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Overview
Explore the American West with the people who settled it!
In 1805, when William Clark first spotted the Pacific Ocean-highlighting the famous Lewis and Clark expedition across the continent-it marked the beginning of a massive westward movement that lasted through the century. Westward Expansion provides a rare glimpse into the day-to-day experiences of pioneering Americans as they followed Lewis and Clark's lead, risking their lives to explore, farm, seek their fortunes, and establish communities in what had been considered a vast wilderness. Through rich primary sources, you'll find yourself living and working alongside the brave men and women who came to typify the American West, including pioneers from the eastern states, from Europe, and from Asia; Native Americans defending their homeland; freed slaves searching to carve their own destinies out of America's wilderness; prospectors searching for gold and silver; and many other colorful characters.
From Daniel Boone's account of first exploring Old Kentucky to Chief Joseph's explanation of why he would no longer fight against the U. S. Army, Westward Expansion presents a wealth of period documents, including diaries, letters, articles, advertisements, speeches, and more, from both famous figures and ordinary citizens. Find out how all of these American voices working together helped make this country what it is today.
Uses letters, excerpts from journals and diaries, newspaper articles, and other primary source material to provide a look at life during the second half of the nineteenth century when many Americans moved westward.
Editorials
Children's Literature
The movement of people across the American West has achieved a legendary status. Images of wagon trains, settlers, cavalrymen, Native American warriors, gold seekers, and many others dot the collective consciousness of Americans. In Westward Expansion, writer David King compiles a representative sampling of first-hand accounts of many key events that make up the tableau of the American West. King begins with the 18th century migration led by people such as Daniel Boone and culminates at the turn of the 19th century with the Oklahoma Land Rush. Regardless of the time period covered, the reality of those travels was that they were hard. In the West, migrants encountered harsh weather, hostile Native Americans who considered them to be invaders, mishaps on the trail, and a host of other impediments. Here, readers are provided clever introductory summaries of key elements of the pioneering era as well as numerous primary source documents. These primary source voices include letters from pioneer women, accounts of lawmen, diary entries from wagon train members, military reports, and many other fascinating bits of history. Through careful editorial work, David King has produced a book that will be of value to students of the westward movement of people that we now refer to as the saga of the American West. 2003, John Wiley & Sons, Ages 12 up.— Greg M. Romaneck