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The War for California | The Men Who Built America: Frontiersmen (S1, E4) | Full Episode | History — Transcript

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0:00[Music]
0:07thank you
0:11previously on The Men Who Built America
0:13frontiersmen
0:15[Music]
0:1740 years after Daniel Boone crossed the
0:19Appalachians the American frontier now
0:23reaches as far west as the Great Plains
0:29[Applause]
0:32famed Shawnee Warchief Tecumseh Falls in
0:36battle and with him dies the dream of a
0:39pan-indian Homeland
0:44Andrew Jackson defeats Great Britain in
0:46the War of 1812 a victory that propels
0:49him to the presidency
0:54spit arrival Davy Crockett seeks a fresh
0:57start in the Mexican territory of Texas
1:11is a fight for freedom
1:16foreign
1:33[Music]
1:40[Music]
1:47I
1:49don't break
1:52[Music]
1:58[Applause]
2:00[Music]
2:14[Music]
2:15ready
2:28at a Garrison in southern Texas known as
2:31The Alamo nearly 260 men women and
2:35children prepare for a Siege
2:42among their commanders is celebrated
2:44frontiersmen
2:46Davy Crockett
2:50outside the walls close to 5 000 Mexican
2:54troops led by the ruthless General Santa
2:56Ana
2:58surround the mission
3:02the texians believed that Santa Anna's
3:04troops were two months out but once
3:06Crockett got to the Alamo and it became
3:09clear that Santa Ana's troops were on
3:11the March and they were much closer than
3:13had been anticipated there was no
3:15getting out of it at this point for
3:17Crockett
3:19all right close it up
3:21foreign
3:45this massive well-trained Army you know
3:48surrounding this this little mission in
3:50the middle of the desert the Alamo looks
3:52like a complete uh disaster waiting to
3:55happen
3:56foreign
4:03Crockett knows the odds of survival are
4:05bleak
4:10man there's a thing that happens when
4:13death's at the door
4:14most people don't know when the reaper
4:16is going to show up right you just kind
4:17of hopefully you die in peace or you die
4:20quickly when you see the reaper standing
4:22outside the door and you know he's
4:23coming in here for us
4:25your world is kind of lends perspective
4:26in that moment what was important what's
4:28not important who I wish I would have
4:30talked to man it's a hell of a thing to
4:33to go through that
4:36[Music]
4:40foreign
4:58over the course of an hour
5:00Crockett and the Texans
5:02repelled the Mexican advances three
5:05times
5:13but Santa Anna is relentless
5:16accepting heavy losses to breach the
5:19Fortress
5:23[Music]
5:34Santa Anna sent his troops from many
5:38different sides
5:39wave after wave after wave of men
5:43who scaled ladders and swarmed literally
5:47like locusts
6:06[Music]
6:10Davy Crockett did what many American
6:13Patriots have done and that is decide to
6:17stay and fight for a cause in the face
6:19of an attacking enemy
6:22and it speaks volumes about him and
6:25about his character
6:27[Applause]
6:40[Music]
6:4390 minutes after the battle begins
6:47the Mexican army takes the Alamo
6:54to all of the fort's Defenders are
6:56killed
7:09most accounts suggest that Crockett was
7:12in some of the heaviest fighting and
7:14that he was one of the last remaining
7:16survivors
7:19they were LED out and executed right in
7:22front of Santa Ana then they were loaded
7:25into three separate human pyres and lit
7:28a flame
7:32for kraka two live this incredible life
7:35on the frontier and then die at the
7:39Alamo
7:40sealed him as legendary
7:49Davy Crockett was not this kind of
7:52Backwoods Outdoorsman uh entirely uh he
7:56was a man with great political ambitions
7:59who got into trouble because he was also
8:01very independent-minded so he wouldn't
8:03always play ball uh with the political
8:05establishment
8:07Crockett was always the congressman or
8:09the little guy it is that Underdog
8:12struggle uh fighting against a tyranny
8:15and so the story of Davy Crockett going
8:18down swinging fighting to the very last
8:20man the very last breath uh feeds the
8:23legend of the King of the Wild Frontier
8:30thank you word of the slaughter at the
8:33Alamo soon spreads across the country
8:37and raging Americans
8:39[Music]
8:49in Washington President Andrew Jackson
8:52sees the defeat in Texas as a much
8:55bigger concern
8:59by 1836
9:02Mexico is a significant territorial
9:04rival in North America
9:07controls land stretching from California
9:10to the border of Oregon covering more
9:13than 1.7 million square miles
9:16the U.S hasn't added a new state since
9:18Missouri in 1821 and the promise of
9:22expansion West feels stalled
9:26Andrew Jackson was among those Americans
9:29who believed that Texas ought to be part
9:31of the United States but Jackson was
9:34also a man with a keen strategic sense
9:36who wanted to strike at the right moment
9:38didn't want to have a war with Mexico
9:40just then didn't think the time was
9:43right
9:45if Texas can win its own independence
9:48Jackson can bring it into the Union
9:50until then his hands are tied
9:53[Music]
10:04fortunately for Jackson
10:08one Texan sees the crushing loss of the
10:10Alamo as an opportunity
10:14his name is Sam Houston
10:18Crockett and Sam Houston both served in
10:22Andrew Jackson's militia during the
10:24creek War
10:25Houston became famous for the battle of
10:29Horseshoe Bend where he was impaled
10:31through the groin with an arrow and had
10:33one of his other soldiers yank it out
10:36and he just kept on fighting and Houston
10:38also was really a rugged Frontiersman
10:45either of some 370 untrained men they
10:49comprise the army of Texas
10:52and their fight for independence isn't
10:55over
10:56to increase his numbers in the face of a
10:58much larger enemy
11:00Houston calls on Texans to avenge
11:03Crockett's death
11:05and remember the Alamo
11:15defeat at the Alamo ended up creating a
11:18great rallying Cry of patriotism to
11:22fight for independence and to fight to
11:24the death to fight to the end it is
11:30hundreds of angry Texans are drawn to
11:32the cause of Independence
11:34in just a month Houston's Army swells to
11:38nearly a thousand
