The American West (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Showdown - full transcript

Narrator: Previously on
"The American West"...

As President Ulysses S. Grant
wraps up his final term,

the country he leads
is as divided as ever.

- ( clattering, fizzling )
- Archie, get back!

Narrator: In Missouri,
notorious outlaw

Jesse James
takes revenge

on the most famous
detective agency in the country,

and, in doing so,
establishes himself

as a hero of the South.

In the Black Hills,

Grant's plan for peace
with the Indians



has fallen apart.

With Indian hostilities
at an all-time high,

Grant sends Lieutenant Colonel
George Armstrong Custer

to lead a final battle
for land

that will change
the course of history.

( theme music playing)

Narrator: After refusing to report
to an Indian reservation,

Lakota Sioux leader
Crazy Horse

has been preparing
his warriors to fight

the United States Army
for months

and he's just gotten word
from his scouts

that American forces
are on their way.

But the Lakota
have brought together

a massive force
of their own...



and they're determined
to crush the invading army.

( speaking
Lakota language )

Robert Redford: I think Sitting Bull
and Crazy Horse

saw all that territory
as belonging to them.

They realized that
they were going to be invaded

and what was precious to them
was gonna be taken away,

so they fought against that.

Narrator:
Several miles away,

Lieutenant Colonel
George Armstrong Custer

has led his 7th Cavalry

far ahead of
a much larger American force.

Paul Hutton: He doesn't wait
for reinforcements.

Custer wants this
to be a victory

for the 7th Cavalry
and the 7th Cavalry alone.

Narrator: Custer believes
that defeating Sitting Bull

will be
the crowning achievement

of his military career...

and will clear a path
straight to the White House.

Mark Lee Gardner: Custer gets
on top of those bluffs

and then he sees
this amazing village

that seems like it
stretches forever.

There might be as many
as 6,000 Indians in this village.

He's got less
than a thousand men.

We'll split
our forces.

You keep the front busy,
and I will attack from the rear.

No retreat.

I need those
warriors busy.

- Understood?
- Yes, sir.

Narrator: Custer decides
to employ a military strategy

that worked for him at the Battle
of Washita eight years earlier.

He splits his men
into two smaller forces.

Custer's second in command
Major Marcus Reno and his men

will attack the camp
from the left,

while Custer
and his troops

attack the flank
on the right,

dividing
the Sioux warriors.

Karl Jacoby: Custer's quite consciously,
I think,

very aggressive
in dividing his men

so that he can come
at this camp

from multiple directions.

He demonstrated himself
to be either

tremendously daring
or tremendously reckless

or perhaps both.

Hyah!

Come on, now.

( speaking
Lakota language )

( troops shouting)

Hutton: There's just such
a beautiful romance,

I think, to Crazy Horse,
the ultimate Sioux warrior,

and Custer,
the ultimate American warrior

of their time,
meeting on that final field.

The Sioux are
at the height of their power,

and here comes Custer
just right at that moment.

It's almost like
it's meant to be.

Narrator:
Following Custer's orders,

Reno's command is the first
to engage the Indians.

(horse whinnies)

( whooping )

Fall back!

Gardner: Major Reno completely
loses his composure,

panics, he retreats,
and it's a complete disaster.

The men are scrambling
for their lives.

Narrator: As Custer arrives
to the battlefield,

Major Reno and his men
are nowhere to be found.

( warriors whooping)

( whooping continues)

Custer:
Dismount!

Form a skirmish line!

Commander:
Form a line!

Commander:
Hold the line!

Watch your flank!

Hutton:
Custer's men are pushed back,

they take up
defensive positions

along a ridgeline,

surrounded by thousands
of Sioux and Cheyenne

led by Crazy Horse.

Commander:
Hold the line!

Hold your position.
Keep firing.

Agh-hh!

Commander:
Hold the line!

( speaking
Lakota language )

Hold your positions!

Take out your sabers.

( whooping )

Soldier:
Sir, what do we do?

Gardner: We have all this imagery
of the Indians closing in

and his regiment
being a very compact group.

It was actually
a very messy, bloody,

terrifying
last few moments.

