RGHIST616

Post 13 (5Dec Class)

2005-11-27T15:11:00.000-08:00

Devil’s Bargains: Tourism in the Twentieth-Century American West

I am submitting this blog now since I will be out of town for the last class and will not have the time (or energy) to make any entries. I have thoroughly enjoyed this class, in large part due to the students and the instructor. Thanks for making this an enjoyable experience. I hope to see you all again. I know I will see Jim again, at our undisclosed location.

The theme in Rothman’s Devil’s Bargain is that the development of the tourist industry was (and still is), as the book’s title implies, fraught with trade-offs. While tourism may resuscitate the sagging economy of an area, Aspen being one example depicted in the book, there are often economic and social costs to the local inhabitants. The author explained the history of tourism in the U.S in general, showing how it was initially the pastime of the more affluent, and usually traveling in luxury on railcars. With the advent of the automobile, leisure travel for the less wealthy became more commonplace. The post -World War II era saw an increase in economic prosperity throughout the country. With that, an even greater increase in tourism by the upper and middle class.

Locals in and around ski resorts, Las Vegas, Santa Fe and national parks were relegated to low wage, service oriented jobs. The very success of these tourist spots brought in more money, not to the locals, but to the resort owners and the local businesses such as real estate, builders and bankers. The growth of second homes in these areas and of more tourist-focused businesses resulted in suburban sprawl. The price of real estate and the cost of living rose. Property taxes went up, forcing the low paid locals to leave. As tourism became more profitable, larger companies bought out the entrepreneurs who first established the businesses, further alienating the native and neonatives. Owners and corporations changed the face and feel of the resort towns, changes that reflected the tourists’ imaged reality of the area.

The author provided solid evidence to support his argument. Unlike Cadillac Desert, I did not get lost in details. His argument might have been helped, however, if he had showed some details on how the economies were affected. The average costs of housing before and after the arrival of an industry would have added some meat to his argument. Similarly, the average pay of the locals before and after would have helped to put their challenges into a more meaningful context.

I found this book to be particularly interesting, given my love of skiing and that I have traveled to and through some of the resorts in Colorado. It is apparent even today that those locals whose jobs are service-focused, populate most of the resort towns. As stated by the author, seasonal work is the norm. Neonatives continue to move into resort towns, drawn by the natural beauty of the areas and the skiing. In doing so, they further drive up real estate prices. The author did not mention a new twist in the employment of service people at ski resorts. This may be due to when it was published. Resorts are now hiring seasonal workers from foreign countries. These are generally college students recruited directly by the corporations themselves or through companies who specialize in linking foreign students up with companies in need of seasonal workers in a cultural exchange program.

Post 12 (28Nov Class)

2005-11-27T14:33:00.000-08:00

Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water

Marc Reisner’s Cadillac Desert is a history of the many public works projects of the Bureau of Reclamation, and to a lesser extent, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Focusing on water projects—dams, aqueducts, and irrigation systems—the author detailed how the decisions to build were less driven by sound geologic and engineering studies, and more by politics and the influence of money interests.

The main theme is that the massive government-backed projects ultimately are detrimental to the environment and the economy. The result will be the destruction of the soil through higher salt concentrations, the build up of silt at dams and irrigation projects and the demise of the Ogallala aquifer.

Reisner paid particular attention to the career of Floyd Dominy, Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. The author detailed the Dominy’s bully-like rise through the ranks, often at the expense of others. Reisner seemed to somewhat obsessive in his criticism of Dominy, seeming to psycho-analyze the man, with an interest in his sexual exploits. He reserved the bulk of his attacks to the Bureau itself, describing the poor decision-making and planning, political-economic influences, and the coercive tactics that they used to driven landowners away.

While this book was informative in its history of water projects and water politics in the West, it was clear that Reisner was not objective and had agenda. His chapter on Dominy seemed less of a history and more of a personal attack. Dominy’s womanizing ways is completely irrelevant to the main story. The intended audience appeared to be less of the public, and more likely other likeminded environmental activists. Reisner’s talk of conspiracies and secret correspondences, some of which he assumed not based on evidence, but simply suspicion, weakened his credibility. Lastly, the absence of endnotes or footnotes leaves me to wonder about some of his statements.

I agree with Jim . I also got lost in the details, trying to keep track on people, places, projects, conspiracies around every corner. More detailed maps would have definitely helped me put all of this into a spatial context. On balance, I learned quite a bit from the book, but did we really need to know all of the details?

