The west was settled by those who fought land and opportunity. Loads of animals and fertile farm land were enticing enough for people to follow. The land known as the frontier was full of danger, however. Intense heat, predators and territorial Indians guarded the large amount of wealth in the west. Cowboys Westward Expansion Cowboys in the Old West were not all giddy and heroic. They had jobs to do that were difficult and did not have a lot of leisure time. On the silver screen, cowboys were portrayed as old, fighting men. In reality, they were usually just reaching adulthood and did not have their own family. Although there were not many African American and Hispanic cowboys in the movies, they made up a large amount of the cowboys in reality. During the spring, cowboys would move …show more content…
Miners Miners sought out large veins, called bonanzas, of gold and silver in the west. An assortment of ores could be found including gold, silver, zinc, copper and lead. Towns were established on the site of a large vein of ore. Males dominated the towns, but when it came to race, any kind of person could be found. Rich white men managed the business aspects of the mining while poor white men, Hispanics and Chinese Americans did the grueling, difficult work in the mines. African Americans usually worked as cooks. Miner towns included a saloon and other important buildings full of services and government, but everyone was always hard at work in the mines or doing paper work. The miner town either prospered until the bonanza was depleted or no real wealth was discovered. Women of the West Women in the west usually came with their families. If their husband died, they would continue to work the farm or marry another man. Women from the east or brought over from Asia could marry men who found wealth in the west. A lot of women came over to the west to teach or spread the word of God. Teachers usually found a husband and abandoned their teaching
And so thousands of Chinese flocked from China to America, in search for work in the gold mines. After the profits from gold mining decreased because most of the easily obtainable gold had been found, an estimated 10,000 Chinese left the mines and were in search of jobs. From independent miners who had worked for themselves, many Chinese immigrants now became wage earners who worked for bosses. A growing number of Chinese were working in businesses owned by whites. But earning wages instead of prospecting did not discourage Chinese from moving to America. A paycheck of up to $30 could be made working for the railroad, which was 10 times as much than could be earned in China.
The story of the American West is still being told today even though most of historic events of the Wild West happened over more than a century ago. In movies, novels, television, and more ways stories of the old west are still being retold, reenacted, and replayed to relive the events of the once so wild and untamed land of the west that so many now fantasize about. After reading about the old west and watching early westerns it is amazing how much Hollywood still glorifies the history and myth of the old west. It may not be directly obvious to every one, but if you look closely there is always a hint of the Western mentality such as honor, justice, romance, drama, and violence. The most interesting thing about the Old West is the fact that history and myth have a very close relationship together in telling the story of the West.
The creation of societies in the West resulted in the blossoming of three new industries: mining, ranching, and farming. Mining began at large with the discovery of gold in California in 1849 and continued with other discoveries and “rushes” later on; these rus...
Westward Expansion As the preface to the first edition states, Westward Expansion attempts to follow the pattern that Frederick Jackson Turner might have used had he ever compressed his researches on the American frontier within one volume. Dr. Billington makes no pretense of original scholarship except in limited instances. Instead a synthesis of the voluminous writings inspired by Turner's original essays is presented. In that respect, the book is highly successful.
There were numerous reasons of why people came west on the trails. Many wanted land, which was free as long as you settled and farmed on it. Others sought gold, considered an easy way to get rich. A number of people hoped that by traveling west, they would escape diseases such as malaria, dysentery, or cholera, however these were also found on the trails. Also, there was a depression in 1837 and 1842, which drove people westward to escape. A few people were hoping to escape the law or debt. Several wanted to practice their religion their own way, or were farmers who were feeling crowded and went west for more room. Others wanted improved weather and health. Few wanted to get away from slavery. After the Civil War, people left the East because their homes were destroyed. Some even left for some adventure!
In 1845, a fellow named John C. Calhoun coined the term "Manifest Destiny." The term Manifest Destiny was a slogan for westward expansion during the 1840's. In the west there was plenty of land, national security, the spread of democracy, urbanization, but there was also poverty out west. People moved out west in search for a new life such as a new beginning. Moving out west, settlers from the east were taking a risk of a lot of things. The climate was different and there were more cultures that lived out west because of how much land was available.
Historical dominance has been part of the global history for centuries. One of the biggest
Though present from the initial discovery of the West, blacks entered the West in earnest after 1850. Between 1850 and 1910, thousands of African Americans, lured by the promise of land, opportunity, and most importantly, racial justice migrated to the trans-Mississippi West (African Americans). This great migration occurred shortly after the civil war, as thousands of blacks moved West because they were unwanted in the North or South (Dick 30).