11:45they're positioned near the San Jacinto
11:48river
11:49right in the path of General Santa Ana
11:52and 1500 Mexican troops
12:04[Music]
12:11just six weeks after Crockett's death at
12:13the Alamo
12:15Sam Houston takes his revenge
12:18unleashing 900 Furious Texans against a
12:22larger Mexican Force
12:26Santa Anna is camped near the San
12:28Jacinto River
12:30where the Texans surprised them
12:43ultimately the Battle of San Jacinto
12:45only lasted 18 minutes it was a chaotic
12:4818 minutes I don't think anyone expected
12:50the battle to go this way
12:54foreign
13:02[Music]
13:04630 Mexican soldiers are killed
13:08the Texans suffer just 11 casualties
13:11the crushing defeat leads to Mexico's
13:14surrender
13:16[Music]
13:19and Texas finally wins Independence
13:25foreign
13:32[Music]
13:36Jackson welcomes the news
13:40he's dreamed of Texas joining the U.S
13:42for years
13:44but the future of Texas is caught in the
13:47growing debate
13:48over slavery
13:51Congress wasn't willing to go along with
13:53annexation because Texas would enter the
13:55Union with slavery and the addition of
13:59Texas
14:00would tip the balance in the senate in
14:03favor of the pro-slavery side
14:08the result of this was the Texas
14:10remained in this limbo for almost a
14:13decade
14:16in 1837 Jackson's presidency ends
14:20with one goal unfulfilled
14:24a nation stretching all the way to the
14:26Pacific
14:28Jackson remained politically involved
14:30even after he retired he was writing
14:33constant letters to people giving very
14:36strong opinions about subject after
14:38subject after subject and he was a man
14:40who believed in the expansion of the
14:42United States
14:47expansion in the southwest may be
14:49stalled but the United States still has
14:52a claim in the northwest
14:55located between British Canada and
14:58Mexico's Holdings The Oregon Territory
15:01is 250 000 square miles of disputed land
15:05by Britain Native Americans and the U.S
15:11Lewis and Clark planted a flag here four
15:14decades ago
15:16but to truly own it the U.S needs
15:18settlers
15:20and that's a problem
15:26Americans
15:27didn't know how to make it to Oregon
15:29they were aware that there was very
15:31fertile Farmland there but no one was
15:33exactly sure how to make it there and
15:35the entire Prospect of traveling all the
15:38way across the nation was understandably
15:40daunting
15:47so in 1842
15:51the United States Army sends a
15:53lieutenant from the topographical Corps
15:56his name is John C Fremont
16:00his mission map a route from Missouri to
16:03Oregon that wagon trains of pioneers can
16:07safely travel
16:09John C Fremont is actually an
16:11illegitimate son he's born in poverty he
16:14gets a mentor who actually goes on to
16:17becomes Secretary of War who gets him a
16:19job surveying on the Upper Mississippi
16:21River
16:26Fremont was vainglorious arrogant
16:30extremely ambitious
16:32he didn't just want to be an Explorer he
16:34wanted to be a senator he wanted to be
16:36president
16:42but he's never been west of the
16:44Mississippi
16:48Burns to the most skilled guide on the
16:51frontier
16:54Kit Carson
16:58Kit Carson came from very humble Origins
17:02he had no formal education he was
17:04illiterate yet he was incredibly
17:06knowledgeable about the land of the West
17:09he spoke multiple languages he had
17:12relationships with native tribes he knew
17:14the topography he knew how to fight he
17:17knew how to hunt so here is somebody who
17:20had an invaluable knowledge that allowed
17:23him to go between both worlds
17:32growing up Carson was raised among
17:35Frontier Legends and mastered Wilderness
17:38skills at an early age
17:44Carson was born in Kentucky and he moved
17:46to Missouri as a child his family became
17:49close friends with the boons they lived
17:51in a place called Boone's lick
17:54the Carson family of course was was
17:55quite well aware of Daniel Boone and his
17:58Legend
17:59there was this desire to keep that
18:01Westward Movement going
18:03to keep finding the frontier to keep
18:05breaking ground they were literally
18:06carving a civilization out of the
18:08Wilderness there
18:15by age 16 he left home for good
18:18hungry for adventure
18:25now with Fremont
18:27he'll embark on a mission that will test
18:29all of his skills
18:36Fremont and Carson were a bit of an Odd
18:38Couple they were completely opposite
18:41today we might say Fremont was a bit of
18:43a nerd and Carson was the cool kid
18:45Carson was rugged and had experience in
18:48the frontier he didn't seek fame or
18:50Fortune he didn't look for the spotlight
18:52and so these two in many ways couldn't
18:55have been more different but at the same
18:57time complimented each other very well
19:04over the course of five months Fremont
19:06and Carson lead some three dozen men
19:09more than 2 000 miles
19:11through treacherous Terrain known for
19:14extreme changes in temperature and
19:16altitude
19:23expedition was very very dangerous they
19:26were going to parts of the world that
19:27had never been explored before
19:30they were a small party they were
19:33relatively well armed but they could
19:35always be ambushed
19:37and certainly Fremont understood that
19:39and and was very very glad to have a
19:42guide like Carson
19:50foreign
20:07on October 24th 1843
20:17Fremont and Carson finally reach the
20:20Oregon Territory
20:27we made it
20:30the path they chart becomes famous
20:33the Oregon Trail
20:38it paves the way for 400 000 settlers to
20:41move west in the decades to come
20:48opening a new frontier and strengthening
20:51the United States claim
20:53to the northwest
21:01[Music]
21:15one year after Carson and Fremont reach
21:18Oregon
21:21the 1844 campaign for the presidency is
21:24underway
21:26in my opinion our national security
21:29requires the annexation of Texas
21:33and should not stop until our domain
21:36extends from Ocean to Ocean
21:39Dark Horse candidate James K Polk
21:43believes in one thing above all
21:46expanding America's borders
21:51it's a vision he shares with his mentor
