Our company crossed the Missouri near the Arrow Rock ferry on the first day of September, 1821, and encamped six miles from the ferry. The next morning being warm and cloudless, we proceeded on our journey over a beautiful rolling prairie country, and travelled 35 miles, crossing the Petit Osage Plain, which is justly accounted one of the most romantic and beautiful places in the state. The traveller approaches the plain over a very high point of adjoining prairie; suddenly the eye catches a distant view of the Missouri on the right, and a growth of lofty timber adjoining it, about two miles wide. In front is a perfectly level rich and beautiful plain, of great extent, and diversified by small groves of distant timber, over which is a picturesque view of nearly twenty miles.
Sugar Creek: Life on the Illinois Illinois Prairie, a monograph written by John Mack Faragher discusses the life of settlers in Sugar Creek a town of Sagaman county, Illinois. Faragher argues the discoveries of the environment, society, culture, and economy in Sugar Creek throughout the nineteenth century and the changes, development, improvements with it. There are four common themes throughout the monograph: First, the kicking out of the Kickapoo and other Indians in place of Anglo-Americans. Second, the relationship and changes between men and women’s roles throughout the nineteenth century. Third, the community life and the sensibility of bringing the town together. Finally, the transition of agriculture and the innovations that changed the town. Faragher uses many censuses, charts, and records to get an idea of the transition of life in Sugar Creek and the affects it had on the community. Although Faragher presents many arguments he does not entirely discuss the men’s involvement in contrast to women’s roles in the household and town.
Frontiersmen have existed throughout America’s history. According to Turner’s hypothesis, they push forwards for civilization and have shaped America. The stories All the Pretty Horses, The Gift of Cochise, and The Martian are all works of frontier literature. Each in their own way show frontiersmen during different times in America’s history with characters that interact with their respective frontiers in different ways. Through these three books one can see how the core interactions between frontiersmen and the frontiers call out the qualities of frontiersmen stated in Turner’s frontier hypothesis.
Arkansas/Arkansaw: How Bear Hunters, Hillbillies, and Good Ol' Boys Defined a State. Brooks Blevins. Fayetteville, AR. 2009. 242 pages
The Kansas-Nebraska act (1854) was a U.S. law that authorized the creation of Kansas and Nebraska, west of the states of Missouri and Iowa and divided by the 40th parallel. It repealed a provision of the Missouri compromise of 1820 that prohibited slavery in the territories north of 36 degrees and 30' and stipulated that the inhabitant of the territories should decide for themselves the legality of slave holding. Democratic senator of Illinois Stephen A. Douglas pushed the Kansas-Nebraska bill.
There are many ways in which we can view the history of the American West. One view is the popular story of Cowboys and Indians. It is a grand story filled with adventure, excitement and gold. Another perspective is one of the Native Plains Indians and the rich histories that spanned thousands of years before white discovery and settlement. Elliot West’s book, Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers and the Rush to Colorado, offers a view into both of these worlds. West shows how the histories of both nations intertwine, relate and clash all while dealing with complex geological and environmental challenges. West argues that an understanding of the settling of the Great Plains must come from a deeper understanding, a more thorough
The Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1877, was mainly caused by the diverging society between the North and the South. The North and the South had different goals. There were many factors that led to the war and the chief ones were political and economic differences between the North and the South. The North’s aggression to control the South had led to the point where it was intolerable. The issue on slavery was one of the causes of the Civil War. Slavery and slave trades had become a big part of the South’s economy. The slaves were needed to work on plantations which helped the South prospered. During the 19th Century, the North worked hard on abolishing slavery, which they thought was a disgrace to the Union.
Faragher, John Mack. Re-reading Frederick Jackson Turner: “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”
Although the aftereffects of the era of good feelings dominated the beginning of the time period and compromises were at first effective, sectionalism over national subjects, especially slavery, led to a crisis in which compromises often meant more increase in political tensions. (Doc F) Sectionalism abruptly increased in the 1820 and 1830's with The Missouri Compromise and the Tallmadge Amendment. Tallmadge's radical proposition was that Missouri gradually emancipated its slaves and prohibit slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase which produced raging political debates. If Missouri went either as a slave state or free state, the precarious balance of eleven to eleven states in the senate would be upset. The compromise
Through out the history of America, there were many compromises made as a desperate attempt to make both groups of people of either side happy as much as they could. In this case, the United States tried to avoid war with a series of political compromises in an attempt to reduce sectional tensions between the North and South, which proved to be ineffective.
Hess, D. (2011). Mcknight's Physical Geography; A Landscapes Appreciation. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc
Of all the features upon the earth there are some ascribed with special significance. These features, whether caves, lakes, deserts, outcroppings, or something else entirely, hold tremendous relevance for the groups that dwell near them. Such beliefs in the worth and importance of such sites are entrusted from one passing generation to the next. These beliefs, and the physical objects they rest upon, become increasingly vital to that group’s identity as a people. One such group is the Teton Lakota of the Sioux Nation in South Dakota, an area that has been home to them for hundreds of years and, while their entire homeland is precious to them, of particular importance are the Black Hills, or Paha Sapa as they are called in Lakota.
Kansas has many state parks and the popular place is the monument rocks and the castle rocks. The monument rocks and the castle rocks have fossils in ancient chalks in plain western Kansas which is a spectacular landmark. The chalk was deposited during the Cretaceous period of geological history about 80 million years ago, when the central interior was covered by sea. The fossils were like shark teeth, fish bones, even dinosaur bones, and other sea creatures. The fossils in the chalk bed go to the Sternberg Museum in Hays.Michael J. Everhart is a shark hunter and he found a shark skull which was under sand and gravel The chalk was a good material for trapping and preserving
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and opened new lands for settlement. Because there was millions of acres of arable farmland, it was necessary to create a territorial infrastructure that would allow settlement. The people living in the Kansas-Nebraska area also wanted a railroad system for transportation. The railroad workers wanted to expand their railroad there as well, because they needed farmers for customers.
Set out at Daylight proceeded on the Course of last night S 87° W 3 ms passed a Willow Island, from the Point of last Course S 81° W. 3 ms. to a pt. on S. S: passd a [blank] Isd. in the middle of the river, passd a run [2] on the Ld S: above a pt. of rocks 3 ms. on which thir is a number of Deer Licks, N 88° W. 3 Ms. to a pt L S: N. 83° W 2 ms. to the Mo of Mine River, [3] psd an Isd.— This river is 90 yards wide & navagable for Perogues about 90 Ms. I went out on the L S. about 4 ms. below this R. and found the Countrey for one mile back good Land and well watered the hills not high with a gentle assent from the river, well timbered with oake, walnit Hickory ash, &c. the land Still further back becoms thin and open, with
In Thomas Cole’s Essay on American Scenery, the reader is able to appreciate Cole’s predilection and love for the American scenery. It is his belief this scenery is superior to the European scenery, since the latter’s “primitive features of scenery have long since been destroyed or modified … to accommodate the tastes and necessities of a dense population.” However, Cole presents his audience with a gloomy prophecy about America’s future, which he believes will be the same as Europe’s. Still, while acknowledging that industrialization could eventually take over many natural regions, Cole is hopeful that nature will remain victorious, since it will still be predominant. Because of this, he advises the American people to take advantage of