Wonderscape
The Impact of the Louisiana Purchase
This video explores the significant effects of the Louisiana Purchase on the United States. It discusses how the acquisition doubled the country's size, opened up new trade routes along the Mississippi River, and enabled westward...
Wonderscape
The Louisiana Purchase: Jefferson’s Quest for New Orleans
This video explores the events leading up to the Louisiana Purchase and President Thomas Jefferson's concerns about New Orleans in the early 1800s. It covers Jefferson's efforts to secure access to the Mississippi River for American...
Curated Video
The Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears identifies how westward expansion affected Native Americans by exploring the Trail of Tears.
Amor Sciendi
The Landscapes of Julie Mehretu
An explanation of Mark Bradford's abstract landscape paintings
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Look To The Land
Learn how exploitation of the land changed the face of North America, as presented in Look to the Land, a 1954 production of Encyclopaedia Britannica Films.
Curated Video
Lewis and Clark: the Making of an Expedition
Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery opened the American West up to expansion and settlement – but it all rested on the expert planning and preparation.
Getty Images
An American flag is seen within the walls of a fort.
An American flag is seen within the walls of a fort.
Getty Images
A man in pioneer clothing enters a rustic gate.
A man in pioneer clothing enters a rustic gate.
Getty Images
Smoke rises from the chimney of a fort in the forest.
Smoke rises from the chimney of a fort in the forest.
Getty Images
Gun powder, a journal and other instruments and equipment are seen on a desk in a cabin.
Gun powder, a journal and other instruments and equipment are seen on a desk in a cabin.
Getty Images
Smoke rises from a wet roof at Fort Clatsop in Oregon.
Smoke rises from a wet roof at Fort Clatsop in Oregon.
Getty Images
Buckskins and a powder horn hang on a cabin wall.
Buckskins and a powder horn hang on a cabin wall.
C-SPAN
On This Day: California Gold Rush
Upon hearing of the gold discovery at Sutter's Mill in California in the 1840s, a flood of migrants went West in search of wealth and fame. Others, such as Chinese workers, came from farther away. Using video clips from historians and...
Channel Islands Film
The Last Roundup
The issues raised by the transitioning of Santa Rosa Island from privately owned to a National Park are explored in a short, poignant documentary that weaves together vintage family photos and videos with interviews with a member of the...
HipHughes History
Hip Hughes History: Manifest Destiny Explained in 5 Minutes: Us History Review
Before you dive into the specifics, get a handle on the major historical ideas related to Manifest Destiny. Just five minutes of this fun, focused video. [4:55]
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: The Frontier, Railroads, and Mining
[Free Registration/Login Required] The Emergence of the Frontier, the Expansion of Railroads, and Mining is a round table discussion of groups who have reviewed documents, letters, etc. from movement west to either mine or acquire land,...
Choices Program, Brown University
Choices: Westward Expansion: A New History
Scholars discuss the transformation of the North American continent in the nineteenth century, examining a complicated and violent history from two historical perspectives, that of the major events and policies that accompanied U.S....
Have Fun With History
Have Fun With History: Pioneers of the Plains
Experiences of a pioneer family on their journey from Illinois to the Midwestern plains. [11:00]
Have Fun With History
Have Fun With History: Monon the Hoosier Line
Monon: the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway which operated from 1897 to 1956 mostly within the state of Indiana. This video is both a history of the origins of the railroad and a time capsule of railways in the middle of the...
Crash Course
Crash Course Us History #24: Westward Expansion
Crash Course US History video by John Green in which he discusses Westward Expansion and debunks some of the well known myths of the Wild, Wild West. [12:44]
Crash Course
Crash Course Us History #17: War & Expansion
John Green teaches you about the Mexican-American War in the late 1840s, and the expansion of the United States into the western end of North America. In this episode of Crash Course, US territory finally reaches from the Atlantic coast...
A&E Television
History.com: Conestoga Wagon Videos: Cumberland Gap
Brian Unger explores the Cumberland Gap and the mysteries behind it. [2:32]