21:54Andrew Jackson
21:57we're vulnerable here and here and we're
21:59going to continue to be vulnerable
22:01unless we secure our borders to the
22:03South and to the West I couldn't agree
22:05more
22:06Andrew Jackson was known as Old Hickory
22:08because he was so tough James K Polk was
22:10known as Young Hickory the idea being
22:11that he was a sapling in Andrew
22:14Jackson's model the last two presidents
22:16have done nothing they're useless
22:18they're they're afraid to act we have to
22:19take Texas that has to be our first
22:21priority
22:23Polk was a younger generation of
22:26politician as the 1844 election
22:29approached Jackson made clear that if
22:32you were a supporter of Andrew Jackson
22:34you would go with James Polk
22:41Polk is able to capitalize on the legacy
22:45of Andrew Jackson this idea that
22:48Americans have a right in fact the duty
22:50of responsibility to continue to expand
22:53Westward that ultimately it's this
22:55god-given dictate that they must fulfill
22:58and Polk is able to turn that into a
23:01political agenda that serves his own
23:03political designs
23:20Polk rides a wave of popular support to
23:23the White House
23:25then immediately delivers on his
23:27campaign promise
23:30by his first days in office Texas is on
23:33its way to becoming the 28th state
23:36adding another 300 000 square miles to
23:40the nation
23:42so Polk does what I wish more
23:44presidential candidates would do he says
23:46he's going to do this this and this and
23:48he's only going to serve one term so
23:50that he can step on a lot of toes and
23:52deny the special interests and just
23:54pursue what he's elected to do
23:57foreign
24:01fulfills Andrew Jackson's long-held
24:04dream to make Texas a state
24:10but he doesn't live to see it come true
24:14[Music]
24:19Jackson's Legacy was firmly establishing
24:23the principle that the Ordinary People
24:25of America wielded political power
24:28he was a self-made individual he didn't
24:31have an inheritance he didn't have name
24:33recognition handed to him today people
24:37don't like Jackson largely because
24:39Jackson's hard Indian policy offend
24:43modern sensibilities
24:50what's forgotten about Jackson is his
24:53enormous positive contributions to hold
24:56the United States together in the face
24:58of challenges
25:02and defend the United States against
25:04foreign attack Jackson recognized that
25:08the American experiment in
25:10self-government was an ongoing
25:11experiment and its success was not
25:13guaranteed
25:15he was the one who really imprinted that
25:17on the American psyche
25:22Jackson was emblematic of the
25:24contradictions of the American
25:25frontiersmen it was all jumbled together
25:28in this one huge figure the impressive
25:31and the not so impressive and the good
25:33and the appalling
25:42President Polk intends to build on
25:45Jackson's Legacy
25:47seizing the final open pieces of land in
25:50North America
25:52Polk isn't content to just look at Texas
25:54a course he wants Texas but he's going
25:57to look broader beyond that Hulk wants
26:00the entire continent
26:01[Music]
26:04there's just one concern Mexico controls
26:07most of it
26:09including the biggest prize
26:11California
26:14this is what I want and this should not
26:16be hard to take
26:21overflowing with natural resources
26:24California also has over 3 000 miles of
26:27Coastline offering unparalleled access
26:30to Pacific trade
26:33something every president since
26:34Jefferson has coveted
26:38California is a very desirable place in
26:41the world very beautiful and very
26:43fertile the Mexicans of course have
26:46their claim to it the British are quite
26:48interested in settling it uh an
26:51expanding the Northwestern territories
26:54for themselves
26:57Americans knew all about the glory of
27:00California the immense wealth of
27:04California
27:05there was a very important trade already
27:08going on in hides animal hides and above
27:12all Americans were interested in the
27:14main ports
27:21we all
27:27Polk is determined to take California
27:30but with Congress unwilling to start a
27:33new war
27:34he devises a secret plan
27:37using the Texas Rebellion as a model
27:40he'll try to incite an uprising and the
27:43man he chooses to lead his mission
27:46is the most famous explorer in America
27:53Mr Fremont
27:57I read your reports
28:00I found them very interesting thank you
28:02Mr President I'm honored
28:04but I uh I don't imagine you took time
28:07out of your schedule just to tell me
28:09that
28:10no
28:11no I didn't invite you here to talk
28:13about your past expeditions
28:16but rather a future one another Trail to
28:19Oregon
28:21not exactly
28:24officially your mission will be to map
28:26out new territory and to discover the
28:29source of the Arkansas River
28:33unofficially
28:35when you get to the Rocky Mountains I
28:37want you to ride South
28:39into California
28:42once in California I want you to talk to
28:45the local settlers
28:48and if you can
28:50inside Rebellion
28:53and you're sending me because you don't
28:55want it to appear to be a military
28:57operation
28:59exactly
29:00I just need one thing from you and that
29:02would be
29:05Kit Carson
29:08[Music]
29:12foreign
29:22Polk was purposefully placing an
29:27Explorer in a capacity to take advantage
29:29of any sort of instability in California
29:32the idea that he's simply there an
29:36official capacity is an Explorer and a
29:37map maker
29:39Polk needed to provide plausible
29:41deniability
29:42with around 60 heavily armed men Fremont
29:45moves towards California
29:48tasked with inciting a rebellion
29:51without starting a war
30:04[Music]
30:18John Fremont and Kit Carson
30:21are on their way to California
30:24part of President Polk's covert scheme
30:26to extend U.S borders
30:30all the way to the coast
30:35Polk was an outspoken expansionist he
30:38wanted Texas he wanted California he
30:40wanted Oregon he was going to push out
30:42the American frontier all the way to the
30:45Pacific
30:49disguised as a surveying mission
30:51their real goal is to find American
