Dark Strains and Spatters of Mud: Examining Historiographical Perspectives of the “New American West” The New American West is a new way of looking at the Westward Expansion of the United States geographically, culturally and economically. Many ideas within the field of study have evolved over time and adapted to new interpretations and perspectives. Patricia Nelson Limerick argues “Western history has been an ongoing competition for legitimacy—for the right to claim oneself and sometimes
Virgin Land: The American West As Symbol and Myth, by Henry Nash Smith is a very interesting book and it’s not your typical history book. It is an critical analysis of how Americans view the western expansion through the myths, legends, and symbolic culture that’s associated with it. Smith delves into the topic of what the West and the frontier meant to the American public. This is not a book which discusses established history but a book about what people believe is true about the American past. This
describes, ‘Buffalo Bill’s Wild West’ “presented audiences with imaginative solutions to real problems” (The West 131). Because the show opened before the official closing of the frontier, the audience could relate to or had at least heard of similar problems as those presented by Buffalo Bill. The majority of show’s solutions drew on the rhetoric of ‘American Exceptionalism’ and ‘Manifest Destiny’ and illustrated the superior Americans’ triumph over the inferior Native Americans. But not only did the show
substantial chunk of the United States, the west is a large part of the history and identity of the country. Due to its importance in both forming what became the United States as it is known today and maintaining the balance of and participating in modern day government, understanding the history and development of the west is crucial. The text The American West by Stephen Aron dives into this history head on, providing a detailed yet brief explanation of the west from pre-European settlement to modern
Turner’s frontier offered an unshakeable ethnocentric and nationalistic view of western history. This is where New Social historians saw an opportunity to fashion a new, more diverse, more conclusive version of westward expansion. Turner’s key ideas of “The American West” and the “frontier” were transformed by a new generation of historians looking to challenge the status quo. One of the most technical problems concerning Turner’s methods was the fact that in studying the frontier, one
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 1890s were a important time in American History not only from many changes but also because of the closing with the West. The closing of the west frontier had many political, social, and economic effects. There was many problems that outbreak between people because the Native Americans on the West wanted to keep a hold on their tribal ways, while the East wanted to advance and move on with new professions. The West knew nothing about cities while that was what the East was becoming. There was
portrayed the American frontier encounter and definite the impacts of the way toward moving to the frontier line. The thesis was first talked about in the paper, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History", and bore some of Turner's real ideas and thoughts. The four most vital thoughts incorporated into Turner's thesis are that there was nobody frontier, that the American frontier had shape the nation's foundations, the way that the West was the true "perspective" of the nation's history, and that
prejudice affect western society? The prejudice facing the Chinese, Native Americans, and Hispanics defined western society with different forms of legislature or economic pressures on these groups. The group had been subjugated since the formation of the United States and during its latest expansion was the Native Americans, who in this most recent expansion were moved to reservations, engaged in several bloody wars with white Americans, and forced to give up their lifestyle or their new created one in
only a horse and the imminent threat of an Injun attack for company. The mythos of the wild, wild west is truly a cultural obsession. Perhaps it is the stunning western scenery, the rugged, independent masculinity, or the clear division of morality that makes wild west narratives so enchanting to America. Whatever, the reason, this mythos seems to be preferable to the real story of the American west: death and disease, oppression and colonization, and the genocide of the native population. America
The expansion and subsequent closing of the Frontier holds a special place in American history. Thomas Jefferson’s famous Louisiana Purchase made the lands west of the Mississippi a realm of curiosity and possibility for early Americans and the draw was irresistible. As more and more settlers turned west, a movement began to form that would influence American culture and history for generations to come. Spurring this movement forward were Frederick Jackson Turner, a historian, and William Frederick
(Ingraham 2014). Colorado has around 200 museums and five dedicated to African Americans (Visit Denver, 2016). The Black American West Museum started in the barbershop of the founder, Paul W. Stewart, out of his love childhood love for “Cowboys and Indians. Stewart moved to Denver as an adult and met his first real-life black cowboy, after being told there was no such thing as black cowboys. Exhibits at the museum include the history of miners, buffalo soldiers, pioneers, cowboys, early explorers,
significant year in America’s young history (CSU, n.d., “Watershed Moment”). The Civil War came to an end in April of that year along with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The post- Civil War era marked the start of a new era in the country’s history. The period of Reconstruction to the Progressive Era if often referred to as the Gilded Age. The country continued to move West in the quest of Manifest Destiny which would lead to confrontations with the Native Americans. These confrontations would include
Frontier in American History,” the United States had recently fulfilled the goal of Manifest Destiny by finishing its conquest of the West. Westward expansion had been an integral aspect of the American identity and its citizens were left wondering what would continue to propel the United States into the future. At the same time, people were also looking back and trying to decide how exactly the frontier had shaped American life. The common belief was that the United States’ conquest of the West was glorious
out with Kanye West talking about what his mother has experienced growing up as an African-American. West’s “momma was raised in the era when clean water was only served to the fairer skin”. His mother, Donda West, was born in 1949 in Oklahoma . She was raised in Southern America, imprinted by obvious segregation that was legalized in 1896 by the Jim Crow law , and this affected something as ordinary as water fountains. Several riots occurred from 1950-1970, in the era where Donda West grew up. These
many different contextual lenses, but if examined among the larger histories of the United States, this movement can be classified as one of the most influential developments of the post-Civil War period. While very influential to the larger part of American history, the seemingly barbaric methods that were used conquer the western lands and their peoples took physical and economical forms that proved to be a plague upon the West. The movement westward during the late 1800’s created new tensions
CEC Essay: West Point Museum Visit On my most recent visit to West Point Military Academy, I had the opportunity to visit our country's most prestigious military museum. As a scout I attended West Point's Camporees and camped on the cadet’s training grounds at West Point's Lake Frederick. I also participated in an orienteering course at Trophy point, where I first saw the famous cannon exhibit, and numerous statues and monuments. However, during my visits, I never had the opportunity to visit the
Portrayals of the West It usually begins with an empty, grimy street, a vast silence broken only by the creak of a gently swinging wooden saloon sign; a lone figure with a cowboy hat placed low over his eyes, hand positioned just over the handle of his gun, walks slowly into view. Another dark, frightening figure emerges from the shadows on the other end of the street. A classic Western confrontation scene is about to be played out – an act so common that it has often been spoofed, yet still remains
tirelessly to join the provinces of Canada together into one country. He was the first prime minister of Canada, fought for confederation and will continue to be remembered for his contribution to Canadian history. Sir John A. Macdonald is significant to Canadian history because he created the North West Mounted Police, initiated the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and helped Canada achieve confederation and come together as a country. Sir John A. Macdonald’s significance
In the American old west myths,legends,and fairy tales are all highly exaggerated and hard to find real ones,but some you read are true. The American Old West was a brutal environment that can very easily be considered the deadliest of the world due to its environments that it suits some but in total this world is where the Myths,Legends,and Fairy tales come from there for some are fake but some are real.Ex-Billy the kid. The Religion that the old west was known for was the Catholic religion that