SHAPING AMERICA FINAL SCRIPT
TITLE: Lesson 13: “Jefferson’s Vision of America”
PREPARED FOR: Dallas Telelearning
WRITER: Preferred Customer
PRODUCER: Julia Dyer
DRAFT: Final
DATE: May 17, 2001 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 1
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FADE IN: 1 UNIT OPEN 2 1. Western landscapes (use NARRATOR: In the first half of the 19th century, throughout Unit Open): 3 Cumberland Gap and Appalachian the children of those who had fought the war for 4 mountains (6998), Ohio Valley (6828, 6829), Mississippi River 5 independence came of age. This generation (6837, 6632, 6989, 6990) 6 inherited the American revolution, and their
7 choices would to a large degree shape its legacy. 2. Andrew Cayton on camera 8 ANDREW CAYTON: If you begin to look at it as 9 a very youthful nation, a lot of very young people, 10 expanding, moving out west; thinking that there 11 are enormous responsibilities for what this 12 13 country could become and making that country 14 through thousands of individual decisions that
15 they make about, where to live, to get married,
16 children. The sense of possibility I think was 17 stronger then than at almost any other period of 18 American history since. 19 3. ANDREW CAYTON VOC ANDREW CAYTON: The United States (12:20:14:14) 20 expanded at an absolutely phenomenal rate in 21 22 this period. It’s unimaginable in many ways. 23 Let’s say somebody was born in 1780 and lived,
24 let’s say, to be 80 years old. Now when that
25 person was born, there were 13 states still 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 2
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fighting for their independence. By the time that 1 person dies, you’re talking about California is a 2 3 state, Texas is a state. 4. WESTERN LANDSCAPES 4 NARRATOR: The term “manifest destiny” was
5 not coined until 1845. But the idea that
6 Americans had a right—even a moral obligation 7 —to expand westward, spreading democracy 8 and Christianity, had been driving settlers since 9 the colonial era. A fascination with the untamed 10 11 West—with its promise of wealth, escape, 12 renewal, and adventure—tugged at the American
13 consciousness long before and long after the 19th
14 century. 5. DAYTON DUNCAN VOC 15 DAYTON DUNCAN: For white Americans, the (3:16:02:00) 16 people who predominantly, not all of them but 17 predominantly, landed on the East coast, that 18 was – West is the place where you went to get 19 20 the land. It’s the place where new hope would 21 come. It’s the place where you went to get away
22 from whatever it was that you were trying to get 23 away from. So it’s always represented in 24 American history sort of the future for us for 25 better or for worse. But it has been a very, very 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 3
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powerful grip, I think, on the American 1 imagination, the West. That’s where the sun 2 3 sinks and that’s where new hope arises. 6. DAYTON DUNCAN VOC 4 DAYTON DUNCAN: As long as you’ve always (3:19:54:00) 5 got a place to pick up and move to, that can
6 give you an excuse not to solve the problem 7 that’s sending you there in the first place. With 8 slavery, the West was this place where it 9 became more and more contentious. Every 10 11 time a new state would come into the Union, “Is 12 it going to be slave or is it going to be free?”