( gasps )

( clicks )

(gunshot echoes)

Gardner: A lot of men said,
you know,

the thing is,
"Save the last bullet for your life."

Maybe Custer committed suicide.
I don't know.

I just find it
hard to believe

that he would
ever give up.

I think he would fight
as long as he could fight.

Narrator:
On June 25, 1876,

George Armstrong Custer

and over
250 of his troops...

are killed at the Battle
of Little Bighorn.

Narrator: Celebrated Civil War hero
George Armstrong Custer

and over 250 of his men

lay dead on the battlefield
of Little Bighorn.

( speaking
Lakota language )

Larry T. Pourier:
The Battle of Little Bighorn

has mixed emotions.

On one hand, it was
the greatest day for us

because we showed
our strength

and our wisdom
and our spirituality.

But it was also
our worst day

because of everything
that happened after that.

Narrator: News of the defeat
quickly reaches Washington.

- There were no survivors?
- Sherman: Not that we know of.

There's
still a chance

a stray soldier
will show up.

Custer?

Dead.

A bullet
in his brain.

Redford: The Battle of Bighorn
was this one single event

that had a much
broader picture to it.

And that had to do with
the settling of the West

and the loss
of parts of the West

to Native Americans.

Narrator:
President Ulysses S. Grant's

show of force
against the Sioux

is a total failure...

and the massacre
soon makes headlines

across the country.

Gardner:
This is the biggest story

for the last half
of the 19th century.

George Armstrong Custer

was America's most
romantic, dashing,

heroic cavalry figure.

Ordinary citizens
loved him.

Narrator:
Appalled by the slaughter,

the country demands action.

H.W. Brands: When Americans
at large heard the story,

what they heard was
that these savage Indians

had massacred these
brave white cavalry.

They thought,
okay, well, this means

that they
have to be punished,

they have to be driven back
to the reservation.

Narrator: With only months
left in office,

Grant's plan for peace
with the Indians has failed

and the country
is no closer to securing

the gold-rich Black Hills.

While the Indian Wars
continue,

Grant's battle
with Southern sympathizers

is getting worse...

as former Confederates
like Jesse James...

Cover it up.

...continue to resist
Northern interference

after the war,

including a policy
known as "Reconstruction."

David Eisenbach: The major question
coming out of the end of the Civil War

is what do you do
with four million freed slaves?

What are their rights,

what are their positions
in society?

Reconstruction
comes up with an answer.

They have equal rights.

There are senators
and congressmen who are black

and tremendous progress
gets made.

But, of course,
there were elements

that wanted
to set the clock back

that were not satisfied
with the end of the Civil War

and certainly weren't satisfied
with these former slaves

now having equal rights
with them.

Narrator: At the end
of the Civil War,

thousands of Union Army troops
remained in the South

to enforce the government's
Reconstruction policies.

For Jesse James,
the Northern occupation of the South

represents everything
he's been fighting against.

And now, with the nation
facing an upcoming election,

he plans to make
his biggest demonstration

of Southern resistance yet...

by launching
his first big attack

deep in Northern territory.

You can rob a bank
in Missouri.

Why do you have
to go hundreds of miles away

to rob a bank?
They got plenty of banks.

Because he had heard

that the Reconstruction
governor of Mississippi,

Adelbert Ames,
had relatives up in Northfield,

and a lot of his money
was in this bank.

And James decided,
"We're gonna go up there

and we're gonna rob that bank
to take the money

of the Reconstruction governor
of Mississippi."

Narrator:
Working with his brother Frank

and the rest
of the James Gang,

Jesse spends weeks
planning a heist so bold,

it's sure to grab
national attention.

All right, this time, we're
gonna do it a little different.

We're gonna split up
into three groups.

Clell, cut all
the telegraph wires.

( snaps )

We don't want any information
gettin' in or out of town.

Cole, Bob, I want you
to stand guard

out front of the bank.

Frank, Charlie,

the three of us
will head inside.

Now, when the robbery
is over,

we're all gonna meet
down here near this bridge.

We'll be
a hundred miles away

before anyone knows
what happened.