30:54settlers
30:55and incite them into rebelling against
30:58Mexico
31:10[Music]
31:12by winter Fremont and Carson arrive at
31:15Sutter's Fort in Modern Day Sacramento
31:18the first American settlement in
31:21California
31:27in California of 1845 there were about
31:29eight to ten thousand uh people living
31:31in California mostly Mexican Californios
31:33and about a thousand or so Americans
31:37a couple hundred foreigners German
31:39British Swiss and the Mexicans had
31:41welcomed them because California was a
31:44far-flung province and underpopulated
31:47American settlers who pushed West were
31:50looking for land
31:52but in Northern California is a it's
31:54really kind of a rabble
31:57a lot of these guys are drunks unsavory
32:00characters
32:03[Music]
32:06you look empty dear friend can I buy you
32:08a drink
32:15can I ask why you came
32:17good land
32:20you don't really own that land do you
32:23Mexican government does
32:27Mexico allows Americans to settle and
32:30work the land
32:32but not to legally own it
32:35infuriating settlers
32:37and playing right into Fremont's hands
32:44Mexico's hold over California is quite
32:47tenuous and lo and behold there's John C
32:50Fremont in the middle of all this this
32:52explorer who has these secret orders
32:55from Washington who's very well
32:57connected who's part of the army
33:02now did you know there's a Mexican felon
33:03shot to California
33:05did you
33:06that's because he doesn't come around
33:10when Fremont showed up in California in
33:121845 he found a populist that was deeply
33:15disenchanted with Mexican rule
33:19it doesn't matter if you bought the land
33:21if you own the land if you worked the
33:23land it doesn't even matter if you have
33:25become a Mexican citizen off of the love
33:28of your land
33:29the Mexican Government will take it away
33:32whenever they find that convenient
33:37Fremont was very skilled he was outgoing
33:41and so he attracted a lot of people to
33:44him
33:46who by right owns this land who buy ride
33:49owns it
33:52Fremont convinced Californian residents
33:55they're worth fighting to do
33:58California gentlemen California
34:05[Music]
34:07in Washington Polk impatiently awaits
34:10news from Fremont
34:13hoping California's settlers will rise
34:15up on their own
34:18he knows Congress won't approve a war
34:21with Mexico
34:23unless the U.S is attacked
34:25[Music]
34:30tired of waiting Polk sends the Army to
34:33a disputed border between Texas and
34:35Mexico
34:36certain he can provoke Mexico to strike
34:39first
34:41how many men in the fifth regiment
34:43Polk was waiting for Mexico to rise to
34:46the bait and attack American forces he
34:49believed that any War fought was going
34:51to result in war territory for the
34:53United States
34:57on April 25th 1846 convinced American
35:01troops are invading Mexico assaults a
35:04U.S Patrol
35:06killing 11.
35:07[Music]
35:09giving Polk exactly the provocation he
35:12needs
35:14Hulk went to Congress and he said
35:17American blood has been
35:19shown American soil and despite our best
35:21efforts to prevent war with Mexico they
35:24have attacked us now this was a lie in
35:28fact the land in question was not
35:30American land
35:34I won't say that this is the only
35:36instance in American history in which
35:38let's say we fudge some things in order
35:40to get something we wanted through an
35:43act of aggression but this is certainly
35:45a great example
35:49mere weeks after the attack
35:54the U.S declares war on Mexico
36:03in California
36:05Fremont receives a message from Polk
36:10his mission is no longer Secret
36:14it's time to attack
36:20Fremont equips a ragtag army with rifles
36:25marches toward present-day Sonoma
36:30his goal win California for Polk at any
36:34cost
36:39[Music]
36:46thank you
36:49[Music]
36:57following orders from President Polk
37:00John Fremont leads a militia of 100 men
37:03South
37:05his mission
37:07sees California for the U.S
37:13he plans first to attack Sonoma the
37:16largest settlement in Northern
37:18California
37:20then he hopes to continue South to
37:23Monterey Los Angeles
37:25and finally San Diego
37:34the Americans are relatively few in
37:36number
37:37but because of John C Fremont they're
37:40going to make their presence known much
37:43more loudly than their numbers would
37:46indicate
37:51[Music]
37:56relying on grit and determination
37:59Fremont and Kit Carson begin their
38:03improbable Conquest
38:06if there's one thing that marks John C
38:08Fremont it's his ambition he was he was
38:11driven to succeed he was driven to be
38:13independent and I think the frontier for
38:17John C Fremont represented the route to
38:21secure his ambition notoriety Fame
38:23wealth that's what California offered
38:28[Music]
38:31as word of Fremont's Revolt begins to
38:34spread
38:34other settlers join the fight
38:38they call themselves Los Osos
38:42Spanish for the Bears
38:47on June 14 1846
38:51Fremont's Fighters reach Sonoma
38:55but are surprised to find the Mexican
38:57Outpost
38:58virtually undefended
39:10comes known as the Bear Flag Revolt
39:17to mark their Victory they raise a
39:19makeshift flag
39:21made from a cotton sheet and decorated
39:23with a red grizzly bear
39:26the design will later Inspire the state
39:29flag of California
39:35all right let's go
39:40this Revolt that begins to emerge
39:43it was enough of a movement to take hold
39:47at least in Northern California and to
39:49start this process of the American
39:51conquest of California
39:58in just two months with few casualties
40:02Fremont and Carson conquer most of
40:05California's Coast
40:09direction of Fremont this rabble of guys
40:12that have accomplished this great feat
40:14never before in history had so much
40:16terrain been won with so little conflict
40:19with so little Bloodshed and won by such
40:22a small party of individuals
40:31Polk's plan to win California seems to
40:34be working but without communication he
40:37has no idea if Fremont and Carson are
40:40even alive
40:42[Music]
40:45to hedge his bets he dispatches a
