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Recommended Works - Movies & Books
Early
Settlers/Colonial
Columbus - An overblown epic which provides some
insights into the obstacles encountered by New World explorers and some insight
into the pain of Native America.
American
Revolution
1776 - A light-hearted musical look at the
American Revolution.
George Washington - A miniseries on the life of
the commanding general of the American Revolution, starring Barry Bostwick.
Revolution - A Hollywood treatment of one
soldier's plight in the American Revolution starring Al Pacino.
The Patriot - Mel Gibson plays a veteran of the
French and Indian War who sees beyond the emotion boiling up into the
Revolution. He is swept into the war, however, and finds that he must fight.
Entertaining and, for the most part, fairly accurate.
George Washington The Forging of a Nation - This
is the sequel to the original miniseries. Here, he is seen as the nation's first
president.
Westward
Movement
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The Civil War
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The Gilded Age
Dances
With Wolves - This is an Academy Award-winning movie starring Kevin
Costner. The movie depicts a U.S. Army officer who is abandoned at a remote
outpost in South Dakota. He is drawn to a band of Sioux and learns their way of
life in an effort to survive - but then the U.S. Army returns.
 Lonesome
Dove was a classic TV miniseries starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee
Jones that depicted the life of cowboys during the late 1800s. It strips away
the myths of the cowboy that have been created over time and gives you a good
view of the true cowboy on the western frontier.
Little House on the Prairie began its television
run in 1974 and starred Michael Landon as a farmer who moves west with his
family to start a new life on the frontier. The first two seasons are dedicated
to looking at the hardships the early settlers of the west faced. You'll also
see references to The Grange and the Populist Movement.
Son of the Morning Star is an excellent book
that takes a balanced, refreshing look at the Battle of Little Bighorn and
Custer's Last Stand. Author Evan Connell looks at both sides of the battle and
explains why things happened the way they did.
The Gangs of New York is a dark, violent film by
Martin Scorsese that shows both the problems of immigration and urbanization
during this period of time. The film stars Daniel Day Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio
and Liam Neeson and focuses on the violent confrontations in the five-point
district of lower Manhattan in the 1860s. You'll see glimpses of Boss Tweed and
the Tammany Hall ring along with other corruption in the big cities of that
time.
The
Progressive Era
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Imperialism/World War I
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The Roaring 20s
The Untouchables is a classic look at
prohibition and the U.S. Governments attempt to reel in gangsters like Al
Capone, who made their living off illegal liquor sales and racketeering. The
movie stars Kevin Costner as federal agent Eliot Ness, who is sent after Capone
(Robert De Niro). Ness winds up needing the help of various other agents,
including a Chicago cop (Sean Connery) and a federal sharpshooter (Andy Garcia).
The movie at times is a little over the top, but the scene selections and acting
are top-notch and the movie stays fairly accurate historically.
The Great
Depression
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World War II
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The Cold War
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Civil Rights
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Vietnam
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The '70s to
Present
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Challenges for the New Generations
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