13 Eventually, that had to be dealt with through
14 the Civil War. If you’re moving into land already 15 inhabited by Indians or by Spanish people, 16 eventually you’ve got to come to grips with the 17 fact that there are people there who already 18 19 consider it their home and so to a certain 20 extent, it helped us delay and to a certain
21 extent it meant the final reckoning was in many 22 cases quite violent. 23 SEGMENT ONE 24 “We proceeded on…” 25 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 4
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7. APPROPRIATE FOOTAGE OF ACTOR: Descendent of Thomas Jefferson. MONTICELLO—INTERIOR AND1 EXTERIOR SHOTS (6719, 6720, 2 6721) “Here, perhaps, has been assembled more 3 ACTOR, 13-1, Houston, Roll love of liberty, virtue, wisdom, and learning 6955, 01:22:54 4 than on any other spot in America.” 5 NARRATOR: Thomas Jefferson’s mountaintop 6 estate reflects the broad range of his interests, 7 from agriculture to Aristotle. The gardens of 8 9 Monticello open onto an unbroken vista of the
10 Shenandoah mountains, and beyond to the
11 western horizon. Jefferson’s political philosophy 12 also inclined him to look to the West. 13 8. ANDREW CAYTON VOC (BELOW ANDREW CAYTON: Jefferson, like many men 12:17:49:2812:00:34:18) 14 of his period, believed that the only way you can 9. IMAGES OF JEFFERSON 15 get people to be virtuous is if they’re 16 17 independent. That is, if they’re free from 18 dependency upon other important men for jobs,
19 for food, and for other kinds of things. And the
20 best way to do that was to have enough land to 21 farm for yourself. 22 10.DAYTON DUNCAN VOC DAYTON DUNCAN: And he saw the West as a (3:21:06:00) 23 breeding ground for freedom. He also saw it as a 24 place, being fascinated by Indians as he was, as 25 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 5
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perhaps this space in which the clashes between 1 the two cultures could eventually be worked out 2 3 better than they had been worked out on the
4 Atlantic shore. So for him it was both a place of
5 great fascination but also a great place of 6 opportunity for what he hoped would one day be 7 an empire of liberty. 8 11.WESTERN LANDSCAPE NARRATOR: The Louisiana Purchase gave 9 Jefferson the means to implement his vision of 10 11 America as a nation of landowners. 12.PORTRAIT OF JEFFERSON 12 ACTOR: Jefferson. ACTOR, 13-2, Hess, Roll 6962, 13 08:05:44 “. . . room enough for our descendants to the 14 thousandth and thousandth generation . . .” 15 13.VOC JOSEPH ELLIS (2:22:07:00) JOSEPH ELLIS: Jefferson, by executive action, 16 14.MAP 13-1, ILLUSTRATING THE essentially acquires half a continent, the entire LOUISIANA PURCHASE 17 18 Midwestern part of the United States from the 19 Alleghenies to the Rocky Mountains, the
20 heartland of America, the most fertile area for
21 growing crops in the world. And he does this 22 despite the fact that he regards the executive 23 action as unconstitutional. 24 15.MERIWETHER LEWIS’ NARRATOR: In 1804, Jefferson commissioned SIGNATURE ON TRANSFER 25 DOCUMENT (6610) his private secretary Meriwether Lewis to lead an 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 6
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exploration of the unknown territory. 1 16.PORTRAIT OF JEFFERSON ACTOR: Jefferson. LAYERED WITH BEAUTY SHOT 2 OF MISSOURI RIVER (L&C) 3 “The object of your mission is to explore the ACTOR, 13-3, Hess, Roll 6962, 4 08:06:11 Missouri River, and such principal stream of 5 it, as may offer the most direct and 6 practicable water communication across this 7 continent.” 8 17.DAYTON DUNCAN VOC DAYTON DUNCAN: The Lewis and Clark 9 (3:22:03:00) 10 expedition begins in the mind of Thomas
11 Jefferson and that’s a very complicated, very
