The Industrial Expansion West and Its Impact | The American Buffalo | A Film by Ken Burns | PBS

Americans set out with renewed energy to unite the East and West after the Civil War. They built railroads to span the continent, opening up vast areas for homesteaders and connecting distant metropolitan markets for crops and cattle. Lots of technologies moved into the Great Plains during this time, and most of them had a negative impact on the environment, bison and Native people living there.

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More about THE AMERICAN BUFFALO
For thousands of generations, buffalo (species bison bison) have evolved alongside Indigenous people who relied on them for food and shelter, and, in exchange for killing them, revered the animal. The stories of Native people anchor the series, including the Kiowa, Comanche, and Cheyenne of the Southern Plains; the Lakota, Salish, Kootenai, Mandan-Hidatsa, and Blackfeet from the Northern Plains; and others.

Numbering an estimated 30 million in the early 1800s, the herds began declining for a variety of reasons, including the lucrative buffalo robe trade, the steady westward settlement of an expanding United States, diseases introduced by domestic cattle, and drought. But the arrival of the railroads in the early 1870s, and a new demand for buffalo hides to be used in the belts driving industrial machines back East, brought thousands of hide hunters to the Great Plains. In just over a decade the number of bison collapsed from 12-15 million to fewer than a thousand, representing one of the most dramatic examples of our ability to destroy the natural world. By 1900, the American buffalo teetered on the brink of disappearing forever, and Native people of the Plains entered one of the most traumatic moments of their existence.

[joannkennedy]

This is a great documentary. Thanks Ken Burns

[PegasusFleets]

Beginning in the early 20th century, conservation herds were established to rebuild populations. Currently, there are approximately 20, 500 Plains bison in conservation herds and an additional 420, 000 in commercial herds. While bison are no longer threatened with extinction, the species faces other challenges.Jun 3, 2022

[wolfeadventures]

I recommend American Serengeti by Dan Flores. Fantastic book on the history of animals of America.

[sheepdog]

Unbridled greed is destructive in all forms.😮

[reubenj.cogburn]

America has not had the appetite for Ken Burns style documentaries for a generation now.
We've lost the desire to understand and know something thoroughly and replaced it with a swipe left or swipe right.
There is a price for that.

[jeffreyryan]

There were huge piles of bones on the prairie, the bones were ground up for fertilizer and to make bone china. You don't see bone china brand new anymore

[snicketysnickets]

Why is there a stern librarian at the end of this video

[Manjunathnswamy]

Europe came less to America but killed natives and animals more …😢😢😢

[vernwallen]

When the Indian Chief first saw a train he said"lot of wagons, no horse".🐎🦬

[lesterpossum]

While it was commendable and entirely reasonable to preserve 350K bison on protected land, it was also not especially an evil thing that the Marshal Plan was able to preserve the lives of millions of starving in Europe and Asia with food produced on the Great Plains.

[prettysuper]

no offense but do people actually watch these documentaries for fun or just for class and test prep

[lumbiniashutoshtambat]

The duration of the vid is 9:11, is that a coincidence?

[karlschwinbarger]

I knew it wasn't bison whatever the PC nerds said. It is buffalo. And starfish are still starfish as if anybody every mistook a starfish for a salmon or something. Peking and Bombay and Burma are still Peking, Bombay and Burma. Stop messing with English and do something else unproductive.

[rossjohn]

I came from horrible, horrible ancestors on so many levels.

[melaniamonicacraciun]

😢😢😢 unfortunately some animals are...holy creatures, buffalo meat was so yummy yummy, skin was perfect for boots and belts, bones were used for knives and tools, they were perfect creatures then...the illusion that our planet resources are boundless still today is a deadly trap, a reason more for you guys to keep the memory alive and wake up people, we need to invent the smart vegetals to give us the chemicals for the electric batteries before the lithium resources go exhausted as well.. yeah, you are doing a great job guys, never stop believe in. Chinese govt decided to bring more railroads all over the world, you can always bring the yummy yummy steaks every single station, instead of narcotics most Latinos will have the honor and pleasure to become very nice American partners in business, think about it friends ❤, that's what fans are for 🎉❤🎉