Should We Celebrate or Forget Western History?
The average person has many images of the American West, and different historians will tell different stories of what happened in the West. In the United States, black cowboys and Chinese immigrants made up the Forty-niners. Women and minorities of all races played an important role, as did big business and government. In the West, this history has been largely ignored, but there is a lot of debate about the past. Whether we should celebrate it or forget its history is another matter.
The most fascinating western histories explore the past in the context of present-day America, beginning long before European colonizers came to the New World. The National Western Heritage Trail reveals the rich diversity of Native Americans before the arrival of European settlers. These people had complex societies and practices that have only recently been uncovered by historians. They lived on land that had been stolen, and abused and cultivated for thousands of years. The stories of their lives are fascinating, but the historical accounts are often biased.
Most of the most exciting Western histories confront the complexities of the past. These narratives begin long before the American West was an independent nation. The discovery of a large and diverse tribe of Native Americans predating the European invasion has paved the way for rich and complex societies. After the Indians encountered people from Europe and Africa, these rich and complex societies continued to shape modern society. While the West has a lot to offer, we must not overlook its past.
The American West was a melting pot of cultures and nations. The nineteenth century pitted many groups against each other, and this led to the creation of many heroes. African-American heroes emerged from these conflicts, including the buffalo soldiers and the black mountain men. Hispanic cultures produced cowboys and ranchers. Hispanic traditions also produced many heroes throughout the west, from Texas to California. And of course, western history has always had a pantheon of great Indian chiefs, as well as an impressive cast of women heroines.
The new western history aims to undermine the American self-perception of the West. It attacks the idea that the West is a land free of East influences and untethered from civilizations, and it challenges the notion that the West is a free land of endless opportunity. But it does not undermine the self-perception of the American people. It also challenges the concept of the American west as a defining principle of history.
The Western History Association publishes the official journal of the association. The journal is an excellent resource for those interested in western history. The articles published in the journal cover topics of North American and Native American history. They also feature bibliographic lists of recent articles. These two journals are both published by Utah State University. These publications are important for the study of the West. If you want to know more about the history of the United States, you should read the “Civil War: The Legacy of Conquest” and “It’s Your Misfort & None of Mine