12 robust mind. He was interested in Lewis and 13 Clark as emissaries of the United States to the 14 Indian peoples who lived there because he 15 wanted to capture the trade with those Indians 16 17 and to beat the British and the French and the 18 Spanish in what was a great geopolitical chess
19 match going on in the western half of North
20 America. Most of all, he thought that there was 21 this magical Northwest passage that would be a 22 trade route to China. 23 18.VOC JOSEPH ELLIS (BELOW JOSEPH ELLIS: It’s an illegal expedition and 2:24:01:00) 24 it’s an illegal expedition especially once it gets 25 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 7
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west of the Rockies, because that’s all Spanish 1 territory. But he describes it as a scientific and 2 3 literary expedition. Part of that’s true. 19.VOC JOSEPH ELLIS (2:25:00:00) 4 JOSEPH ELLIS: He has genuine scientific
5 curiosity but that is also a convenient cover. In
6 modern terms this would be like a CIA 7 operation that is covert, that is, bringing back 8 news from foreign countries that is being 9 acquired somewhat illegally. It’s a great 10 11 adventure story to be sure. Jefferson always 12 thought that the West should be a place
13 where the mysteries of America continue to
14 exist and that this is, you know, it’s like 15 sending people on a magical mystery tour. 16 20.PORTRAIT OF CLARK. COLLAGE NARRATOR: Lewis instructed his co- OF PORTRAITS OF THE 17 MEMBERS OF THE CORPS OF commander William Clark to recruit a crew for DISCOVERY (pre Sacagawea) 18 the expedition. ACTOR, 13-4, Carlos, Roll 6973, 19 19:13:36 20 ACTOR: Lewis. 21 “Some good hunters, stout, healthy, 22 unmarried men, accustomed to the woods, 23 and capable of bearing bodily fatigue in a 24 25 pretty considerable degree.” 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 8
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21.PRINT OR PAINTING OF ST. NARRATOR: The departure of the Corps of LOUIS IN APRIL 1804 1 Discovery was a big event in St. Louis. The 2 3 town’s most prominent citizens, including its
4 legendary founder Auguste Chouteau,
22. PORTRAIT OF CHOUTEAU 5 accompanied Lewis as far as St. Charles. 6 There, he met up with Clark and their crew, 7 and the locals gave them a festive send-off. 8 23. CLARK’S ROCK PAINTING OF ACTOR: Private Whitehouse: DANCING IN ST. CHARLES 9
ACTOR, 13-5, Wood, Roll 6964, 10 “Dressy polite people and Roman Catholics… 10:27:52 11 Passed the evening very agreeable dancing 12 with the French ladies, etc.” 13 24. MISSOURI RIVER B-ROLL (6631) NARRATOR: But the next day, as they headed 14 up the treacherous Missouri River, they were on 15 their own: 16 25.LOOSE TREES FLOATING IN ACTOR: Clark. MISSOURI RIVER (L&C); 17 JOURNAL PAGES 18 “. . . Current exceedingly strong . . . boat ACTOR, 13-6, Thompson, Roll 19 6957, 03:21:15 against some drift & snags. . . . This was a 20 disagreeable and dangerous situation, 21 particularly as immense trees were drifting 22 23 down . . .” 26.MAP 13-2, ILLUSTRATING 24 NARRATOR: After traveling 6 months and 1,000 JOURNEY TO MANDAN VILLAGE 25 miles upriver, the Corps of Discovery spent their 27.MEN IN KEELBOATS (L&C) 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 9
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first winter in log huts beside the village of the 1 Mandan Indians. 2 28.VOC DAYTON DUNCAN DAYTON DUNCAN: Without the Mandan 3 (3:26:46:00) 4 Indians, they would not have survived a bitterly 29.IMAGES OF MANDAN VILLAGE AND INDIANS; FORT MANDAN 5 & cold North Dakota winter where it got to 45 MISSOURI RIVER IN WINTER (L&C) 6 degrees below zero with wind chills making it 7 even worse. The Mandans gave them corn to 8 eat. They helped hunt buffalo with them. The 9 Hidatsas, their neighbors, gave them instructions 10 11 of what they should expect when they go farther 12 west. 30. IMAGES OF ITEMS 13 NARRATOR: When spring came, the men
31.SPRING ON MISSOURI RIVER 14 packed up a variety of articles to be shipped (L&C?) 15 back to St. Louis and from there to President 16 Jefferson. 17 32. IMAGES OF ITEMS/ JOURNAL ACTOR: Various men, overlapping. PAGES 18