Post 11 Roy Baker Paper Part II

2005-11-21T08:48:00.000-08:00

The focus of my second look at the Baker story will be to first actually add a thesis statement. I hear that is important.

With all of the talk in the testimonies about desertion, I thought that I would take a stab at desertion in the Army during that time. Turns out, and not too surprisingly, it was a major problem in the Army. In addition to desertion, I will be looking at alochol as a problem in the Army.

As far as source are concerned, I have already emailed those that I have found to date. Depending one's focus, the Annual Report of the Secretary of War can be quite useful. There are reports filed for several years, located in the National Archives. Cabinet 8A, Drawer 2 is where they can be located. I would recommended spooling to the end and looking at the index--very helpful. I think someone may have already mentioned it, but the book Forty Miles a Day on Beans and Hay is available as an electronic book at GMU's library site.

I have made a half-hearted effort so far of finding pictures relevant to the story. Since my focus is on desertion and alcohol, I am not sure that I could find an associated picture that would be value added. I picture of the base itself is available, but I am not sure if it would be more than just a picture to go along with the paper.

Like Audrey, I am feeling the hangman's noose of time tightening around my neck. It's a shame that the Archives is not open on Sundays.

Post 10 (14Nov Class)

2005-11-13T07:43:00.000-08:00

Indians in Unexpected Places

Philip Deloria’s Indians in Unexpected Places attempts to recover what one could call the lost history of the Native Americans during the turn of the twentieth century. According to the author, most American historical narratives during this period essentially wrote the Indians out of history. Deloria argued that a significant number of Native Americans took part in modernity during this time and that they were not, as some would argue, simply anomalies. He suggested that they were representative of the larger Indian culture’s efforts to exist in the Anglo-dominated nation, some whose goal was assimilation. Indians were often defined by white expectations of Indians, whether it be their style of dress, their interaction with those elements that represent modernity (like the automobile), or careers. Those expectations also involved notions of Indian violence and passivity, with a shift from an ideology of violence to that of pacification.

A recurring term used in this course has been agency. Deloria’s book continues with this theme. His texts argued that Native Americans did possess a degree of autonomy in the world outside of the reservations. The author used Indian athletes, actors and musicians as the example of those who worked within the white world. Ultimately, they failed in their various endeavors, not so much because of their own actions, but due to the changing economic and social worlds around them. Both the movie and sports industry became more corporate. Indian actors were no longer desired as Hollywood became less interested in authenticity. Concurrently, the representation of Indians as violent savages in movies increased. Indian-based music, whether produced and performed by natives or whites, lost ground to jazz and blues.

Having not read all American histories of the turn of the century, I can not argue for or against Deloria’s argument that Native Americans (is that still the P.C. name?) were forgotten. I do believe, however, that he may have overstated his case in stating that a large number of Indians did participate in the modern world at that time. I am not suggesting that he is wrong, but simply that he did not present a strong enough case. Perhaps it is being a bit too critical, but if one wishes to show that the actions of a few are indicative of a whole, then it leaves the author open to the criticism that those are not truly representative.

His use of photography, particularly that of the woman in the hairdryer and Geronimo in the car, does serve as a good illustration of how many of us perceive or expect to see others. I have to admit that those pictures did catch my eye, though I did not chuckle. Of course, perceptions and expectations change over time, and those photographs probably had even more meaning during the time in which they were taken and published.

Like Deloria, David Lewis’ work, “Still Native: The Significance of Native Americans in the History of the 20^th Century American West”, also argued that the Indians have not disappeared. He goes even further in stating they Indians learned how to exist in the White Mans world, using the U.S. legal system to retake that which has been lost. Moreover, Native Americans gained a degree of economic control over their lives. Lewis goes further than Deloria in claiming that they had even more agency. He focused on what he called six broad areas of significance for the Indians during the twentieth century: persistence, land and natural resources, economic development, politics, symbols (symbolic presence), and the American Indian field of study. Within each, Lewis showed varying degrees of autonomy and modern sophistication (meaning working within the white culture) that native groups exhibited.

“Yet for all of the changes in their relationships with American society and the federal government, the mirror the larger reality of the American West as a federal colony…in the end still dependent”. (p226) This statement seemed at odds with the general theme that he appeared to be trying to convey.

Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945 George J. Sanchez

Sanchez’s main argument is “that Mexican-American cultural adaptation occurred without substantial economic mobility”. ( p.13) He was able to show that their economic status largely remained unchanged during this period. It may have been more accurate, however, to state that second generation Mexican-Americans adapted culturally. It did not appear that first generation immigrants adapted so much as their offspring, which is not too surprising.

I was particularly impressed with the author’s use of statistical data to back up his arguments. I do not recall during this course—it’s all a blur—seeing the other authors making use of numbers. Of course, the author had a wealth of information from which to draw from, unlike subjects of earlier periods.

While the book was generally stylistically a good read, he did have a tendency to switch to a mode of writing that we have discussed intermittently in class. When I read this kind of history-speak, I am reminded of interviews with William F. Buckley, Jr. “I argue that the emphasis in Chicano history on bipolar models that have stressed either cultural continuity or gradual acculturation has short-circuited a full exploration of the complex process of cultural adaptation.” (p.13). This is mind-numbing. Both when I read this sentence and typed it, my mind drifted off into space. I realize that this is not a substantive critical analysis of the book, but I find this style of writing pretentious.

Taken side-by-side, both books show the degrees of success that minority groups (Native Americans and Mexican-Americans) had in assimilating or adapting to the dominate Anglo culture in the West. While it seems that the Mexicans were more successful than the Indians in adapting, they were still considered essentially second-class citizens, whose worth was measured in their ability to provide cheap labor to the Anglos. When the economy took a turn for the worse and their services no longer needed, they were pushed aside and often forcibly repatriated. It is strange to consider that these groups had to adapt to another culture, when they inhabited the West far longer than the Anglos who took over.

Blog Responses:
I am not entirely sure that I agree with Dave’s final analysis of both books. While the Native American and Mexican-Americans maintained their unique cultural identity at that time, I am not sure that they were very integrated into American society. At that time, I believe it was less of a “melting pot”, and more of a tossed salad—all in the same bowl but each distinctive. I am interpreting this in the context of the periods in question, not during our current period.

I am not sure if this is relevant, but Sanchez wrote the name as Mexican American, as opposed to Mexican-American. Is not having it hyphenated a stylistic choice, or does it have another meaning?

Post 9 (7Nov Class)

2005-11-05T15:39:00.000-08:00

Title: Print the Legend: Photography and the American West

Martha Sandweiss’ book is a largely chronological study of photography in the American West from the first use of the early daguerreotype cameras in the 1840s to the Kodak roll films in the 1890s. The author detailed both the evolution of photographic technology and the uses of the medium by government and commercial photographers. She showed how the early camera designs limited the mass production of prints to the larger public. Equally, if not more important, photography could not compete with the dramatic landscapes and panoramas offered by artists—arts which, unlike photos, could tell a narrative of a mythic West that Americans wanted to see and the movement of civilization westward.

According to the author, the book detailed photography’s impact on perceptions of the West, and how those perceptions affected photography itself. (p.6) While I found numerous examples of the later, I did not see any obvious examples of how photography influenced or changes perceptions. I would suspect that photographers would respond to the demands of the market, giving the customer what they wanted. According to Sandweiss, the public was more desirous of the imagined West than reality. As a result, the seeming never ending competition between the literal, static photography medium and the more artistic paintings and sketches (panoramas, landscapes, paintings, etc.).

She also said that throughout the book there would be a focus on understanding photographs as a primary source. (p.7) Again, I did not see any obvious examples, either overtly stated or implied. In fact, she explained the limitations of photos—“photographs can describe, but they rarely explain.” (p.160) It was not until photography could make it to paper, with explanatory text, that photography’s popularity could challenge the traditional artistic depictions. After reading Steve's blog, I realized that actually did overlook her discussion of primary sources. However, one would think that she would examine in more detail, throughout the book.

Criticisms aside, I found the book enlightening. I never thought of photography as a source for historical study, at least not in an academic sense. Stylistically, it was easy to read.

Post 8 (31Oct Class)

2005-10-31T12:53:00.000-08:00

Title: Women and Gender in the American West

This is my third attempt at getting this to post. Hopefully, it won't go into bit heaven.

Admittedly, I have not given much thought to the history of women in the American West, at least to the extent of a separate area of study.

I am of similar thinking as John’s blog in that I would prefer to see a more “holistic picture” instead of a “soda straw view”. This could also be due to my relatively limited experience in historiography. Or, it could be that I simply prefer to see topics put into a larger context.