40:47Cavalry force from Texas
40:50led by General Stephen Carney
40:54Stephen Watts Kearney has been an
40:56officer he's known Lewis and Clark and
41:00Paul orders him West to go and capture
41:03Santa Fe and then continue on down the
41:06Rio Grande and eventually strike
41:07Westward to California
41:20in early August 1846
41:25Fremont and Carson reach Los Angeles
41:32after joining forces with U.S Marines
41:34sent by Polk
41:37They seized the city
41:40and with it the final Mexican stronghold
41:43in California
41:46it's kind of incredible
41:47Fremont took California against
41:50relatively light resistance
41:53it fell into American hands partly
41:55because of the skill and bravery of
41:57someone like John C Fremont but partly
42:00because of pure Good Fortune because it
42:02was there for the taking
42:04foreign
42:08it was at that point Fremont assumed
42:11that that California was theirs that
42:13they had taken it they believed that
42:16Mexicans weren't really good soldiers
42:18they believed that they were sort of
42:19indifferent politically and they took
42:22this as a sign that that the California
42:25was theirs
42:28Fremont always ambitious wants to share
42:31his good news with Polk quickly
42:36thank you
42:39Fremont decides now is the time to to
42:43let Washington know what has happened to
42:45let Polk know what has happened to sort
42:48of solidify the victory Fremont was
42:50interested in expanding his own
42:52celebrity making this Conquest part of
42:55his own personal story Fremont decides
42:57to send a courier East
43:00who am I going to hire to do this well
43:02why not the most competent and pragmatic
43:05strongest member of My Expedition
43:08Kit Carson
43:11Adept at survival
43:14Carson picks the fastest route possible
43:18even though it means Crossing hundreds
43:20of miles of in hospitable desert
43:23the famed Frontiersman is unaware he's
43:26about to face his most grueling test yet
43:41by 1846
43:45Kit Carson is one of the few Americans
43:48to ever reach California
43:51now he's undertaking a new Epic Quest
43:55to cross the continent and hand deliver
43:57an Urgent Message to President James K
44:00Polk
44:01sharing that Fremont and his army have
44:04taken California
44:06he sets out from Los Angeles with orders
44:09to travel to Washington and back
44:13a distance of 6 000 miles
44:16in 140 days
44:19we have to remind ourselves that there
44:21was no Transcontinental Railroad there
44:24was no Telegraph there was only one way
44:26to get a message to Washington and that
44:28was to travel Overland and this is
44:31exactly the kind of expedition that
44:33Carson was perfect for
44:35but the most direct route across the
44:37country
44:38cuts through one of the most hostile
44:40places in America
44:45the Sonoran Desert
45:09well for Kit Carson to cross the desert
45:11in what's now the Southwest would be a
45:14very difficult situation
45:17there's the danger of heat stroke of
45:20getting lost
45:22there are many dangers dehydration would
45:25be a huge one
45:40Carson's Frontier skills make him
45:42uniquely suited for this test
45:50he survives for weeks
45:53by harvesting water from creek beds and
45:56Cactus roots
45:58buried below the ground
46:00Carson knew you know where to find water
46:02in a cactus he had a little trick where
46:04he would Nick the ear of a mule and
46:06drink its blood he had all these little
46:08tricks up his sleeve
46:27but it's not enough to overcome the
46:30Relentless heat of the Sonoran summer
46:39typically say I have 155 pound male
46:42would need about one and a half liters
46:45of water a day to stay alive
46:49if you're Crossing
46:51a desert in the heat instead of 1.5
46:54liters a day you need 1.5 liters an hour
47:00[Music]
47:04foreign
47:14more than a thousand miles
47:19Carson's life is in danger
47:27in the desert as one's body becomes
47:30dehydrated
47:36one's blood is actually thickening like
47:39oil
47:41the water inside your cells is being
47:44drawn out to thin your thickening blood
47:47so your body is sucking itself dry
47:51and these changes can occur in the brain
47:54as well
47:58the hallucinations typically accompany
48:01severe dehydration
48:05the victim can hallucinate pools of
48:08water
48:10in the latter stages they will try to
48:14bite their own arm and suck the liquid
48:17out
48:36then finally
48:39relief is on the horizon
48:48Kit Carson gets to a spot in New Mexico
48:50and sees this cloud of dust coming from
48:52the West
48:54well who is this what's going on
48:57it turns out to be the army of the West
49:03under the orders of President Polk
49:05General Stephen Carney has spent the
49:08last six months driving towards
49:10California
49:20if you have any extra supplies you could
49:22share I'd appreciate it where is it you
49:24headed Washington
49:26I have a message I need to relay where
49:28from California well that's where we're
49:31headed we ride out in the morning
49:34did you say your name was
49:37okay Carson
49:39you're a free month's guide
49:43the meeting between Carson and Carney is
49:45one of the most serendipitous meetings
49:47in American history
49:50General Carney had heard of Carson he
49:52knew about his exploits he knew the
49:54Carson he'd just been over this very
49:56inhospitable terrain he needed a guide
49:59just as Fremont earlier had needed a
50:01guide now Carney needed a guide to get
50:04him back to California
50:08so Carney has to pull rank basically
50:10look I'm a general uh you're going to do
50:13what I tell you to do I need you
50:16get some rest
50:19move by first thing in the morning
50:32Carney recognized that Carson was an
50:35experienced guide had been on these
50:37Expeditions with Fremont and I think
50:39Carney just made a sound decision he
50:41said you know where you're going take me
50:43into San Diego
50:46[Music]
50:52Carson always the dutiful Soldier
50:54accepts the orders begrudgingly and
50:57returns with Kearney
51:00[Music]
51:01so Carson is guiding Carney West and he
51:05probably is fuming he's resentful he
51:07probably hates this Expedition but there