( whinnies )

Move! We intend
to rob this here bank!

Who's the cashier?

- Who's the cashier?
- The cashier's not here today, sir.

Have a seat, son.

- Open the safe.
- I cannot open the safe, sir.

You know what
I don't like?

I don't like
being lied to.

( panting )

You open
that safe now.

I can't, I can't.

Gardner: The key to the success
for the James Gang

has always been speed,
quickness.

There ain't nothin'
in here!

Gardner:
Joseph Lee Heywood,

the cashier that day,
delayed them.

( yells )
Open the goddamn safe!

( grunts )

Who's the cashier?
Turn around!

You the cashier?
Turn around!

Eisenbach: Jesse James decides
he's gonna attack this bank...

or maybe he doesn't even know...
on the first day of hunting.

So you had
all these hunters

who are in town
buying supplies

and they're getting
very suspicious

'cause there are
a bunch of dudes

standing outside the bank
with guns.

( horse whinnies )

Clear the streets!
Move your asses inside!

(gunshots popping)

Gardner: Jesse's men are
firing off their guns,

telling people
to get back.

This is kind of
shock and awe

in the middle
of the street,

but these people
aren't being shocked

and they're not being awed.

Townspeople
are starting to fight back.

They're coming
to protect their bank.

Agh-hh!

Jesse, time's up!

Jesse, we gotta go.
Come on, now.

Back up!

Get on your knees.

Get on your knees
and stay on your knees.

(glass crashes)

Come on, Jesse,
we gotta go!

Gardner:
It's pandemonium.

The outlaws
are firing revolvers,

which are pretty inaccurate
on horseback.

The townspeople
have shoulder guns.

They're very accurate.

These guys are getting
shot to pieces on the street.

It was a complete disaster
for the James Gang.

And the only thing
for them to do

is to try to
get out of town alive.

Frank:
We gotta go, Jesse!

Send him on now!

I can't.

Frank: Come on, we gotta go now!
Let's go, boys!

( grumbles )

(gunfire whistles)

( murmuring )

Gardner: Joseph Lee Heywood,
the acting cashier that day,

was a thorn in the side
to the plans of these robbers.

He delayed them.

They don't get the money
they come for.

In fact, the safe
was unlocked the whole time.

Had theyjust tried
that handle,

it would've opened up
and revealed about $15,000.

Narrator: The robbery is
a complete failure.

The people of Northfield
stood up to Jesse James.

Now they wantjustice.

And Jesse James
is running for his life.

( men shouting )

Narrator: After Jesse James'
latest heist

at the Northfield Bank...

local citizens
are on a mission

to track down
the notorious outlaw and his gang.

Danny Glover: In the West there were
these citizens

who, in their passion,
their anger,

their authority
that they thought they had,

they go out to bring
these men to justice.

They were
law-abiding citizens

who take the law
into their own hands.

Narrator:
News of the pursuit

quickly spreads
across the country,

turning a small-town chase

into the largest manhunt

in United States history.

Gardner: There were at least
a thousand men

going after these guys.

It was
instant national news,

especially
when the James Gang

was associated
with this robbery.

There were dozens
of newspaper reporters

that went along
with the posses,

keeping track of the manhunt
and how it was progressing.

Jesse and Frank were
Southern boys and murderers.

They were hated
in Minnesota,

and everyone wanted
to see them captured

and brought to justice.

Narrator: Over the course
of two weeks,

almost all
of the James Gang

is either captured
or killed.

The only fugitives
they're unable to track down

are Jesse
and his brother Frank.

Gardner:
These guys were masters

at concealing themselves
and getting away.

They had to do it
all during the Civil War.

They were always
outnumbered.

They always had people
chasing them.

Northfield was
the biggest disaster

the Jameses had experienced
since the Civil War.

They lost men
that they had fought with.

They both suffered
gunshot wounds.

But I think, in a way,

mentally in some way,
they're wounded as well.

Narrator: Now the most wanted man
in America

is forced
to go into hiding,

and it will be
two years

before the world
gets another glimpse

of Jesse James.

