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Learn
more about our featured books:
Native American Perspectives
Historical Reader
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American West Table of Contents
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Part I: Exploring the Wilderness
- 1894
from The Mountains of California
by John Muir
The founder of the Sierra Club celebrates the beauty of Yosemite Valley.
- Prehistory
The Migrations of the Hopi
by Frank Waters
Hopi elders relate ancient traditions about the legendary wanderings
of their clans from the ancestral homeland in the Southwest.
- 1539-1542
from The Journey of Coronado
by Pedro de Castañeda
Searching for the Seven Cities of Cibola, legendary Indian cities of
fabulous wealth, Coronado's men are amazed by the vastness of the Great
Plains.
- 1804-1806
The Expedition of Lewis and Clark
by Thomas Jefferson and Meriwether Lewis
Jefferson's letter of instruction to Lewis, the expedition's journal,
and Lewis's first report on his return present the goals and accomplishments
of this critical step in opening the West to American settlement.
- 1810
Colter's Run
by John Bradbury
John Colter, one of the earliest of the mountain men is forced to literally
run for his life after being captured by Indians.
- 1820s
Living with the Indians
by James P. Beckwourth
In his autobiography, an African-American mountain man describes how
he was adopted by Crow Indians.
- 1873
"Mountain Jim"
by Isabella Bird
An Englishwoman travelling in the Rockies meets one of the last of the
mountain men.
- Photo Album: Encountering the West
Part II: Establishing Communities
- 1770s-1840s
Spanish California
by Guadalupe Vallejo
A member of an old Spanish family presents an affectionate picture of
life on the missions and ranches during the period when the Spanish
and Mexicans governed California.
- 1839-1846
Early Texas
by Frances Cook Lipscomb Van Zandt
An Americans who settles in the Lone Star Republic during its brief
existence describes her life there.
- 1846
The Donner Party
by Patrick Breen
The tragic story of a group of emigrants trapped by winter in the Sierra
Nevadas is glimpsed in a diary kept by one of the survivors.
- 1847
The Mormon Migration
by Brigham Young
In his journal, the leader of the Mormon pioneers describes their journey
to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.
- 1849
A Woman's Trip Across the Plains in 1848
by Catherine Haun
A woman who traveled from Iowa to the California gold fields recalls
her journey.
- 1881
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
From The Tombstone Epitaph and inquest testimony
A local newspaper and eyewitnesses present differing accounts of the
most famous shootout in frontier history.
- 1905
African Americans in Oklahoma Territory
by Booker T. Washington
A famous educator visits one of the all-black communities established
in the West in the 1880s.
- Photo Album: Homes and Families
Part III: Making a Living
- 1851-1852
Mining in California
by Louisa Clappe
In a letter to her sister back home, a woman provides an account of
the early days of the California Gold Rush.
- 1867-1880s
Cattle Drives
by Joseph G. McCoy
The work of the cowboy is described by one of the pioneers of the cattle
business.
- Late 1860s-1882
Chinese Workers
From Grenville Dodge's How We Built the Railroad, An English-Chinese
Phrase Book, and the Chinese Exclusion Act
Three documents convey the problems encountered by Chinese immigrants
to the West in the late 1800s.
- Late 1870s
Destruction of the Buffalo
by Frank H. Mayer
A former buffalo hunter recalls how he and the others in his trade "killed
the golden goose."
- 1870s
Farming on the Great Plains
by Hamlin Garland
A writer describes the joys and sorrows of his youth on a frontier farm.
- Photo Album: Westerners at Work
Part IV: Preserving a Heritage
- 1844
Letters and Notes on the North American Indians
by George Catlin
A painter who sought to "rescue from oblivion" the appearance and customs
of the Native Americans, records his observations and experiences gathered
during travels in the West.
- 1881
from A Century of Dishonor
by Helen Hunt Jackson
A writer presents her famous indictment of a long history of mistreatment
of the Indians by the government and white settlers in the West.
- 1907
The Conservation of Natural Resources
by Theodore Roosevelt
In a message to Congress, the President reports on the success of his
conservation programs.
- 1933
The Indian View of Nature
by Luther Standing Bear
A Lakota Sioux leader explores the differences between the Indian and
white views of nature.
- Photo Album: A Vanishing World
Part V: Interpreting the Past
- 1893
The Significance of the Frontier in American History
by Frederick Jackson Turner
A historian presents his landmark thesis that the experience of the
frontier had fundamentally shaped American political institutions, society,
and character.
- 1931
from The Great Plains
by Walter Prescott Webb
A historian details specific effects of the landscape and climate of
the Great Plains on respect for law, political outlook, and the attitudes
of women.
- 1994
A Saga of Families
by Kathleen Neils Conzen
A historian examines themes of "family, kinship, and community" in My
Darling Clementine, Ford's classic film version of the gunfight at the
O.K. Corral.
- Photo Album: The Wild West
- Chronology
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