Legendary Frontier, The: Unique Developments in Western Agriculture
Farm life on the Great Plains is different than farming in the Midwest or points east. Western farmers build sod houses, design steel plows uniquely shaped to cut through the sod, and develop barbed wire to keep grazing animals away from crops. Alth...
Legendary Frontier, The: Government Policies Undermine Indian Way of Life
The United States Indian policy is never genocidal; in fact government officials want them to survive but on their terms, abandoning tribal identify and assimilating. As the Western territory becomes more populated there is greater pressure to open ...
Legendary Frontier, The: Dispersal of the Tribes, The
The United States recognizes Indian peoples as semi-sovereign nations that have basic rights and own the land they have ceded to the United States, but these legal protections are subverted by the government when it gets in their way. One of the mos...
Legendary Frontier, The: Decline of the Western Farmer
Worldwide overproduction leads to a drop in prices for most agricultural products in the late 1880s. Farm families are painfully aware that something is wrong, but instead of blaming the glut of products on the market they tend to blame the railroad...
Legendary Frontier, The: Rapid Agricultural Growth in the Plains Region
The arrival of the miners, the empire building of the cattle ranchers, the dispersal of the Indian tribes--all serve as a prelude to a massive movement of farmers into the plains region. There is rapid agricultural growth in Great Plains and West be...
Legendary Frontier, The: Changing Western Economy, The
The events that transforms the far West and its economy begin in the mid 19th century with the discovery of gold in California. A second major economic surge occurs with the emergence of the cattle industry, but like the mining industry, the early e...
Legendary Frontier, The: Myth of the Cowboy and a Culture of Violence
The life of the cowboy is part of the legend of the West. Although not all of it is quite as it is portrayed, elements of the cowboy myth are based on reality. It is a difficult, monotonous, and poorly-paid life. When cowboys reach town after a long...
Legendary Frontier, The: Myths and Myth Makers
By the end of the Civil War, the West is already legendary. It is looked upon as a "frontier" rather than the great American desert, an empty land awaiting settlement and civilization, a place for fresh beginnings and bold undertakings. The great my...
Meeting Ground, The: Anti-Chinese Sentiments
When the Transcontinental Railroad is completed, Chinese laborers settle in cities like San Francisco to work in such industries as shoe- or cigar-making. This causes such deep resentment among white laborers that Chinese workers are relegated to se...
Meeting Ground, The: Violence Against Chinese Grows
In order to survive in an unfriendly atmosphere, Chinese immigrants bond together, often living in enclaves referred to as Chinatowns. This protective gesture creates a new round of stereotypes about who they are and what their intentions are. Their...