**VARIOUS ACTORS** 19 “The bones and skeleton of a small
Thompson, Roll 6959, 05:07:14 20 burrowing wolf…4 buffalo robes…some 21 Minor, Roll 6959, 05:20:12 Recaras tobacco seed…an ear of Mandan 22 Wood, Roll 6964, 10:14:25 corn…the skin of a yellow bear… 23 Taylor, Roll 6968, 14:15:26 Specimens of plants numbered from 1 to 24 67…one tin box containing insects, mice, Carlos, Roll 6973, 19:14:20 25 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 10
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etc…one robe representing a battle 1 between the Sioux and Ricaras against the 2 3 Minetares and Mandans…four living
4 magpies… one earthen pot such as the
5 Mandans manufacture…the horns of two 6 black tailed deer…” 7 33. PAINTINGS/SKETCHES NARRATOR: As they prepared to resume their 8 journey west, not knowing when or if they would 9 ever return, Lewis surveyed his small party with 10 11 excitement. 34. JOURNAL PAGES; PORTRAIT 12 ACTOR: Lewis. OF LEWIS 13 ACTOR, 13-8, Carlos, Roll 6973, “I could but esteem this moment of my 19:15:04 (skip down – only using 14 half of recorded quote) departure as among the most happy of my 15 life. The party are in excellent health and 16 17 spirits, zealously attached to the enterprise, 18 and anxious to proceed; not a whisper or
19 murmur of discontent to be heard among
20 them.” 35. VOC DAYTON DUNCAN 21 DAYTON DUNCAN: We think of Lewis and (03:28:20:00); 22 Clark sort of joined at the hip now in history. But 36.IMAGES OF YORK, SACAGAWEA 23 AND REST OF CORPS it wasn’t two guys on an outward bound 24 experience in the West. They had a group of 25 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 11
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people with them. There were woodsmen from 1 Kentucky. There was a black slave of William 2 3 Clark’s named York. There were three men who
4 were the sons of Indian women and French
5 Canadians. There was an Indian woman and her 6 half-French, half-Indian son. It was an incredibly 7 diverse group. They succeeded because they 8 worked together. 9 37.SUNSET ON MISSOURI (L&C) NARRATOR: In April of 1805, the Corps of 10 38.MAP 13-3, ILLUSTRATING Discovery departed the Mandan village and JOURNEY INTO MONTANA 11 12 proceeded west into the wide, fertile valleys that
13 would one day be Montana. 39. MONTANA B-ROLL, BUFFALO, 14 ACTOR: Lewis. ELK, ANTELOPE (L&C) 15 “The whole face of the country was 40. JOURNAL PAGES 16 17 covered with herds of buffalo, elk and ACTOR, 13-11, Carlos, Roll 6973, 19:19:59 18 antelopes. They are so gentle that we pass
19 near them while feeding, without appearing
20 to excite any alarm among them. Walking 21 on the shore this evening, I met with a 22 buffalo calf which attached itself to me and 23 continued to follow close at my heels until 24 25 I embarked and left it.” 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 12
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41. STOCK FOOTAGE: GRIZZLY NARRATOR: Orphan calves were not the BEAR (L&C) 1 only animals to pursue the party. A group of 2 3 four men out hunting quickly found themselves
4 running for their lives after shooting a grizzly
5 bear. 6 ACTOR: Lewis. 42. JOURNAL PAGES 7 “In an instant this monster ran at them 8 ACTOR, 13-12, Carlos, Roll 6973, 19:21:34 (skip down past first 9 with open mouth. He pursued two of them sentence of recorded quote) 10 so close that they were obliged to throw
11 aside their guns and pouches and throw 12 themselves into the river although the 13 bank was nearly twenty feet 14 perpendicular.” 15 43.DRAWING OR PAINTING OF NARRATOR: As they proceeded on towards SACAGAWEA POINTING THE 16 WAY 17 the headwaters of the Missouri, Sacagawea 44.B-ROLL: CATHEDRAL CLIFFS, 18 emerged as the group’s primary guide. GREAT FALLS, GATES OF THE ROCKIES (L&C) 19 Though she had been kidnapped as a young