The general theme in these essays is of the agency of women—various ethnic and racial groups—in different regions and times in the West (the U.S. and Canada). The essays discussed, in varying degrees, how women operated within the confines of the political, economic or social structures in which they existed. For example, Ledesma’s essay (Texas Newspapers and Chicana Worker’s Activism, 1919-1974)depicted the limited agency of Mexican-American women laborers (launderers, dressmakers, pecan shellers, cigarmakers) who pushed for labor reforms within the unions. She showed how the press—labor, local and Spanish-speaking—and labor union leaders (read men) selected gender-driven words and phrases to define female laborers’ roles in strikes. Conversely, Irwin’s Going About and Doing Good’: The Politics of Benevolence, Welfare, and Gender in San Francisco, 1850-1880 study of late nineteenth-century San Francisco women’s benevolent societies revealed the power and influence of “gentle tamers”.

As one would expect, the authors did not agree on each other’s works. According to Casteneda (Women of Color and the Rewriting of Western History), Jen and Miller (The Gentle Tamers Revisited: New Approaches to the History of Women in the American West) did not “analyze relations of power among women of different races, classes and cultures”, nor did they “examine…the conflicts and differences among cultures.” (p.70) However, in Jensen’s and Miller’s opening paragraph they state the purpose of this essay, one of which is “to explore new possibilities for analysis.” (p.9) The authors do, in fact, touch on relationships between women of different cultures and races (Anglos, Indians, Hispanic and blacks). My point is that it seems that quite often an historian will take exception to another’s work if the one does not mention in detail the interests of the other. Everyone seems to have their own ingredients of the historical fruit salad (political, social, military, economic, gender, environmental, etc) and some feel that others have missed a fruit or two.

Like Audrey, I noticed the multitude of what we could call historian-unique words: deconstruct, postmodernism, discursive, etc. Some of the terms, I vaguely recall from earlier classes. As such, it would seem that the intended audience of this book is not the general public, but fellow historians.

I would guess that this book selection, like the ones that we have already covered, is a continuation of the theme of the West of myth running against the West of reality. As it relates to women’s, I mean gender, history, the only myths come to mind that specifically relate to women in the West is that of the frontier wife, toiling away with her husband and baker’s dozen children in a sod house on the prairie. And there is the dance-hall girls in the rough and tumble cow-towns, the silent Indian women of the movies (unless she is a beautiful young woman in love with the Anglo) or the devout Mexican woman in the veil attending mass. Regardless, like many of the other subjects covered to date in this class, a study of the American West would be incomplete without this slice of the historical pie

Post 7 (25Oct Class)

2005-10-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

Title: Colony and Empire: The Capitalist Transformation of the American West

I have to agree with Dan’s “DUH” comment. Was this supposed to be a ground-breaking piece of work?

Having said that, Robbins stayed true to his theme: “the association between capitalism (and the capitalist ethos and all that it entails) and its revolutionary consequences for a particular place.” (p.X) Unlike other books that we have read, this appears to be history from the top down, the top being those proprietary capitalists and later, the corporate capitalists.

A common theme throughout his book was that of change. That change was generally brought about by the influences of eastern capitalists and European investors in mining, railroads, agriculture, lumber, and water resource industries-ventures. Robbins also showed how the economies of the West were not only sensitive to local influences, like the weather, but also events and decisions in Europe. Boom-and-bust seemed to a common pattern, regardless of the industry.

Robbins appeared to return over and over to the region’s lack of agency, their dependence on eastern and/or foreign investors, and the federal government. He also returned to the importance of the railroads in facilitating the development of the mining infrastructure and transportation of agricultural products. The chapters also started off with intellectual jabs at the myth of the West.

After finishing the book, I returned to the preface and found a sentence that struck me as odd. He said that this book “is not a study in economic history”. (p.xii). Although I am relative newcomer to the study of history, I thought this book was all about economics.

So, how does this book fit into Western history? Despite what he says, I believe this is an economic history. Does it tell us something that we did not already know? Well, based on what we have read so far, at its most basic level, I would have to say no. Maybe there is a broader historiographic element that I have missed, and that is why we have class discussion.

