This is the story of the star of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, the young woman who thrilled audiences around the world with her daring shooting feats. While her act helped fuel turn-of-the-century nostalgia for the vanished, mythical world of the American West, the legend of Annie Oakley had little to do with the real Annie. Although famous as a western sharpshooter, Oakley lived her entire life east of the Mississippi. A champion in a man’s sport, Oakley forever changed ideas about the abilities of women, yet she opposed female suffrage. Her fame and fortune came from her skill with guns, a concept that was counter to her Quaker upbringing.
Annie Oakley: American Experience
Watch Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 7pm