20 girl, she was Shoshoni and had once called 21 this land home. 22 45.MONTANA B-ROLL: ACTOR: Lewis. BEAVERHEAD ROCK (L&C) 23
ACTOR, 13-14, Carlos, Roll 6973, 24 “The Indian woman recognizes the country 19:26:08 25 and assures us that this is the river on 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 13
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which her relations live.” 1 46.IMAGE OF SACAGAWEA; NARRATOR: Lewis counted on Sacagawea STATUE OF SACAGAWEA (7088) 2 not only as a guide, but also as a mediator 3 4 with the Shoshones. 47.VOC DAYTON DUNCAN 5 DAYTON DUNCAN: When they were confronted (04:00:48:00) 6 by mountain after mountain after mountain after
7 mountain where mountains weren’t supposed to 48.IMAGES AS NEEDED OF 8 SACAGAWEA, CAMEAWHAIT, exist, they needed horses in order to continue. ETC. 9 And the tribe of people who had the horses 10 turned out to be not only her tribe but led by her 11 12 brother. So arriving with the long-lost sister of the 13 chief of the tribe makes negotiating for horses a
14 lot easier. Also, as a translator it made
15 communication a lot easier. 49.PAINTING OF LEWIS AND CLARK 16 With every tribe that Lewis and Clark met, they WITH SHOSHONE 17 would try to explain where they’re going, that 18 they’re going to this far western ocean. The 19 50.DAYTON DUNCAN ON CAMERA Shoshone called it the “Stinking Lake of Illy- 20 21 Tasted Waters” – salt water. They knew where it 22 was and they in fact wore ornaments that had
23 come from the ocean though they themselves 24 had never been there. They could say, “Well, 25 the tribe a little bit farther west, they live on a big 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 14
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river and it flows to that and that’s where you 1 want to go next.” 2 51.B-ROLL: BITTERROOT NARRATOR: On horseback they proceeded on, 3 MOUNTAINS (L&C) 4 into the Bitterroot Mountains… 52.MAP 13-4, ILLUSTRATING JOURNEY THROUGH 5 BITTERROOT MOUNTAINS 6 7 ACTOR: Gass. 8 ACTOR, 13-16, Taylor, Roll 6968, 9 14:06:50 “…The most terrible mountains I ever 10 beheld…” 11 NARRATOR: …through rain, hail, and snow, 12 half-starved, eating their horses and even their 13 candles in desperation. 14 53.IMAGE OF CLARK/JOURNAL ACTOR: Clark. PAGES 15 16 “I have been wet and as cold in every part as 17 I ever was in my life. Indeed, I was at one 18 time fearful my feet would freeze in the thin 19 moccasins which I wore. The party very cold 20 21 and much fatigued.” 54.MAP 13-5, ILLUSTRATING SNAKE NARRATOR: When at last they came to a 22 RIVER TO COLUMBIA TO OCEAN 23 navigable stream, they paused to dig out their 55.STOCK FOOTAGE: SNAKE RIVER AND CANOE BUILDING 24 own canoes. The stream widened out into the (L&C) 25 Snake River, which in turn fed into the mighty 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 15
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56.OREGON B-ROLL: COLUMBIA Columbia. And on November 7, 1805… RIVER (7093, 2504)) 1 57.OREGON B-ROLL: SHOTS OF 2 ACTOR: Clark. THE PACIFIC COAST, 3 INCLUDING REVEALS OF OCEAN “Great joy! We are in view of the ocean, (7094, 7095) 4
ACTOR, 13-18, Thompson, Roll 5 which we been so long anxious to see. As far 6957, 03:23:47 6 as my sight could be extended, the seas
7 raging with immense waves breaking with 8 great force.” 9 58.VOC DAYTON DUNCAN DAYTON DUNCAN: They had now crossed the (04:04:34:00) 10 continent. They were the first people, American 11 citizens at least, to really fully understand how 12 13 big this continent is and how hard it is to get 14 across and they were on the far side of it. So
15 that’s where homesickness first hit the Corps of
16 Discovery. 59.RAIN/JOURNAL PAGES 17 ACTOR: Clark. 60.B-ROLL OF FORT CLATSOP 18 th (7093, 7094) 19 “O! How horrible is the day!…17 : rained all ACTOR, 13-19, Thompson, Roll 20 night. . . 18th: frequent showers through the 6957, 03:25:13 21 day…20th: rained all day without intermission.