Post 6 (17 Oct Class)

2005-10-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

Title: The Way to the Wes: Essays on the Central Plains

Elliott West’s The Way to the West revealed the complex relationships between humans (white and Native Americans) to their environment (the land, wildlife, water, soil, vegetation and climate), the affect that each had upon one another. Although largely an environmental history, West dipped his feet into social and cultural history; for example, he discussed white and Native American family units and how they affected and were affected by various internal and external forces.

The setting, or place, for his study was confined to the Central Plains, the boundaries being the plains east of the Rockies; west of the 98^th meridian; south of the Platt River and north of the Arkansas River. (p3). Drawing from both primary and secondary sources--historical as well as scientific and anthropological—the author successfully argued his theme of web-like relationships between human and their environment. Pushed westward by white encroachment, drawn by the bison, and by economic opportunities, tribes such as the Cheyenne adapted their culture to the new environment. (p20) Euro-Americans also made their presence felt on the environment, whether they were merely passing through or came to settle. As a result of both groups, the native habitat went through significant changes, changes which affected the bison and the Indians (the whites were later pay a price for their agricultural practices).

West also discussed how and why families adapted to their new environment. This was particularly so with the Native Americans, whose lives were more closely linked to the lands in which they lived. The climate and vegetation forced tribes such at the Cheyenne to break into smaller units. Increased dependence on trade and bison altered familial relationships, increasing the duties of women, but decreasing their power. Women, both white and native, endured more in the Central Plains. His concluding chapter discussed the myth of the West, stating that these myths’ origins came not from the West, but from the east. (p.131)

I found it somewhat ironic that one of the characteristics that new arrivals to the West love--the wildness, “its uplifting influence”, and its “simplicity--were conditions which they were attempting to change, to transform the unfamiliar to the familiar, to fit into their mental picture of what they concerned normal. (p135,136) This process is similar to the present. People from other parts of the country come to the West and its beauty. They decide to escape the rat race, but they want some of those very same elements of the rat race in their new land. In time, the reasons that they moved West disappear.

Unlike other western histories, West suggested that the Native Americans shared some responsibility for their problems. The “Great Peace of 1840” eliminated the neutral zones, relative safe havens for the bison, reducing their populations and driving them eastward. The trade network likewise had direct and indirect negative consequences on the tribe--increasing dependency on white goods, reduced bison populations, and exposing more Indians to white diseases.

Despite being the shortest book that we have read so far, the author packed it with information. His book was without a doubt, the easiest one to follow. He presented his arguments, reminding the reader from time to time of his overarching theme, and tied it all together in less than 200 pages.

Post 5 (11Oct Class)

2005-10-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

Title: Roy Baker coroner's inquest

Like Roaring Camp and Tombstone, the coroner’s inquest provides a glimpse into the real West; or should I say the more historically accurate West. Unlike the movies of the old West, this document provides us with a snippet of army life in 1890 Cheyenne. Rather than depicting Army life on base and in the field, we see more of the social life of the soldier. Unlike the mythic West, death was not so heroic and clean, with a clear delineation between the good guys and bad guys.

This muddy version included murder-assassination, robbery at an Army post, prostitution, alcohol, and desertion. Soldiers’ social lives seemed not to center around their barracks, but in the bars and bordellos outside the fort. This document shows the difficulty, and potential value, of doing primary source document research.

While struggling through the often illegible words and seemingly disjointed sentences of the witnesses, I asked myself the same question that Dan posed on writing a paper based on the Roy Baker inquest, beyond an introduction to the problems with doing primary research. Does this represent a larger theme or topic?

I still do not know who killed Roy Baker.  A cursory reading leads me to Parkison, but I’ll hold off judgment until I pull my hair out some more

Post 4 (3Oct Class)

2005-10-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

Post 4 Title: Murder inTombstone; Roaring Came: The Social World of the California Gold Rush

Both readings were a study of two historical events that have captured the popular imagination of the American West. One, Murder in Tombstone, was a study of a single event, while the other, Roaring Camp, was a social history spanning roughly a decade.

Steven Lubet’s Murder in Tombstone: The Forgotten Trial of Wyatt Earp, was essentially a narrative of events involving the gunfight at the OK Corral. The author did not explicitly state an argument or thesis to his book. However, laced within the text were comments that tend to place him as an advocate for the Earps, Doc Holliday and the Earp’s lawyer, Tom Fitch.

The popular history of the incident pays little, if any, attention to the legal wrangling after the gunfight. The bulk of Lubet’s book is dedicated legal proceedings following the shootout. Those included the coroner’s inquest and the preliminary hearing.

