The American West
The story of Western expansion is a great tale of the pursuit of happiness of two groups of people, the Native Americans and the white Americans. For centuries, the Native Americans fought against whites for their land and possessions. To them, happiness is being able to live without the fear of being killed for their acreage. The whites however, define and measure happiness systemically according to how much gold they attain. The lives of innocent Native American women and children are not factored into the white's system of happiness. This is why it is wrong to say that the Western expansion was progress instead of lost freedom. The West, nevertheless, has become a symbol of the American dream and the agrarian "go out, work hard, and do it yourself to succeed" mentally that has been ingrained into the American psyche. The Western expansion highlights the fact that no distance, group of people, or circumstance can stop the resilient American character from moving forward. Fueled by gold mining and industry, the march west in wagons, by horse, and by train stimulated the American economy like never before. Never had the population of America grown so large in such a short amount of time. By 1890, the frontier line was gone and the West was as much a part of America as the eastern coast states. The movement West will forever be a part of American history and is portrayed beautifully in the pictures below.
Photographer: Timothy O'Sullivan
Date: 1874
Shoshone Falls, Snake River, Idaho. A view across top of the falls in 1874. It shows the natural beauty of the West.
Date: 1874
Shoshone Falls, Snake River, Idaho. A view across top of the falls in 1874. It shows the natural beauty of the West.
Photographer: Timothy O'Sullivan
Date: 1867
The mining town of Gold Hill, just south of Virginia City, Nevada, in 1867. This picture indicates the reason why so many people flocked to the West, gold. It was common for boomtowns like this to spring up near goldmines and railroad tracks.
Date: 1867
The mining town of Gold Hill, just south of Virginia City, Nevada, in 1867. This picture indicates the reason why so many people flocked to the West, gold. It was common for boomtowns like this to spring up near goldmines and railroad tracks.
Photographer: Timothy O'Sullivan
Date: 1875
Native American (Paiute) men, women and children sit or stand and pose in rows under a tree near probably Cottonwood Springs (Washoe County), Nevada, in 1875. These are the "savages" that white society said should be kept on reservations for their own good, innocent families.
Date: 1875
Native American (Paiute) men, women and children sit or stand and pose in rows under a tree near probably Cottonwood Springs (Washoe County), Nevada, in 1875. These are the "savages" that white society said should be kept on reservations for their own good, innocent families.
ID: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540
Date: 1891
U.S. School for Indians at Pine Ridge, S.D. Small Oglala tipi camp in front of large government school buildings in open field. At these schools Indian youth would be "civilized" and wiped clean of their culture.
Date: 1891
U.S. School for Indians at Pine Ridge, S.D. Small Oglala tipi camp in front of large government school buildings in open field. At these schools Indian youth would be "civilized" and wiped clean of their culture.
Photographer: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540
Date: 1890
At "picnic" grounds on Homestake Road Distant view of a train engine and several cars against a large wooded area. Just like in the Civil War, access to railroads and train were very important to success. Western expansion could not have happened if there was no way for goods and people to efficiently travel.
Date: 1890
At "picnic" grounds on Homestake Road Distant view of a train engine and several cars against a large wooded area. Just like in the Civil War, access to railroads and train were very important to success. Western expansion could not have happened if there was no way for goods and people to efficiently travel.