22 21st : rained all night. . . . 22nd: rain 23 continued…” 24 61.VOC DAYTON DUNCAN DAYTON DUNCAN: They were not very happy (04:04:34:00) 25 and I think part of that attitude rubbed off on their 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 16
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attitude toward the Clatsop and Chinook Indians 1 as well. They were ready to go home and 2 3 instead of everything being a new adventure,
4 everything was now an obstacle between
5 themselves and their homes and the Indians 6 were among those obstacles. 7 62.FOOTAGE OF THE ROCKIES NARRATOR: After four dreary months, the 8 explorers began the journey home. By June of 9 1806, they were once again braving the Rocky 10 11 Mountains and enjoying the hospitality of the 12 local Indian peoples. 63. B-ROLL: WS MISSOURI RIVER 13 Descending the Missouri back toward St. Louis,
14 they at first seemed more like ghosts returning
15 from the dead than heroes from a successful 16 mission. 17 64.MISSOURI RIVER/JOURNAL ACTOR: Clark. PAGES 18
ACTOR, 13-21, Thompson, Roll 19 “At 11 a.m. we met a Captain McClellan 6957, 03:26:32 20 ascending in a large boat. This gentleman,
21 an acquaintance of my friend Capt. Lewis, 22 was somewhat astonished to see us return 23 and appeared rejoiced to meet us. This 24 gentleman informed us that we had been long 25 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 17
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since given up by the people of the U.S. 1 generally and almost forgotten. The 2 3 President of the United States had yet hopes
4 of us.” 65.B-ROLL: MISSISSIPPI RIVER 5 NARRATOR: Six days later, they descended to
6 the Mississippi and down to St. Louis. 66. IMAGES OF RETURNING 7 ACTOR: Clark. CREW/ST. LOUIS/JOURNAL 8 PAGES “We were met by all the village and received 9 ACTOR, 13-22, Thompson, Roll 6957, 03:28:53 10 a hearty welcome from its inhabitants.” 67. IMAGE OF LEWIS 11 NARRATOR: The next morning, Lewis
12 composed a letter to President Jefferson: 68.LAYER PORTRAIT OF LEWIS 13 ACTOR: Lewis. WITH PORTRAIT OF JEFFERSON 14 “It is with pleasure that I announce to you the ACTOR, 13-23, Carlos, Roll 6973, 15 19:28:44 16 safe arrival of myself and party. In obedience
17 to your orders, we have penetrated the
18 Continent of North America to the Pacific 19 Ocean.” 20 69.VOC DAYTON DUNCAN DAYTON DUNCAN: I think one of the enduring (04:13:01:00) 21 lessons of them is that just like them every time 22 70.REPRISE OR LEFTOVER IMAGES you wake up in the morning, you face an FROM SEGMENT 23 uncertain horizon. They didn’t know if they were 71.JOURNAL PAGES: “WE 24 PROCEEDED ON…” 25 going to, we know now that they were going to 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 18
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make it out and back. They didn’t know that 1 each morning they got up. And the only way that 2 3 they could cross a big wide continent at 14 miles
4 a day was to put one foot in front of the other and
5 just slog it on. And the most recurring phrase in 6 their journals are three words: “We proceeded 7 on”. And it became sort of like a mantra for 8 them, I think. 9 72.VOC DAYTON DUNCAN DAYTON DUNCAN: Every newspaper in (04:09:09:00) 10 11 America ran stories about their return, but they 12 all make mention of the fact that they made it
13 and they made it back safely but also the Indians
14 were said to be peaceful, that the climate on the 15 west coast was said to be mild and that there are 16 all these fur bearing animals out there. Well, you 17 put all those things together to a nation that’s 18 19 already turned its face to the west for a place of 20 opportunity, good climate, friendly Indians and a
21 fur trapper’s paradise, and that’s like throwing, 22 you know, a match onto some gasoline. People 23 were wanting to go west and take advantage of 24 all those things. 25 73.DAYTON DUNCAN VOC DAYTON DUNCAN: We can look back when 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 19
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(04:10:59:00) Lewis and Clark were first going West and see 1 these moments when a U.S. military operation 2 3 lived in peace and harmony with the Indian
4 peoples and when they helped one another
