The theme of the program is the taming of the wilderness during the late nineteenth century in America. By "taming," it becomes clear that there was significant collateral damage along the way both to the natural environment and to the peoples who already inhabited the region.
The pivotal moment in the history of the West was the completion of the transcontinental railway in Promontory Summit in Utah on May 10, 1869. Theodore "Crazy" Judah was instrumental in clearing the way through the Sierra Nevadas to permit the trains to pass through the granite. 10,000 Chinese laborers were critical in providing the labor.
Travel and homesteading possibilities were now limitless. Both the Morril Act that established public, land grant institutions and the Homestead Act that 160 acres of undeveloped land for a $10 filing fee, were established under the Lincoln administration.
But life was filled with hardships for the sodbusters. In 1874, three trillion locusts descended on the Plains in a biblical plague. But it was the clearing of the West that ultimately destroyed the breeding ground of the locusts. Still, it was a hardscrabble existence that was said to be "miles to water, miles to wood, and only six inches to hell."
The program also details the role of the cowboy. The cowboy represented the spirit of the individual that was later glammorized in the Hollywood Western. One of the staples of these popular films was the conflict hat arose between small ranchers and large plots that resembled conglomerates. The 1892 Johnson County War in Wyoming served as the template for such films as "The Virginian," "Shane," and "Heaven's Gate."
The pivotal moment in the history of the West was the completion of the transcontinental railway in Promontory Summit in Utah on May 10, 1869. Theodore "Crazy" Judah was instrumental in clearing the way through the Sierra Nevadas to permit the trains to pass through the granite. 10,000 Chinese laborers were critical in providing the labor.
Travel and homesteading possibilities were now limitless. Both the Morril Act that established public, land grant institutions and the Homestead Act that 160 acres of undeveloped land for a $10 filing fee, were established under the Lincoln administration.
But life was filled with hardships for the sodbusters. In 1874, three trillion locusts descended on the Plains in a biblical plague. But it was the clearing of the West that ultimately destroyed the breeding ground of the locusts. Still, it was a hardscrabble existence that was said to be "miles to water, miles to wood, and only six inches to hell."
The program also details the role of the cowboy. The cowboy represented the spirit of the individual that was later glammorized in the Hollywood Western. One of the staples of these popular films was the conflict hat arose between small ranchers and large plots that resembled conglomerates. The 1892 Johnson County War in Wyoming served as the template for such films as "The Virginian," "Shane," and "Heaven's Gate."
