How the West was Won

How the West Was Won Worksheet Name_____________

Sprawling epic which follows the Prescotts, an emigrant family through four generations, from the Erie Canal in the 1830's to their settled home in the West a half a century later. On the way they encounter river pirates, and escape with the help of fur trapper Linus Rawlings, who subsequently marries one of their daughters, Eve. The parents are drowned on a foundering raft, and the other daughter Lilith becomes a riverboat singer and catches the eye of a genteel adventurer Cleve Van Valen. They cross the plains together in a wagon train and make and lose a fortune in California; meanwhile Linus has turned farmer and, comes the Civil War, joins the Union Army and is killed at the Battle of Shiloh. One of his sons Zeb also joins the army and stays after the war as a cavalry officer and is sent to Colorado to help guard the pioneering railroad against the Indians, whose land they are crossing. By this time Lilith is the elderly lady of the family, having survived long enough to see the dream of settlement realized, but not, mercifully, the aerial shots of the Los Angeles freeway traffic with which the film ends.

The fifty years of American westward expansion between the 1830s and 1880s are viewed through the experiences of the Prescott and Rawlings families, as they migrate by the Erie Canal, continue over the prairies from St. Louis during the California gold rush, suffer through the Civil War, and finally help build the railroads on the plains and bring law and justice to the frontier. Along the way they meet mountain men, journey by wagon train, deal with Native Americans, and face outlaws in the southwest

Objectives: Students will

1. Learn the motivations that prompted westward movement and its impact on the environment, and Native Americans.

2. Understand the struggle earlier settlers had when moving westward.

Part 1 Pre-Movie

Define the following terms:

Manifest Destiny

Mountain Man

Rapids

Homesteading

Dance Hall

Wagon Train

Pony Express

Transcontinental Railroad

Tycoon

Why did people want to move westward? Write a paragraph and note sources appropriately.

Part 2 Movie

1. Based on the movie, pick six of the following characters and explain the role of each played in the film.

Jethro Stuart

Cleve Van Valen

Eve Prescott

Lou Ramsey

Julie Rawlings

Zeb Prescott

Zeb Rawlings

Roger Morgan

U.S. Grant

Lilth Prescott

Linus Rawlins

2. List and explain several obstacles in the west.

3. The film is divided into five different parts; summarize the important lessons about the westward movement learned within each part.

The Rivers

The Plains

The Civil War

The Railroad

The Outlaws

Part 3 Post-Movie

1. Based on research, how accurate is the film? Give specific examples and note sources accordingly.

2. Write a three paragraph essay on which part of the film you liked best and what you learned abo