5 through cold winters or to get across a barrier 6 and it does make us ask, as we should, “Could it 7 have been different if we had done it that way for 8 the rest of that 19th century?” 9 SEGMENT TWO 10 “Tecumseh” 11 12 74.PORTRAIT OF TECUMSEH; OR 13 ACTOR: Tecumseh. CARVING OF TECUMSEH ON COURTHOUSE (6878) 14 “Once there was not a white man in all this ACTOR, 13-25, Carlos, Roll 6972, 15 18:17:58 country; then it all belonged to the redman. 16 Now made miserable by the white people, 17 18 who are never satisfied but always 19 encroaching on our land. The only way to
20 stop this evil, is for all the redmen to unite in
21 claiming a common right in the soil, as it was 22 at first, and should be now.” 23 75.RICHARD WHITE ON CAMERA RICHARD WHITE: Tecumseh is one of the (4:00:48:00) 24 most remarkable people who ever appeared on 25 the continent. What he does is organize 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 20
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alliances far different from anything that people 1 had seen before. What he argues is that 2 3 Indians, as Indians, are going to resist and that
4 no tribe has the right to cede land without the
5 consent of all Indian peoples. 76.DAVE EDMUNDS VOC; CUT IN 6 DAVE EDMUNDS: The Native American PORTRAIT OF PROPHET 7 (8:06:21:16) movement that emerges is primarily a religious 8 movement that starts with his brother, the 9 Shawnee prophet. Tecumseh takes his religious 10 11 movement and transforms it into a sort of 12 confederacy, an attempt to unite tribal people
13 against the onrushing frontier. 77.RICHARD WHITE ON CAMERA 14 RICHARD WHITE: They work through religion. (4:02:47:00) 15 They work through ideology. They start these 78.B-ROLL OF TIPPECANOE (6877); 16 IMAGES OF VILLAGE intertribal villages, first at Greenville, later at 17 Tippecanoe, in which warriors from all tribes 18 come together. So, this is no longer a tribal 19 20 effort so much as a new pan-Indian effort 21 organized around them. Furthermore, what he
22 tries to do, and successfully, is bring the British 23 back in to back this alliance so that once more 24 Indian peoples, now in a new form under the 25 leadership of Tecumseh, can make a stand 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 21
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against the Americans. 1 79.DAVID EDMUNDS ON CAMERA DAVID EDMUNDS: Tecumseh is very much a (8:07:09:22) 2 threat to the United States. They never 3 4 understand the prophet. They see him as sort of
5 a religious kook. But Tecumseh is a very
6 interesting person in that what the United States 7 does not want is a united Indian front. They want 8 to work on the Indian tribes piecemeal. 9 80.IMAGES OF WARHAWKS NARRATOR: A handful of U.S. leaders, referred AND/OR B-ROLL OF CONGRESS 10 HALL (6698) to as the “war hawks,” also wanted to expand 11 12 into British Canada. They exploited fears about 13 Tecumseh and maritime grievances against the
14 British to garner support for a conflict that would
15 become known as the War of 1812. 81.DAVID EDMUNDS ON CAMERA 16 DAVID EDMUNDS: This is the last time that (8:09:00:09) 17 tribal people will have outside help in standing 82.MILITARY IMAGES OF WAR OF 18 1812: INDIANS, BRITISH, against a European power or the United States. AMERICANS 19 One can’t really say that the British are allied 20 21 with the Indians. They’re fighting but they’re 22 fighting for different things. The British are
23 fighting to keep the Americans from invading 24 Canada. Tecumseh and the Indians are fighting 25 desperately to hold onto their lands in the Great 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 22
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Lakes region and in the south as well. 1 83.RICHARD WHITE VOC RICHARD WHITE: The real chance to set up a 2 84.B-ROLL: OHIO VALLEY (6877, native state, a backing of a powerful empire 6828, 6829) 3 behind it, comes in the War of 1812, and 85.MAP 13-6, ILLUSTRATING 4 POTENTIAL BORDER STATE 5 Tecumseh realizes that. Tecumseh realizes if he BETWEEN CANADA AND U.S. 6 can get British help, what he will be able to do is 7 carve out an Indian border state in between 8 Canada and the United States. And the British 9 are thinking seriously of doing this as a way to 10 11 protect Canada, as a bar to further American 12 expansion. 86.RICHARD WHITE ON CAMERA 13 RICHARD WHITE: And in the early fighting, it (4:05:53:00) 14 goes very well for them. And Indian peoples win 87.IMAGES OF BATTLE LAYERED WITH LANDSCAPES 15 significant battles, but again they’re warriors. 16 They’re not armies. You can win all these 17 battles, but if your supplies are cut off, if the 18 British can no longer supply you, if warriors have 19 20 to go home to feed their family, then it doesn’t 21 matter how many times you defeat the