51:10he is again moving back and forth across
51:12this huge Nation Carson heads back into
51:15the desert unaware that he's walking
51:18straight into a war
51:24foreign
51:25[Music]
51:41Mont dispatched Kit Carson East to
51:44Washington
51:45in a race to deliver the news that
51:47they've taken California
51:50but Carson's Mission has changed
51:54now he's heading back West
51:57leading general Carney's troops to San
52:00Diego
52:01Stephen Carney was the commander of the
52:04American Army of the West he was sent by
52:07Polk to advance into Mexican territory
52:10to secure California for the United
52:12States
52:18Fremont's already captured California
52:22well kearney's in a little bit of a
52:24quandary he's been told to do this he's
52:25a good military officer he's going to
52:27follow orders the slow-moving army takes
52:30eight weeks to retrace Carson's steps
52:33through the Sonoran Desert
52:36Carney sends Carson ahead
52:39Scout the best route
52:4850 miles outside of San Diego
52:54Carson discovers
52:59Mexico is far from defeated
53:05and its Army
53:08is on the move
53:10they get near San Diego
53:13rides ahead
53:16and wait a minute California is not
53:18conquered everything is kind of turned
53:21around now
53:24the Americans have lost ground
53:28initially Fremont's troops encountered
53:30almost no resistance taking towns from
53:33Sausalito to Los Angeles but now the
53:36Mexican Army has surged North reclaiming
53:39the territory and Fremont is trying to
53:42regroup
53:44Fremont sends Carson back to basically
53:47say we've won and uh everybody should
53:50celebrate well those greetings were a
53:52little bit premature
53:56essentially the Mexican Army had had
53:59regrouped and reorganized for ready to
54:01defend their land
54:06[Music]
54:09how many of them over there
54:13100
54:15maybe more
54:17well mounted too
54:22Carney's men have marched from Santa Fe
54:25New Mexico his men are cold and tired
54:28it's raining his powder is wet despite
54:31all of this Carney thinks he can engage
54:35with the Mexican Army
54:39we have to attack
54:44you with me
54:46yes sir
54:55Carson was the sort of guy you would
54:58want to have on your side if you were in
55:01a fire fight he has an incredible
55:03violent streak he was a violent man even
55:07for his times once he's perceived that
55:09this was a violent situation he was
55:11about to enter into he went for the
55:13jugular
55:33foreign
55:35[Music]
55:58completely underestimates the Mexican
56:00presence
56:04and there's disorganization amongst the
56:06Americans a bit of overzealousness and
56:09the result is
56:13Carney's men get stretched out and the
56:16Mexicans are able to take advantage of
56:17this
56:37Carson is momentarily unconscious
56:40foreign
56:46then he stands up and finds his rifle
56:55he begins to pick off the enemy one by
56:58one
57:01Carson
57:05Carson grew up with a gun in his hand he
57:08could shoot straight he was calm he was
57:11composed he would dispatch you as
57:13quickly as possible
57:16he would talk about a firefight he would
57:18say that was the prettiest fight I ever
57:21saw
57:23almost like a mafia killer
57:26the Mexicans suffered some wounded
57:29but it's this point that Carney realizes
57:32he's in trouble
57:36hunting himself is nearly killed in this
57:38conflict
57:40it's uh nip and Tuck whether they're
57:42going to survive this thing
58:04they have to regroup and create a
58:07perimeter and it's the beginning of a
58:10Siege basically
58:17The Siege at San Pasqual goes on for
58:20several days and Kearney realizes that
58:23they're not going to survive this they
58:25don't have enough food and water and
58:27ammunition to hold out much longer what
58:30he needs to do is find out whether there
58:32are any other American forces in the
58:34area
58:37how many troops you think are still out
58:38there
58:39or the weep gun
58:43you just sneak someone through Enemy
58:45Lines good word to San Diego
58:49we'll do it
58:53there's a belief that somewhere in near
58:56San Diego is the U.S Navy and the
58:58Marines and if you can get
59:00reinforcements and get help that they
59:02might be able to break the siege
59:08so again who raises his hand it's Carson
59:11I'll do it whenever there's a risky
59:13Mission into enemy territory he's the
59:16guy that raises his hand
59:29but San Diego is 40 miles away
59:36and no one knows if help is there
59:43or of Carson Will Survive the journey
59:53[Music]
1:00:00[Music]
1:00:09Kit Carson has just volunteered for a
1:00:12mission that could cost his life
1:00:19to save General Carney's trapped Army
1:00:21he'll try to reach U.S Marines he hopes
1:00:25are in San Diego
1:00:27[Music]
1:00:32[Music]
1:00:38foreign
1:00:45you have to imagine the danger inherent
1:00:48in this mission
1:00:55Carson has to sneak through Mexican
1:00:57lines through enemy territory through
1:01:01Hills Rock and Cactus and Thorns it is
1:01:05an unforgiving environment and he's not
1:01:07on a horse he's on hands and knees
1:01:14[Music]
1:01:19foreign
1:01:30Got to Now make his way across this
1:01:33expanse of desert with prickly pear and
1:01:36all kinds of cactus he is traveling in
1:01:39enemy territory
1:01:43another one of the exploits that
1:01:45contributes to the mythology of Kit
1:01:47Carson as this kind of incredibly Plucky
1:01:50self-reliant guy
1:01:58foreign
1:02:24Against All Odds Kit Carson reaches San
1:02:27Diego
1:02:28in one day
1:02:31who goes there
1:02:36Hold Your Fire
1:02:39wait I'm an American
1:02:44General Curry sent me
1:03:03ah
1:03:05the Mexican Army has his entire
1:03:08Battalion surrounded what about 35 miles
1:03:11back across the desert
1:03:13by the time he makes it to American
1:03:16lines his feet are all torn up he's
1:03:19lacerated he can't walk
1:03:22one of the great feats in American
1:03:24history
1:03:40after a brief reprieve Carson returns to
1:03:43San Pasqual with 200 reinforcements
1:03:48as they approach General Carney's
1:03:50position
1:03:51their opposition scatters
1:03:54the side of these approaching Marines
1:03:56very well armed
1:03:58was enough to scatter the Mexican
1:03:59soldiers