While his robbery
may have been a failure,

Jesse's Confederate cause
may finally have a victory.

With the presidential election
just around the corner,

a strong pro-South candidate
named Samuel Tilden has emerged

with a plan to put an end
to Reconstruction.

Foner: Samuel J. Tilden
had criticized Emancipation.

Tilden was explicit about
wanting to end Reconstruction

and attacking Reconstruction.

But then Tilden was also
overtly racist.

Narrator: Opposing him is
a former Union general

named Rutherford B. Hayes.

Foner: Hayes was
the governor of Ohio,

and he was
a mainstream Republican.

Hayes would say,
"We want to make sure

that blacks' rights
are guaranteed."

Narrator:
On November 7th, 1876,

Southerners
flocked to the polls

in unprecedented numbers,

knowing that if they can
put Tilden in the White House,

they could put an end
to Northern policies

that have been in place
since the end of the war.

On election night,

votes roll in
from across the country.

Governor Hayes,
news from Washington.

Narrator: But when the returns
are counted,

the results are unclear.

Foner: The morning after
the election of 1876,

it's not quite clear
who has won.

The returns
from three Southern states

were disputed...

South Carolina,
Florida, and Louisiana.

And both sides claimed
to have carried those states

for their candidate.

In 2000,
we went through

another disputed
presidential election.

And, of course,
there it focused

on disputed returns
from Florida.

So there was great confusion,
uncertainty,

a lot of heated
political rhetoric.

Narrator:
With no clear winner,

Americans begin to panic

and rumors began
to spread.

Foner: It was
an unprecedented situation.

Some Democrat said
if Tilden is not inaugurated,

100,000 people
will march on Washington.

People talked about
a new civil war.

There's rumors of a hundred thousand men
marching on the capital.

Have 4,000 men
ready to defend the capital.

Post the USS Wyoming
in the Potomac.

Peace must be maintained
at all costs.

Yes, sir.

Narrator: After dealing with
an economic depression

and leading an unsuccessful war
against the Indians,

Ulysses S. Grant is facing
his final political crisis,

and now he needs
to find a way

to keep the country
from falling apart.

Narrator: Three months after
the election of 1876

ends in controversy,

tensions between
North and South

are the highest they've been
since the Civil War ended

and the future of the country
hangs in the balance.

...electoral votes
that must be won...

I don't care how many
electoral votes he has, all right?

Narrator: To find a solution,
a secret meeting is convened

between the teams of
both presidential candidates.

Hayes men and Tilden men
got together

in a hotel
in Washington

and hammered out
an agreement.

There has to be
some give and some take.

We give you the presidency,
and you pull out the troops.

It's that simple,
gentlemen.

We want the troops
out of the South.

Narrator: After over
eight million Americans

cast their votes,

the presidency
is ultimately decided

by 15 men
in a backroom deal

that will come to be known
as "the Corrupt Bargain."

The deal was
Hayes would become president.

But in exchange for this,

he would withdraw
remaining Federal troops

from the South.

This would bring
Reconstruction

under a military authority
to a definitive end.

Narrator: The end of Reconstruction
is a victory for Southerners

who've rallied around rebels
like Jesse James.

But for newly freed
African Americans,

it comes
at a heavy cost.

The Bargain of 1877
marks the end

of a federal commitment
to protect the basic rights

of black citizens
in the South.

It basically recognizes

the white supremacist
Democratic Party

as being in control.

Narrator:
With one decision,

the rights of freed slaves
in the South

to vote
and hold office

are no longer protected.

It will be nearly
another 100 years

before they are granted
equal rights

under the Constitution.

The deal marks a sad end
to Grant's presidency.

Brands: When Grant got
the nomination in 1868,

the phrase that won him
the hearts of most Americans

was "Let us have peace."

That was the platform
that he ran on.

But in 1876,
he was losing the battle

with respect
to Indian policy.

Now he lost the battle
with respect to equal rights

for freedom in the South.

Narrator:
Despite his failings,

Grant oversaw
the completion

of the transcontinental
railroad

and kept a divided country
together.

But when Hayes
finally takes office in 1877,

he inherits a country
with numerous problems.

