajo people.
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."
Lost in the Grand Canyon
John Wesley Powell's epic journey into the unknown Grand Canyon was filled with adventure as his team mapped the Colorado River for the first time.
The Mormons : 2 hrs
From Joseph Smith's discovery of gold tablets to persecution, migration, and settlement in Utah, the film explores the history of the most American of religions.
Remember the Alamo
In the early 1830s, Texas, ruled by Mexico, held 20,000 U.S. settlers and 4,000 Mexican Tejanos, forcing residents to pick sides.
Transcontinental Railroad
The remarkable story of how a railroad was built connecting California to the East.
The Way West : 6 hrs
A six-hour series on how the West was lost and won, from the Gold Rush in 1848 until Wounded Knee in 1893.
We Shall Remain : 5 hrs
The story of Native peoples’ valiant resistance to expulsion from their lands and the extinction of their culture.
Wyatt Earp : 1 hr
A central figure in the narrative of how the west was won, Wyatt Earp and his story became an American legend. Part of the Wild West collection.
