Films about historical occurrences have tremendous power to influence us; they can either educate or mislead us. Historical movies are popular mainly because they tell History via personal lives. This is achieved by inventing characters and adding unique and emotional drama to events. In this paper, we will focus on the film; How the West Was Won. It is an American epic Western adventure film that was directed by Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall in 1962. The film has earned several nominations, and in 1997 it was selected for being culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant. The movie’s events are based on historical research and can be used by a student to understand History.
The fifty years of American westward expansion between the 1830s and 1880s are brought to us through the Prescott and Rawlings families’ experiences as they migrate by the Erie Canal, proceeds over the prairies from St. Louis during the California gold rush. They suffer through the civil war and finally lend a hand in building the railroads on the plains and bringing law and justice to the frontier. On their way, they meet mountain men, journey by wagon train, deal with Native Americans, and face outlaws in the Southwest. The film has five sections: the 1830s migration, the 1840s gold rush, the civil war, the building of railroads, and the Wild West’s taming.
The film starts with Spencer Tracy narrating as the aerial camera goes through the Rocky Mountains. She says, “This land has a name today and is marked on the maps.”. The film moves into “The Rivers” scene. Mountain man Rawlings is driving by a horse through the mountain, where he meets with a group of Native Americans. As Prescott’s family moves to the West, they meet Rawlings, traveling east to trade his furs. He is attracted to Eve but is not ready to settle at that time. They go their separate way, but Linus helps them out again when the river bandits try to steal from them. A subsequent tragedy on the river brings Eve and Linus together. The next scene is in the plains, where Eve’s sister Lilith decides to go back to the East. She attracts the attention of Cleve Van Valen after hearing that she had inherited a California gold mine. The following scene shows the civil war of 1861- 1865. Linus Rawlings joined the army as a captain in the American Civil war but is killed. Later, Zeb, his son, joined the army.
The story concentrates on Zeb, Eve’s son, who survived the civil war and later learned his mother had died, and his father as well had passed away fighting. He leaves the farm to his younger brother and joins the US Cavalry. In his duty of protecting railroad construction, he befriends Jethro, who is a buffalo hunter. After a confrontation with the Native Americans, he leaves and joins the marshals in Arizona. Later, he confronts an old friend and learns he wants to rob a train. It is during a shoot-out that Zeb succeeds in foiling Gant. He is freed together with his family and resumes their lives.
The movie covers the great historical event of America, the 1840s gold rush. The California Gold Rush started when gold was discovered in the Sacramento Valley in 1848. It is among the significant events that shaped American History during the early 19th century. The railroad construction is captured in the movie, which in real life happened throughout the 19th century. There were two competing railroad lines, the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad, one towards the East while the other to the West. The aim of the construction was to open up new territory to the eager settlers. The West that was won by the settlers and adventures is not there now. It remained theirs forever, for it left tracks in History that will never be erased. Out of the simplicity of their lives and hopes for a changing world, there grew legends of courage to be inspirational to their future generation. From the soils enriched with their blood came the goods of the earth. The narration shows how modern America came from the West.
The film says a lot about the Old West. One can see how specific fashions came into existence, the dressing mode for different professions and how fashion has continued to change over time. It is like a dramatized history book. It is skewed towards the white man pretending like they do not understand the challenges of the Native Americans defending their land. How the West was won wants to assign gender roles for women at home and men working hard at war. It is a vast American History picture where there were tribulations and tragedies at first, but all ended in triumph. Manifest destiny was used in US history to expand its boundaries westward to the Pacific. Americans believed they had the right to own the land in the West, which gave them the need to go for it. How the West was won is an epic story attributing to America’s past and offers hope for the future.
Students can use this film in furthering their understanding of History as it is inspired by US historical events. When America achieved independence, it wanted to expand. Mainly was to claim the land at the West. Due to the war fought, England, Spain and France had given up on the land, and America had seen a perfect opportunity to claim it. The movie gives reasons why families chose to move to the West. Some wanted land and wealth, while others wanted to change their lives. Life is portrayed in the West from the Goldrush to the Civil wars and the Railroads. While the cast is fictional, it does shows the challenges faced by People in the West. The ancient teaching of History perceived a very different brand of American History. The generation of the modern age, especially in the past four decades, have a phenomenal experience of watching historical movies that gives a more precise and broad picture of the nation builders and the ancestors.