Examine this painting. What ideas does it convey about “the West”?

Ideas of the West

Myths and Realities of the “Last Frontier”

Western Societies

• What happened to Hispanic landowners in the West after the Mexican-American War?

– Pushed out of positions of power

– Fall to bottom of economic ladder

Western Societies

• What roles did the Chinese play in the settlement of the West?– Prospecting, before prohibited by law– Service industries• Women and prostitution

– Railroads– 1882: Chinese Exclusion Act• Bans immigration• Prevents naturalization

Western Societies

• What drove white Easterners to settle the West?– Ore deposits: “get rich quick”• California; Colorado• Comstock Lode, Nevada 1858

– Homestead Act of 1862• “Free” land if occupied and farmed• Often poor land not suited for Eastern style farming

Western Economy

• What were the most important industries in the West?– Mining

– Ranching• “Cattle Kingdom”• Range Wars – competition for land use v. farmers• Cattle drives replaced by railroads by 1890s

What does this paintingconvey about “the West”?

The Idea of the West

• Why was the West Idealized? How was the reality different from the fantasy?– Western Novels• The Virginian (1902) by Owen Wister

– “Rocky Mountain School” – landscape painters• Albert Bierstadt• Thomas Moran

The Idea of the West

• Why was the West Idealized? How was the reality different from the fantasy?– “Wild West” Shows• Buffalo Bill

– The Frontier• Mark Twain• Frederick Remington• Frederick Jackson Turner – Frontier Thesis