Concentrating primarily within the period of 1600–1839, this narrative describes the first "Old West"—the land just beyond the crest of the Appalachian Mountains—and the many firsts that occurred there.
In Pursuit of a Better Life follows the travels of Judah Colt (1761-1832), son of a Connecticut farmer, who goes West soon after the War of Independence and the opening of the land west of the Alleghenies in the 1780s. In these days of the Early Republic, he follows in his father's and uncle's footsteps, investing in land; but unlike them he settles on the new frontier, and becomes surveyor, farmer, importer and seller of dry goods, individual agent buying and selling small quantities of land, and quickly amasses wealth and status in the Finger Lakes region of western New York. Restless, Colt travels on to the newly opened land of Pennsylvania's Erie Triangle, bordering Lake Erie, where he is hired as the local land agent by the Pennsylvania Population Company. His Journal and his Narrative reveal Colt's prejudices and his very Anglo-colonial views which allow him, along with most of his contemporaries, to ride brutally over the existing inhabitants of the land - the Native Americans. His quick rise to wealth as an early settler colonial is facilitated by a rich network of New England family and friends who buy the land, provide the dry goods, come and work for him on the frontier. The book draws on a wealth of other sources to paint a picture of these new frontier towns of the Early Republic. Colt was a man with many trades which he exercised, in a period of real land mania, to reach his 'better life'. By 1820 he was the third richest man in Erie, Pennsylvania.
In the 19th century, thousands of Americans left their homes behind and set out for a life on the western frontier. This period of westward expansion had a huge hand in shaping the culture and identity of the United States. This title explores the push and pull factors that encouraged settlers to migrate, including the Homestead Act and similar policies. The text uses historical context and primary sources to provide a comprehensive look at westward expansion. Written to support elementary social studies curricula, readers will walk away with an understanding of the 19th century American West and the legacy settling it left behind.
2014 Reprint of 1894 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition. The "Frontier Thesis" or "Turner Thesis," is the argument advanced by historian Frederick Jackson Turner in 1894 that American democracy was formed by the American Frontier. He stressed the process-the moving frontier line-and the impact it had on pioneers going through the process. He also stressed consequences of a ostensibly limitless frontier and that American democracy and egalitarianism were the principle results. In Turner's thesis the American frontier established liberty by releasing Americans from European mindsets and eroding old, dysfunctional customs. The frontier had no need for standing armies, established churches, aristocrats or nobles, nor for landed gentry who controlled most of the land and charged heavy rents. Frontier land was free for the taking. Turner first announced his thesis in a paper entitled "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," delivered to the American Historical Association in 1893 in Chicago. He won very wide acclaim among historians and intellectuals. Turner's emphasis on the importance of the frontier in shaping American character influenced the interpretation found in thousands of scholarly histories. By the time Turner died in 1932, 60% of the leading history departments in the U.S. were teaching courses in frontier history along Turnerian lines.
Who owns the West? -- Buffalo Bill and Karl May : the origins of German Western fandom -- A wall runs through it : western fans in the two Germanies -- Little houses on the prairie -- "And then the American Indians came over" : fan responses to indigenous resurgence and political change -- Indians into Confederates : historical fiction fans, reenactors, and living history.
Focusing on the Indian Wars period of the 1840s through the 1890s, Life of a Soldier on the Western Frontier captures the daily challenges faced by the typical enlisted man and explores the role soldiers played in the conquering of the American frontier.
Life on the western frontier was no easy feat. Early pioneers packed their lives into covered wagons and set off into the unknown. Readers will learn all about the journey through this age-appropriate text. The historical, non-fiction approach to this period of American history will dazzle readers with its in-depth treatment of clothing, schooling, family life, and more. Fact boxes, engaging visuals, glossary, and index give readers a comprehensive look at Westward Expansion—a formative part of the United States’ identity.
Englishman Frank Collinson went to Texas in 1872, when he was seventeen, to work on Will Noonan’s ranch near Castroville. He lived the rest of his life in the southwestern United States, and at the age of seventy-nine began writing about the Old West he knew and loved. He had a flair for writing, a phenomenal memory, and a passion for truth that is evident in what he wrote and said. His writings for Ranch Romances, his letters, and transcriptions of his conversations have been arranged here in roughly chronological order, so that their importance for frontier history is readily apparent. Collinson ranged the West in his writings as he did in person, telling of the last tragic days of buffalo hunting on the Plains; clashes between hunters or cowboys and the Plains Indians; the character of trail drivers; and the definitive nature of violence, particularly at gun-point. J. Frank Dobie said of Collinson: "In the realm of frontier chronicles, the writing of educated Englishmen. . . men with the perspective of civilization, with imagination, and a lust for primitive nature, stand out. To this class of men belongs Frank Collinson."