Title: American West (1836-1900)
Description: This book provides readers with a new, interesting way to study the impact of the American West on American history. Through in-depth analysis of important primary documents from 1836-1900, readers will gain new insight into the causes, issues and lasting effects of this pivotal time in American history. Defining Documents in American History: The American West offers a broad range of historical documents on important figures and topics in American West research. Written by historians and experts in the field, this resource examines a wide array of primary source documents with an in-depth critical analysis. Articles begin by introducing the reader to the document's historical context, followed by a description of the author's life and circumstances in which the document was written. A document analysis guides readers in understanding key elements of language, rhetoric, and social and political meaning that define the significance of the author and the document in American history. Defining Documents in American History: The American West provides detailed analysis of the following topics: On Texas Independence; Across the Plains in 1844; The Discovery of Gold in California; Trouble on the Paiute Reservation; The Alaska Purchase; The Transcontinental Railroad; Frontier Justice; Walt Whitman on "The Spanish Element in Our Nationality"; The Ghost Dance Among the Lakota; The Massacre at Wounded Knee; Mormon Disavowal of Plural Marriage & Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. From speeches to journal entries, government documents and newspaper articles, students and researchers will gain new insights into America's westward expansion, through the thoughts and letters of the brave Americans who ventured out to seek their fortunes and reshape our nation. - Publisher.
Subjects: Sources, Frontier and pioneer life, Indians of North America, Nature conservation, Chinese Americans, Territorial expansion, History, Indians of north america, history, Chinese americans, Frontier and pioneer life, west (u.s.)