When looked at in the broader context of Western history, several subjects come to mind. In the author’s study of the case, he touched on enforcement of law and order, and politics (at the territorial, county and town levels) in territorial areas. Many settlers to the area, who came to mine, migrated from east of the Mississippi, from the post-Civil War North and South. They brought their political affiliations with them--some were Union and Confederate veterans.

Susan Lee Johnson’s social history of the California Gold Rush, Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush, focused on the Southern mining region defined as those areas whose rivers drained in the San Joaquin River. This area is distinctive from the Northern mining area (whose drainage was the lower Sacramento River) in that the population in the South during the Gold Rush was more ethnically diverse and because Southern mines did not generally evolve into other mining methods (gravel and quartz).

Johnson’s stated purpose was “to dismantle the stories white Americans have told themselves about the California Gold Rush,” using forgotten stories derived, largely, from the personal diaries of those present. (p. 11) Her stories tell a common theme of “relations of difference and domination, relations frequently defined along lines of gender and race or ethnicity or nationality, and often made manifest in economic terms.” (p. 12)

In detailing why individuals came to the gold fields of California, Johnson discovered common patterns, reasons to go beyond the obvious economic opportunities that all sought. Whether they were Mexicans, Chileans, French, Chinese, Americans from the North or South or the French, all groups (men and women) were pushed to move as much as pulled to move. For example, Sonorans and Chileans faced economic, political and social instability in their respective countries.

The author was largely successful supporting her thesis, especially when detailing race-nationality based violence on the part of Anglo miners against “others”. However, this reader felt that she went a bit far in some of her parallels to gender issues. The author drew a parallel between the miner’s belief that mining was more important than daily tasks (cleaning and mending clothes, preparing food, buying provisions) and Marxist-feminists theories on “productive” and “reproductive” chores, and poststructuralist analysis of language and hierarchical relations. (p. 101, 103) Johnson also seemed to touch on the gender-weak issue with sick miners. She mentioned that ill miners would perform domestic tasks (“tasks were best suited to the weak”) while the others mined. (114) When discussing the bull-bear fights, Johnson attached a gender theme once again. (p. 181)

Gender issues aside, Johnson did justice to providing a more detailed, three-dimensional picture of the social life in the California gold fields, telling stories that would otherwise go unheard.

While I do agree with Audrey in that Lubet’s “doesn’t shove an answer down our throats”, he does seem to be inclined to want to guide in the direction that the Earps and Doc Holliday were not guilty of murder, at least with the OK Corral incident. The killings after Morgan was assassinated are another story. I am interested in our resident lawyers’ take on the Tombstone

Post 3

2005-09-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

Title: One Vast Winter Count: The Native American West before Lewis and Clark; The Journals of Lewis and Clark

I have to admit upfront that I did not finish reading Lewis and Clark.

Calloway’s One Vast Winter Count focused primarily on the Native American population from their migration to the North American continent to the Lewis and Clark expedition. The author explored the cultures of the various tribes and confederacies; their unique and common religious beliefs; their relationships to the land and animals, and their economic and social relationships to one another and outsiders.

A common theme throughout the book was conflict and change. The conflicts Calloway mentioned were between the Indians prior to European arrival, the conflicts with Europeans (and later Americans), and the inter- and intra-tribal warfare during the European presence. The change theme also varied. The author detailed social and cultural changes resulting from the arrival of the Europeans (French, Spanish, British, and Americans). He also discussed the changes that resulted from the introduction of corn, horses and guns to native tribes.

Because Calloway’s narrative covered such a broad expanse of time, he did not cover issues in great depth. While this is not significant, given the purpose of this book is not to focus on a single issue, it is somewhat ironic in that he made a similar observation about other historians in his prologue. “Scholars such as Limerick have coast their nets wide to embrace indigenous people as well as invaders, eastward-moving Asian Americans as well as westward-moving Euro-Americans. But the nets rarely sink very deep in time.” (p.18) This raises a question in mind as to how deep and how wide a net should an historian cast.

I am still wrestling with the definition of a regionalist’s school of thought. Regardless, the editor’s preface explained that this book “reflect[s] current thought about the West as a region.” (p.xi)

Here again is my attempt to properly provide the hyperlinks.

Like "http://www.dangifford.blogspot.com">Dan’s blog, I was interested in the Indian’s responsibility in shaping their own lives, pre- and post-European invasion. The politically correct version of history that has the Indians living in an idyllic world, only to be crushed by the evil Europeans (like a Star Wars trilogy)does not stand up in Calloway’s history of the Indians.