The California gold rush brought many settlers to the west in search of fortune. The first person to discover gold in California was James Marshall, it was because of his finding if gold that thousands flocked to California. Although in the east many promises where being made about riches not everybody would strike golf. An example of this was Jean Nicholas Furlough who came to California from Belgium to become rich although he never did.
to reach their goal on `Western Waters' of the Great Lakes or the tributaries of
Over the years, the idea of the western frontier of American history has been unjustly and falsely romanticized by the movie, novel, and television industries. People now believe the west to have been populated by gun-slinging cowboys wearing ten gallon hats who rode off on capricious, idealistic adventures. Not only is this perception of the west far from the truth, but no mention of the atrocities of Indian massacre, avarice, and ill-advised, often deceptive, government programs is even present in the average citizen’s understanding of the frontier. This misunderstanding of the west is epitomized by the statement, “Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis was as real as the myth of the west. The development of the west was, in fact, A Century of Dishonor.” The frontier thesis, which Turner proposed in 1893 at the World’s Columbian Exposition, viewed the frontier as the sole preserver of the American psyche of democracy and republicanism by compelling Americans to conquer and to settle new areas. This thesis gives a somewhat quixotic explanation of expansion, as opposed to Helen Hunt Jackson’s book, A Century of Dishonor, which truly portrays the settlement of the west as a pattern of cruelty and conceit. Thus, the frontier thesis, offered first in The Significance of the Frontier in American History, is, in fact, false, like the myth of the west. Many historians, however, have attempted to debunk the mythology of the west. Specifically, these historians have refuted the common beliefs that cattle ranging was accepted as legal by the government, that the said business was profitable, that cattle herders were completely independent from any outside influence, and that anyone could become a cattle herder.
When one thinks of the cowboys the first thing that comes to their mind, or at least my mind would be a white man riding in the open parries of the West. But in many cases that was extremely untrue. "Nearly a third of all cowboys who helped build the American west were black (Black Pioneers Pg.16)". Many people do not know about this due to segregation. Mainly if not only white cowboys were given recognition due to the fact that slavery had just ended and many people were getting use to the fact that blacks were free and equal to them.
Sanitary conditions in the West were practically non-existent. In the cities, horse manure covered the streets. Housewives emptied garbage, dishwater, and chamber pots into the middle of the city streets where free-roaming pigs devoured the waste. The pigs left their urine and feces on the streets. It was not easy to wash clothes. Many people had clothes splattered with manure, mud, sweat, and tobacco juice. Privies, or necessary houses were often to close to the homes with a very noticeable odor on hot and/or windy days. If a family had a kitchen, all the members washed at the sink each day, without soap, rubbing the dirt off with a coarse towel. Eventually, many cold bedrooms had a basin, ewer (pitcher), cup, and cupboard chamber pot. Bed bugs and fleas covered many of the travelers’ beds. “Isaac Weld saw filthy beds swarming with bugs.” These insects followed the travelers, crawling on their clothes and skin.
The American West was the land of opportunity for many groups of people from 1865 to 1890. For farmers and ranchers, the American west was a land of opportunity due to low cost of land as a result of the Homestead Act and the a chance for Americans, including immigrants and blacks, to achieve the American dream and make a profit by growing crops such as cotton for the thriving textile industry and raising cattle for the upcoming cattle industry. For the miners, the American West was seen as an opportunity to get rich through the gold and silver rush and was even popular in other parts of the world where immigrants responded to the rush as well; although most were not successful. The America West offered opportunities for Americans, both rich and poor, to establish a new life and achieve economic independence.
Frontiers shaped the west and how settlers approached it. Each different frontier had a different affect on people and the ways they lived life. The trading frontier created and established a good and bad relationship with the natives. The Norsemen, Vespuccius, Verraconi, Hudson, and John Smith all trafficked furs and other goods to Native Americans. They trafficked goods all the way from Maine to Georgia, which then led to the opening of river courses to trade farther in the continent. After getting involved in the trading, native power was getting undermined by making them dependent on the whites "Turner p.25". Traders soon turned the roads into turnpikes and turnpikes into railroads. The river systems that traders trafficked goods turned into cities such as Albany, Pittsburg, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City. These areas were then all settled by frontiersmen who led the start of the farming frontier.