22 Americans, there’s always a new army. And 23 when Tecumseh finds that the British are 24 retreating – retreating not because they’ve been 25 defeated but because their supplies have been 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 23
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cut off on Lake Erie – Tecumseh at that point 1 knows it’s over. 2 88.PAINTING OF “TECUMSEH NARRATOR: In October of 1813, Tecumseh was 3 FALLS” 4 killed in battle. His British allies surrendered,
5 leaving Tecumseh’s warriors alone to continue
6 the fighting. As they learned of his death, the 7 Indian forces abandoned the field. His lifeless 8 body was eventually seized by the victorious 9 Americans and torn limb from limb. 10 89.RICHARD WHITE (4:07:28:00) RICHARD WHITE: After Tecumseh’s death, the 11 12 Indian confederacy collapses. There will never 13 be, after Tecumseh, a confederacy on the scale
14 of the one that he put together. And any realistic
15 hopes of Indian peoples carving out this special 16 status, of maintaining an independence between 17 empires and republics, that’s really gone. 18 90.RICHARD WHITE VOC RICHARD WHITE: The War of 1812 is a critical (4:08:27:00) 19 war for Indian peoples. After that their ability to 20 21 negotiate between empire and republic is gone. 22 And Americans will, after this, try to dictate to
23 Indians. They no longer have to appeal to them 24 as allies. You no longer have to worry about 25 them going over to another empire and helping 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 24
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them out. Those days are gone. 1 SUMMARY ANALYSIS 2 “…like a fire bell in the Night” 3 4 91.PATRIOTIC IMAGERY OF THE NARRATOR: The decade after the War of 1812 PERIOD 5 was known as the “era of good feelings” because 6 7 of the nationalistic euphoria that washed over the 8 burgeoning country. 92.MAP 13-7a, ILLUSTRATING NEW 9 But western expansion also deepened regional TERRITORIES COMING INTO UNION: FOCUS ON MISSOURI 10 and ideological differences as the new territories 11 applied for admission to the Union as free states 12 and slave states. The congressional debate over 13 Missouri was especially fierce. 14 93.HEADLINES REPORTING ON ACTOR: Henry Clay, Speaker of the House. MISSOURI DEBATES; INTERCUT 15 PORTRAITS OF CLAY AND 16 RANDOLPH “The Missouri subject monopolizes all our 17 94.B-ROLL: CONGRESS HALL conversation, all our thoughts and for three (6698) 18 weeks at least to come will all our time.” ACTOR, 13-31, Taylor, Roll 6967, 19 13:14:16 20
21 NARRATOR: The controversy dragged on for 22 two years. Southern representatives openly 23 threatened “disunion.” 24 ACTOR: John Randolph. 25 26 Final Script Program 13 “Jefferson’s Vision of America” 5/17/01 25
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ACTOR, 13-32, Wood, Roll 6964, “God has given us Missouri and the devil 10:03:41 1 shall not take it from us.” 2 95.MAP 13-7 DEPICTING TERMS OF NARRATOR: Missouri was finally admitted as a 3 THE COMPROMISE 4 slave state along with Maine as a free state, thus
5 maintaining the balance between the North and
6 the South. As part of the Missouri Compromise, 7 a line was drawn the length of the 36-30’ parallel, 8 below which slavery would be permitted and 9 above which slavery would be forever banned. 10 96.MONTICELLO B-ROLL: IN RETIREMENT AT MONTICELLO, THOMAS JEFFERSON’S DARKENED 11 STUDY (6719) 12 JEFFERSON received the news of the Missouri 13 Compromise with fear and dread: 14 ACTOR: Jefferson. 15 “This momentous question, like a fire-bell in ACTOR, 13-34, Hess, Roll 6962, 16 08:08:30 the night, awakened me in terror. I 17 18 considered it at once as the knell of the 19 union. A geographical line, held up to the
20 angry passions of men, will never be
21 obliterated; and every new irritation will mark 22 it deeper and deeper.” 23 24 25 26