Audrey’s blog reminded me of a comment that initially I thought I would put down. “Near its end, Calloway took a giant bend in the road and introduced a whole new thesis, tone, and warning to America.” I also felt that the author made an abrupt change in course at this point. While I do agree with some of what he said concerning the misuse of the natural resources, it seemed out of place with the rest of the book.

Post 2

2005-09-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

Title: Turner, Scharf, Deverell, Emmons

The question David Emmons asks in “Constructed Province: History and the Making of the Last American West” is where are the western borders, particularly the easternmost borders of the area we commonly call the West. Using the American South as model, he concludes that “where” the West is is not the proper question. The question should be “when” was the area settled. He further stated that the West “must be a place with geographic borders…[with] regions [that] are the result of economic and political forces that lend themselves to historical analysis. (442)

To illustrate the uncertainty of defining the West as a geographic area, Emmons touched upon a survey conducted to see where a select group of professionals felt the West’s border (particularly the eastern border) were and the characteristics of the people who lived therein. The respondents answers varied.

The author attempted to define the West by using the American South (more precisely, the post-Civil War South) as a model or template for how the West should be geographically defined. He analyzed the political, social and economic changes imposed upon the South during the Reconstruction period. He stated that the South was not a distinct region, nor were its people a unique group, until after the end of the Civil War, and this uniqueness was the result of Reconstruction (pg. 440). I do not agree with this argument. I believe that the South could be defined (and its people) as unique much earlier. However, I am not entirely sure, at this point, how relevant my view is to his use of the South as a model in determining the boundaries of the West.

He attempted to draw a parallel between reconstruction in the South with the changes in the West (agriculture replacing the natural grasses on the Plains and “rough cattle” being replaced by “dairy cows and purebreds” p. 443). The goal of the Republicans, according to Emmons, was to eliminate the social-economic system in the South and to rebuild it in the image of the North, a goal that he suggests they accomplished (p. 439). The author further stated that the “West as surely as the South was a constructed society and the blueprints were the same for both regions.” (p.442)

Emmons touched on the timing of westward migration (which goes back to his earlier statements about establishing the “where” of the West by evaluating the “when”), those before and after the end of the Civil War. He referred to the involvement of the corporations (with the help of the federal government) in the conquest of the West. Only then did he attempt to define the boundaries of the West. (p. 446) Emmons stated that there were eight sub-regions in the West, four of which are geographically defined. (447-449).

The second half of his paper focused on the people who lived in the West. He again compared the South and West, exploring the existence of myths and legends in the South and the West. He also examined the dominance of corporations, the boom-bust economy and their impact on citizens.

I found Emmons’ argument for establishing the boundaries of the West, by using the post-Civil War South as a model, difficult to follow. I am looking forward to reading the comments of my classmates, to see if I was the only one lost.

Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis in “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”, from The Frontier in American History, argued that the western frontier had ended or closed by 1890. This was based on the Census Bureau’s 1890 study, which essentially concluded that the frontier had ceased to exist. The conclusion rested on an examination of population densities. Turner also suggested that American history was largely the history of westward migration and as people moved west, “the frontier became more and more American.” The frontier was “the line of most rapid and effective Americanization.” (p.4)

Turner’s opening and closing paragraphs have been often quoted. So have his less than politically correct statements such the one describing the frontier as “the meeting point between savagery and civilization.” (p. 3).

I saw little evidence in his work to support his suggestion that the frontier had ended by 1890. I also saw very little to support his claim that the westward movement was responsible for the development of the American character.

While I am not one to suggest that every piece of history should include every group (whether it be based on race, religion, national origin, etc), it was amazing to me how he did not mention the Mexicans who already occupied much of the West, or of those from China or Japan. Perhaps this was not so obvious to professional historians of his period.

This paper is very nationalistic in its tone, to the point that one could question the writers’ objectivity.

I have very few comments on “Claims and Prospects of Western History: A Roundtable”. In Scharff’s introduction, the purpose of the call for papers was to discuss ‘ ‘“western history’s claims on American historical scholarship, …the meanings of the West and western history..[the] prospects for the field.’” (p.25). Generally speaking, it did not seem that the writers followed this guideline. Most of their writings concentrated on what they were doing or on their upbringing in the west. I did find Montoya’s article interesting in that she concluded that the U.S. was a colonial-imperial power in the West. According to her, the West was “a region that reflected the broader trends of nineteenth-century imperial and colonial endeavors throughout the rest of the world.” (p.41) This is something that I had never given any thought to before since the West was a part of the United States (based on treaties and purchases by the U.S.).

