Pioneers! o pioneers!

Description

Both westward expansion and 19th-century immigration affected the development of a uniquely American English. This classic PBS program tells the story of that burgeoning dialect, from the Revolutionary War to the 1920s. Beginning with the Declaration of Independence, the program depicts the determination of American radicals-dictionary author Noah Webster among them-to achieve linguistic as well as political separation. While the urban, immigrant-laden Northeast is rightly viewed as a linguistic pressure cooker, the western frontier is portrayed as no less dynamic-thanks to fur traders, riverboat pilots, gold miners, Spanish-speaking cowboys, Native Americans, and the railroad.

Runtime

59 min

Series

Subjects

Genre

Date of Publication

[2007], c1986

Database

Films on Demand

Direct Link

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