Eisenbach:
Rutherford B. Hayes comes in

and it is, to say the least,
a controversial election.

Half the country doesn't think
he's the rightful president

and he's dealing
with the economic crisis

coming off
the Panic of 1873,

the greatest depression
in American history

up to that point,

and he still has to
avenge the death of Custer

by getting Crazy Horse.

Sherman: So I know you're familiar
with our present situation

with the Sioux.
It's pervasive.

Gentlemen,
we've got to fix this.

Narrator: After the army's
embarrassing defeat

at Little Bighorn,

Hayes is under pressure
to ramp up

military efforts
against the Indians,

and General
William Tecumseh Sherman

sees the opportunity
he's been waiting for.

We deploy 1,200 troops here

and about 240 miles
to the west here.

Then we wipe Crazy Horse

and Sitting Bull's
war party out.

All resources are put
into defeating the Indians.

The debate
over the peace policy is over.

It's a war policy
from now on.

The natives are going
to be totally subjugated.

Narrator: But Sherman has
a plan that he believes

will not only defeat
the Indians on the battlefield,

but could forever alter
their way of life.

Narrator: To defeat
the Lakota Sioux once and for all,

General William T. Sherman
looks to a brutal tactic

he used during
the Civil War...

( cannonfire echoes)

( soldiers' voices echo)

Narrator: ...a policy called
"Total Warfare."

During his march
across Georgia,

Sherman's troops
torched 300 miles

of civilian homes,
farms, and livestock.

John McCain: General William Tecumseh
Sherman was ruthless.

He realized that he had to cut
the heart out of the South.

He had to stop
their base from functioning

so the armies
would be starved.

It was terrible
what he did.

Very successful,

but, honestly...
ruthless.

Narrator: Sherman knows
he can apply a similar tactic

to defeat the Indians
that will guarantee victory,

destroying something essential
to their survival...

the buffalo.

At their peak,
tens of millions of buffalo

roamed the plains
from Canada to New Mexico.

For tribes
like the Lakota,

the buffalo are critical
to their survival.

Pourier:
The buffalo was our life.

We used every part of
the buffalo, nothing was wasted.

We used the bones, the hide
and, of course, the meat.

The internal organs
we used for strings and bags.

We always lived
around the buffalo.

I mean, wherever they went,
that's where we went.

Narrator:
The U.S. military

encourages Eastern hunters
to travel west,

providing them with shelter,
protection, and ammunition.

Enticed by the army's offer

and the opportunity
to make up to $700 a day,

the hunters massacre
entire herds of buffalo...

all in a plot
to starve the Indians.

Jacoby: White hunters come out
and just kill buffalo,

kill as many as they can.

There's stories of
the single white hunter

killing maybe 5,000 buffalo
in a season...

very large numbers.

Narrator: As the hunt expands,
railroad companies

begin to promote
the buffalo's extermination,

offering "hunting by rail"
expeditions,

where men shoot the animals
from moving trains.

Some men become celebrities

by the sheer number
of buffalo they kill,

including hunter
William Cody,

who takes down 4,000 buffalo
in 18 months...

earning the nickname
"Buffalo Bill."

By 1877,
the buffalo's population,

once estimated at 60 million,

plummets to below 2,000.

Pourier: I really believe
that was planned

to help exterminate us.

Because once they took
the buffalo from us,

they took
our way of life.

Anne Collier: The American government
policy to eradicate the buffalo

was no better
than genocide.

It was a matter
of psychological warfare.

If you eradicate the buffalo,
you eradicate the Indian.

( speaking Lakota language )

Narrator: Lakota leaders
Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull

face a difficult decision...

stay in the Great Plains
and fight

or move their people away
from everything they've ever known.

Pourier: These men were hunters,
they were fighters,

they were providers.

They had pride,
they had strong spirits.

Everything they did
at that point

was just to stay alive.

Narrator: As the Indians fight
for survival,

over 750 miles away,

a new breed of outlaw
is about to emerge...

including an unknown
teenage cattle thief

who will soon become
the most wanted man

in the West.