1:04:01they didn't want any part of this
1:04:17Carson learns Carney has survived and
1:04:21now intends to continue his mission
1:04:24we'll make straight for San Diego
1:04:25resupply then on to Los Angeles
1:04:30you think we can take it
1:04:32we'll see
1:04:40as he prepares to leave Carson is
1:04:42unaware his friend John C Fremont is
1:04:45alive and planning his own mission
1:04:49Carson hadn't seen Fremont in a long
1:04:51time now he didn't know if Fremont was
1:04:52alive or dead
1:04:54Keys near Monterey trying to gather an
1:04:57army to retake Southern California
1:05:01by late November
1:05:03he's amassed a force of more than 400
1:05:06men
1:05:10determined to reconquer Los Angeles and
1:05:13burnish his reputation Fremont heads
1:05:16South
1:05:19the same time Carney and Carson planned
1:05:22their own route North
1:05:26between them the Mexican Army
1:05:31steak
1:05:32control of California and the final
1:05:36piece of American western expansion
1:05:51President James K Polk is determined to
1:05:54seize California
1:05:57what his plan depends on the outcome of
1:05:59a battle erupting three thousand miles
1:06:02away
1:06:10Los Angeles is Mexico's final stronghold
1:06:13in the territory
1:06:19prize the Americans want to reclaim
1:06:25John Fremont closes in from the north
1:06:32as Kit Carson and general Carney move to
1:06:36attack
1:06:39think about Los Angeles you have Kearney
1:06:41approaching from the south
1:06:45and Fremont was advancing along the
1:06:48coastal range and controlled the kawanga
1:06:50pass there wasn't really anywhere for
1:06:53the Mexican Army to go
1:07:00Carney's Army arrives first
1:07:08thank you
1:07:24and overwhelms the enemy
1:07:27defeating them
1:07:29in a matter of hours
1:07:31the combined force of kearney's soldiers
1:07:35and some American volunteers pin the
1:07:38Mexican Army down
1:07:43between Fremont's advancing Army from
1:07:46the north and their combined force in
1:07:48the south
1:07:53the Mexican Army realizes look we're you
1:07:55know we're surrounded
1:07:57and decided that it was it was time to
1:07:59to capitulate
1:08:02the U.S flag is raised over Los Angeles
1:08:10but the war isn't over
1:08:15foreign
1:08:16had basically gotten what he wanted
1:08:19[Music]
1:08:22was in American hands New Mexico was an
1:08:25American hands
1:08:27Texas was secured and Polk decided it
1:08:30was time for the war to end
1:08:32unfortunately Mexicans had no interest
1:08:35in ending the war they were angry and
1:08:38they refused to come to terms to force
1:08:41Mexico's hand
1:08:43Oak launches an invasion
1:08:47grabbing California United States
1:08:48actually had a land and army
1:08:52on the coast of Mexico at Veracruz and
1:08:55then March up and take Mexico City
1:09:04the resulting treaty
1:09:07finally pushes the frontier to the
1:09:10western coast
1:09:17fulfilling the dream of building a
1:09:19nation
1:09:21that spans from the Atlantic
1:09:24to the Pacific
1:09:26American expansionism does something
1:09:28that has been on uh the agenda uh right
1:09:31from the American Revolution with Daniel
1:09:32Boone so what we see in 1840s is a
1:09:36fulfillment of the promise of the
1:09:38founding fathers and even the colonists
1:09:41who arrive and go out there to uh get
1:09:44their piece of the American land mass
1:09:47the Empire of Liberty First imagined by
1:09:50Thomas Jefferson
1:09:52and championed by Andrew Jackson
1:10:00is achieved by the unlikeliest of
1:10:02leaders
1:10:05James Polk
1:10:10President Polk is one of our most
1:10:12underrated presidents I mean this was a
1:10:14very powerful man a guy with very clear
1:10:18intentions when Polk assumed office he
1:10:22looked West
1:10:24and he saw that land and he said you
1:10:26know what I want it all it was really
1:10:27one of the greatest land grabs in the
1:10:30history of the world to take that whole
1:10:31Western third of the continent and to
1:10:34get it all in one generation
1:10:38if you want to understand how important
1:10:40Polk's presidency was just consider this
1:10:44I'll foreign it if it were an
1:10:45independent country would be the fifth
1:10:46largest economy on Earth
1:10:50imagine American history without
1:10:52California
1:10:53and then imagine Mexican history with
1:10:56California
1:10:57[Music]
1:10:59the history of the entire world would be
1:11:01different
1:11:07in California
1:11:13John Fremont is appointed temporary
1:11:16governor of the territory
1:11:19and his trusted partner Kit Carson
1:11:21parted ways six months before
1:11:26but now
1:11:27sir hello Carson it's good to see you
1:11:30again sir with the war over they finally
1:11:33reunite
1:11:35Carson hadn't seen Fremont in a long
1:11:37time now he didn't know if Fremont was
1:11:39alive or dead
1:11:41and theirs was a deep and Lasting
1:11:44friendship
1:11:45so Carson was probably very very glad to
1:11:49see him
1:11:51well there's plenty of work to be done
1:11:54if you'd like to stay on I could
1:11:55certainly use you
1:11:57yes sir
1:12:01Fremont goes on to become California's
1:12:04first senator
1:12:08while Carson fights for the Union in the
1:12:11Civil War
1:12:15but it's their Adventures on the
1:12:17frontier that make them Legends
1:12:26Fremont's Explorations changed the way
1:12:28Americans thought about the West
1:12:32prior to his explorations Americans
1:12:35tended to think of the west as merely a
1:12:37Direction
1:12:39after Fremont the West becomes a place
1:12:42with known features he forces Americans
1:12:46to see America not as atlantic-bound
1:12:48Seaboard Nation more as a continental
1:12:51nation state
1:12:56the newspapers back East called Fremont
1:12:58the Pathfinder but really that title
1:13:02would more appropriately go to Carson
1:13:10Carson was the real Pathfinder
1:13:13he's the one that kept the Expeditions
1:13:15on track and out of Harm's Way
1:13:18these two men just sort of Desperately
1:13:21and rather profoundly needed each other
1:13:24in order to accomplish everything that
1:13:26they that they accomplished
1:13:31by the end of 1847 California is
1:13:34officially a U.S territory