William Deverell’s “Fighting Words: The Significance of the American West in the History of the United States” discusses the western historical professions challenge of depicting the West as how it was against the popular culture idea of the West. This is quite the challenge, especially for those of us who grew up watching westerns on the big and small screen.

I believe that most Americans generally prefer to see themselves (as a nation) in a positive light. While most probably have not bought in completely with the western myths, they do not put much thought into either. This is part of the challenge that academic historians have, which is a point of departure. If historians wish to educate the public on the real history of the west (or of any location, time, issue), then they have to be able to communicate with the public. Some historians write for the masses, while others intended audiences are their fellow professionals.

Ok, here’s my attempt to creating the link for my responses to another’s comments.

In “Fighting Word…”, Deverell stated there are claims that the “heroicized West is itself more representative of national character than any other chronological or regional chapter in the text of popularized American history.” This is something that I did not pick up on, but href=“http://hist616forjimjohnsonlm.blogspot.com”>Jim blog picked up on. Unlike Jim, however, I could not find much to say about the Roundtable. I bow to his age and experience. I expect I will gain a better understanding of this article in class tomorrow.

POST 1

2005-09-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

Post Title: The American West and Legacy of Conquest

Having been away from the academic community for almost three years now, I found the crate of books for the class a bit overwhelming. Since I prefer to see the glass as half-full, maybe I can save some money, cancel my gym membership and make dual use of my books.

First off, I would like to thank Jim for reminding me of a basic rule, if not commandment, of graduate history programs--do not read the entire book. I faced this problem in my previous two history classes. Is there a chant or ditty that I can repeat, to remind me of this crucial fact, while I am reading the books? While it may not be true of history in general, history does, at least in my case, repeat itself.

Hine and Faragher’s The American West: A New Interpretive History, illustrates the migration of various ethnic groups into the region that we commonly call the West. These groups include the Anglo-Americans, European immigrants, Mexicans (and Mexican-Americans), blacks, Chinese, and Japanese. Of course, these travelers were not moving into undiscovered country. Native American groups (if this is the currently politically correct term) had occupied the continent well before the Europeans.

The authors depict the settlement of the West from cultural, political, economic, religious and environmental interpretation--definitely a broad brush stroke of issues. The chapters are organized by distinct themes or issues (such as mining, fur trade, the environment), and within each they generally run somewhat chronologically, with issues or topics overlapping. As one would expect of a book that covers a wide range of issues, the majority of the sources are secondary.

Like Audrey, I could not discern a central thesis in this book, perhaps because the book is so broad. Or it could be that I am a bit rusty in critically looking at historical works. Since I did not see any central argument, I can not say whether they successfully supported their case.

Limerick’s The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of The American West has two central themes, both of which can be seen in the title. The first theme is conquest, namely the conquest of the West by non-natives. The second is of continuity, more precisely that the idea that the “frontier” had ended by1890, as was suggested by Frederick Jackson Turner, was incorrect and that Western history was unbroken. An overt purpose of her book was to refute Turner’s “frontier thesis”. If I understand his thesis correctly, he stated that the “frontier” (of the West) had ended by close of the 19^th century, and that this marked the end of one era and the beginning of another. His conclusion was based on a 1890 census, which depicted population densities. According to Limerick, the idea of the frontier being closed was “anything but arbitrary and riddled with exceptions and qualifications.” (p.23)

To support her argument, which I believe she did well, Limerick detailed the tensions and conflicts that existed between not only the Anglos and Indians, but also between the settlers and various ethnic groups. Like Hine and Faragher’s book, Limerick touched on, with varying degrees of detail, subjects such as war between whites and Indians, mining, farming, the environment, unions, land and property rights and the federal government’s role in issues. She also relied primarily on secondary sources.

Both books cast aside the old popular culture idea of the American West, depicted in books and the big and small screen. The idea of the independent settlers, carving out a life without any outside help, was debunked. In doing so, they told the history of the region, warts and all.

Test Post 1

2005-09-01T17:02:00.000-07:00

Test to verify that I know what I am doing.