1:13:39but only 7 000 Americans are living here
1:13:42if America wants to hold this ground it
1:13:46has to settle it
1:13:48Polk wanted to get as many Warm Bodies
1:13:51on the ground living there to start this
1:13:54process of California to kind of assert
1:13:56their own interest in refashioning
1:13:59California as American Terrain
1:14:02there was a policy on the on the part of
1:14:04the U.S government to get as many people
1:14:06out there because if you had boots on
1:14:09the ground populating these territories
1:14:11well uh that makes it a fact that this
1:14:15is the future of America
1:14:16and nothing motivates settlers more
1:14:20than the chance to make a fortune
1:14:23in January of 1848 the promise of
1:14:26California
1:14:28pays off
1:14:32[Music]
1:14:34when gold is discovered
1:14:37this gold rush now makes this this
1:14:41amazing kind of land grab really really
1:14:45worth it I mean this is like America
1:14:46winning the lottery all of a sudden
1:14:49a gold rush will soon compel thousands
1:14:52to move west
1:14:54the man who crosses the country to
1:14:56deliver the message
1:14:58is none other than Kit Carson the
1:15:02amazing PostScript to this is that Kit
1:15:05Carson
1:15:06meets with President Polk in December of
1:15:101848 and what news is he bringing he's
1:15:13bringing news that gold gold has been
1:15:17discovered in California Gold Fever is
1:15:21about to transform the frontier
1:15:30with the addition of California
1:15:33the United States at last stretches from
1:15:36sea to Sea
1:15:42the land itself is sparsely settled by
1:15:46Americans
1:15:51until a surprising discovery in 1848
1:15:58foreign
1:16:01[Music]
1:16:12golden was discovered in California in
1:16:13early 1848 no one expected anything like
1:16:17this
1:16:18California when the United States
1:16:20acquired it at the end of the war with
1:16:22Mexico was about as far from the
1:16:24Civilized portions of America as you
1:16:27could be and still be on the face of the
1:16:28planet Earth
1:16:30nobody expected that California would be
1:16:33settled in any hurry
1:16:36word of the find travels quickly
1:16:40igniting Gold Fever across the United
1:16:43States
1:16:53soon over 300 000 Pioneers stream into
1:16:57California
1:17:01one of the biggest migrations in
1:17:03American history
1:17:06once the Gold Rush is ignited all of
1:17:09these men go West on these trails that
1:17:11had been mapped and charted by Fremont
1:17:14and Carson this ensures that California
1:17:17is going to be American territory
1:17:20forever
1:17:23over the course of the gold rush
1:17:27it's mine over 750 000 pounds of gold
1:17:32generating more than two billion dollars
1:17:36over 61 billion today
1:17:461850 California becomes the 31st state
1:17:50[Music]
1:17:55pleading a chapter in American history
1:17:57that began 75 years before on the
1:18:01Appalachian Frontier
1:18:04in many ways this was a continuation of
1:18:06the American Revolution you know we were
1:18:0813 colonies but we kept pushing West and
1:18:10pushing West
1:18:13but it wouldn't be a complete picture
1:18:15until we were a nation from sea to
1:18:18shining sea
1:18:22daring frontiersmen who first braved the
1:18:24wilderness
1:18:26helped shape the future of America
1:18:30[Music]
1:18:32the American frontier Spirit was right
1:18:34there at the very beginning during the
1:18:36American Revolution
1:18:38that notion where nothing is going to
1:18:40stop you from going out and getting your
1:18:42piece of the pie
1:18:48as they relentlessly moved West
1:18:51seeking new land and opportunity
1:18:54they clashed with Native American tribes
1:18:57determined to defend what was rightfully
1:19:00theirs
1:19:01the frontier was both the dark side and
1:19:06the light side
1:19:07of American expansion native people just
1:19:11like settler people
1:19:13need to be counted as Americans
1:19:16like any human being American Indians
1:19:19fought for their families for their
1:19:21Nations for their lands for their assets
1:19:23for their life
1:19:25we are still here
1:19:29we've not been Exterminating American
1:19:31Indians are to be honored for that and
1:19:33they continue to fight today
1:19:41Brave explorers mapped the unknown
1:19:44blazing Trails for settlers to follow
1:19:47bold and resourceful the Frontiersman
1:19:50became American legends
1:19:52[Music]
1:19:55it was always fascination with this
1:19:58image of
1:19:59finder with Buckskin and rifle sort of
1:20:03going out into the great unknown
1:20:08icons who inspired generations with
1:20:12Tales of their endurance and skill
1:20:15the kind of people who would go to
1:20:17Frontier were tough
1:20:21and they seem to relish danger and the
1:20:24unknown
1:20:26the frontier was not for the faint of
1:20:29heart the frontier was hard and it bit
1:20:32back and it hurt
1:20:36they were willing to put up with insane
1:20:39risks
1:20:40this was a world without Outlaws there
1:20:43were no laws to be outside of you kind
1:20:46of created your own code
1:20:47[Music]
1:20:50Frontier itself helped Forge the
1:20:53nation's identity
1:20:55and has come to Define
1:20:57the American Spirit
1:20:59congratulations Captain
1:21:02[Music]
1:21:05the frontier is in America's DNA it is
1:21:09the way we think of ourselves we no
1:21:11longer think of ourselves as a frontier
1:21:12Society but we like to think of
1:21:14ourselves as these individuals that was
1:21:16an Essence Frontier
1:21:19the frontier represented the
1:21:21quintessence of American Opportunity
1:21:24the frontier disappeared from American
1:21:26history over 100 years ago
1:21:29but the frontier remains very much alive
1:21:31in the way Americans Define ourselves
1:21:34[Music]

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This page contains the full transcript of The War for California | The Men Who Built America: Frontiersmen (S1, E4) | Full Episode | History by HISTORY, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 7,280 words across 1,402 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

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